Originally published January 6 2006
Professor speaks at Albert Einstein College about the dangers of osteoporosis
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Ruth Freeman, a professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and head of the Bone Densitometry Center at Montefiore Medical Center, spoke to a university audience about methods for preventing osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis becomes apparent when brittle bones suddenly snap in a fall.
But the deterioration caused by decreased bone density --- marked by a stooped back and decreased height --- occurs over the course of decades.
Freeman, speaking to Einstein College supporters at a luncheon Monday at The Colony, said humans start losing bone density at age 40.
Bones are fully replaced every 10 years, but this "bone remodeling" gets less efficient as one ages, said Freeman, who is participating in five research studies on bone density and osteoporosis.
"Every year, everybody, men and women, starting at age 40, lose one-half [of a percent] to 1 percent of the calcium from your bone," Freeman said.
Contributors to osteoporosis are a diet low in calcium and vitamin D, smoking, a decrease in estrogen, excessive use of alcohol and a lack of exercise, Freeman said.
Those 50 and older should take in about 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day, as the body gets less efficient at absorbing calcium as it ages, she said.
"Your blood calcium has to be very carefully controlled, because it's required for most of your daily activities, brain activities, muscle activities, heart activities," Freeman said.
Adults should consume from 600-1,200 units of vitamin D a day, with those 65 and older taking in about 1,200 units each day, she said.
She recommends the form called cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3, because it greatly boosts the body's ability to absorb calcium.
The type of calcium consumed is less important than ensuring one gets enough vitamin D3 to improve the absorption of the calcium, Freeman said.
If your vitamin D level is adequate, you will absorb an adequate amount of calcium," she said.
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