That's Fit

I know I need to keep my bones strong because my grandmother, when she was alive, had osteoporosis. The more she aged, the more rounded her frail little back became. And like many seniors do, she eventually broke a hip and struggled to recover from this bone-crushing experience.

Ideally, I would have built strong bones nearly a decade ago -- it's most important before the age of 30 and can be the best defense against developing osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and are more likely to fracture, or break. Typically occurring in the hip, spine, and wrist, osteoporosis can be prevented. Good thing, because there is currently no cure or treatment for the disease.

Straight from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, here's how you can baby your bones.

• Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D.
  
• Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise.
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol.
• Talk to your healthcare provider about bone health.
• When appropriate, have a bone density test and take medication.

Osteoporosis and weak bones are generally thought of as a women's issue, and although women are 4 times more likely to suffer from "brittle bones," with 1 in 12 men getting the disease it's a serious issue for them too.

A common culprit for women who have weak bones is the decline in estrogen after menopause, but what about for men? Surprisingly, most men have higher levels of estrogen than most post-menopausal women, which may be why they generally have lower risk. But those men who have a lower number of active estrogen metabolites also have a correspondingly higher risk of developing lower bone density (low -- high -- low -- did that make sense?).

But don't worry guys, there are no plans yet to start generally prescribing estrogen hormone replacement for men. Not yet anyway...

As if brittle bones and osteoporosis aren't big enough problems already, now a new study shows that some common antidepressant medications can increase the risk for developing fragile bones. The medication culprits are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) -- several common ones include Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil.

A group of Canadians age 50 and older were tested, and those taking SSRIs had 4% less bone mineral density in their hip bones and had double the chance of breaking a bone (or bones). The problem seems to be in how the drugs affect critical bone-forming cells called osteoblasts, interfering with bone growth and bone mass. At this point the only recommendations from the experts seem to be having awareness of this side-effect before starting any SSRI medication, and possibly taking bone density tests before and during the antidepressant therapy.

Growing older is inevitable, but moving out of your home someday because you just can't get around safely anymore doesn't have to be. The statistics are scary: falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for people over age 65, one in three people over 65 will fall each year, and the majority of hip fractures are causes by falls at home.

But as disconcerting as those figures may be, the good news is that there are many things you can do to minimize your risk of falling or getting hurt in your own place. This article goes over several of the topics from two books on fall prevention, including simple things to do like having your stair railings extended, taking a close look at the kind of carpeting you have, and even the effects fear and other mental factors can have.

Most falls are preventable, despite aging and it's difficulties. But unfortunately for me, the article doesn't mention anything about falls from plain clumsiness.