Are you at risk for osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens the bones and can lead to broken bones, especially in the hips, wrist and spine.

There are many risk factors for getting osteoporosis:

* Age – usually over 50, usually women

* Family History

* Diet low in calcium and Vitamin D

* Alcohol use

* Smoking

* Abnormal absence of menstrual periods/low testosterone for men

There are 3 preventative steps that you can do that may help prevent the onset of osteoporosis

Preventative Steps to Avoid Osteoporosis

If you fall in some of the risk factors listed above for osteoporosis, you can do something about it. Before the condition strikes you, try these 3 simple tasks.

1. Get the recommended daily amount of calcium. Usually at least 1000 mg of calcium is recommended every day. It is always better to get your daily calcium from foods and add supplements on top of that. Foods rich in calcium include dairy products, dark green vegetables, almonds, salmon, breads, cerelas and orange juice.

2. Soak up some Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. Some say that about 15 minutes in the sun everyday will help you get your vitamin D. The recommended daily amount of vitamin D is 400 IU.

3. Exercise. Every time you exercise your bones get stronger. You should try to get in 30 minutes of exercise every day. Start out slow with a walk around the block and build up from there.

There are some health conditions you just can’t avoid, either because of hereditary of bad life habits. But if you can prevent just one health issue by doing simple things, then why not?