Originally published October 20 2005
Bone mass important during early stages of life
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Sevket Yigit, medical director of the new Kids' Center for Bone Health at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, talks about bone mass in youth and old age.
"Bone is like a retirement plan," said Dr. Sevket Yigit, medical director of the new Kids' Center for Bone Health at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
By the time women reach their mid-30s, their bone mass already starts to decline.
For healthy children, the key to building stronger bones can be as simple as drinking more milk and getting more Vitamin D, from the sun or a daily multi-vitamin.
But while calcium and Vitamin D are most critical for preteen and teenage girls, only one in five girls age 9 to 19 gets enough, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
"The most dramatic calcium retention is during puberty," said Dr. Karen Rubin, director of pediatric endocrinology at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, who has been studying children's bones for 20 years.
In one early study, Rubin found that the hips and spine - where bones are most prone to fracture in adults with osteoporosis - stop growing during the teen years, unlike other bones, which can continue to develop into the 20s and 30s.
Last year, after she broke her arm and her leg in accidents several months apart, Abigail Mitchell's X-rays indicated that her bones were thinning.
Further tests found that Abigail had Celiac disease, an auto-immune disorder of the intestines.
When people with the disease eat wheat or wheat products, the gluten causes a toxic reaction in the intestines.
Colleen Mitchell hopes that continued vigilance with her daughter's gluten-free diet and more exercise - Abigail plans to start ice skating lessons soon - will be enough to keep Abigail off the type of bone-building medications used to treat osteoporosis in adults.
He said the increase in obesity and a decline in bone mass among teenagers can probably be traced to the 1950s, when milk consumption by children began to decline and soda sales increased.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml