Frequently, as women get older, they are likely to acquire an illness called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, which literally means “porous bones”, is a bone disease that decreases the bone mass and density over a period time. When this occurs the person is more susceptible to things like bone fractures. While this does occur in men, it is, by far, more common in women.
One of the difficult aspects of osteoporosis is that there are no signs or symptoms that tell you that you have it. You may not know until your bone has actually fractured before you are aware that you have a problem. In some ageing adults you can detect a hunching of the spinal cord, but this is not always a sign either.
Once a fracture has occurred, because the bone density is so low, it is very hard for proper healing of the fracture to occur. This often means that surgery may be the only means to rectify the break.
Once osteoporosis has begun to occur, it is very difficult to regenerate the missing mass and density from the bones. There are medications that can help, but there are limitations to their effectiveness, and there are often unappealing side effects.
An option gaining some traction is the use of a Vitamin D-Calcium supplement. Vitamin D is one of the main vitamins in drinks like Milk, and is essential in the growth of healthy bones and bone development. By taking a Vitamin D tablet daily it helps to prevent lower levels of calcium in the blood, thus allowing for more calcium to be in the blood to reach bones. This helps to increase bone density and mass replenishment.
