Originally published February 5 2006
Osteoporosis affects older men as well as women
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Gut Feeling columnist Jeff Leech discusses the threat osteoporosis poses to elderly men, who often overlook their own vulnerability because of widespread belief that osteoporosis is a "woman's disease."
If you are someone who thinks osteoporosis is a "women's disease," think again.
Most folks are aware that osteoporosis is characterized by bone fragility and related to dietary intake of calcium, or the lack of.
Simply put - calcium is used to build bones and to a lesser extent, teeth.
Your peak bone mass - which again, you can only control until your mid twenties - will strongly influence your risk of osteoporosis later in life.
While you are older and wiser, the efficiency at which your body absorbs calcium in later years, like some many things associated with aging, isn't what it used to be.
Despite the fact that we are confronted daily with the "eat more calcium" message for "healthy bones" on TV, in newspapers and magazines, on annoying billboards, and along the isles of our favorite grocery store, nearly 70% of Americans consume less than the daily recommended allowance of 1,000 mg of calcium a day - give or take.
Our daily intake may in fact be lower when you consider that, depending on our particular genetic makeup and the composition of a given meal, our bodies may in fact only absorb 30-35% of the total calcium advertised for a given serving.
Calcium that is not absorbed is mostly excreted in our urine and feces, which brings up an important issue - and the point of why I am writing this column on osteoporosis - bioavailability.
One way of doing this is to lower the pH of your gastrointestinal system by delivering food to the trillions of tiny bacteria that live in your colon.
Once in the colon, fiber is broken down by the bacteria through a process called fermentation, which produces, among other things, short chain fatty acids and lactic acid.
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