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[SilverFairy]

What do you do? Taking out HRT, what supplements, types of exercise and diet have you adopted to help?

[CLKD]

It begins in our teens  - good balanced diet, rich in green veg. and plenty of dairy foods. Good exercise regime.

In my 40s I had regular bone scans to see how my bone density was, advice was to up my exercise and eat more dairy!  So generally a good diet, plenty of weight bearing exercise and keep stress to a manageable level.

[tiger74]

Calcium-rich foods, calcium supplements, Vit D (otherwise calcium won't  be absorbed), exposure to sunlight (for Vit D), weight-bearing exercise every day, keeping to a healthy BMI (not too thin or too fat).  Avoid fizzy drinks. 

Baseline DEXA scan also useful and then periodic DEXA scans thereafter to check for any untoward deterioration. 

[Rowan]

Supplements
Boron
Magnesium and D3
omega oils
High multi vitamin and mineral
Very very small dose of estrodiol and natural progesterone cream, partial hyst    ( think it is classed as natural)

I don't supplement calcium.

Very health diet, and finally my weight is right for my height, though still a little pod under my tummy button

Walking every day and getting as much sun as I can in the summer months.

[Kathleen]

Hello SilverFairy.

You may want to consider adding Olive oil to your diet.  There is lots of research on the internet that reports its bone building benefits. I take three tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil every day as I have Ulcerative Colitis and it is also good for the gut.
Take care.
K.

[Sarah2]

You might like to send for information - or look online- at the website of the National Osteoporosis Society.
Diet is important but there is a lot you can do even if you don't eat dairy (I don't and can't.)
Fruit such as dried prunes has been shown in recent research to help bones- 10 prunes a day
As well as oily fish- tinned sardines for example, almonds and green leafy veg.

PRUNES

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19274852

http://www.bodyelectrictv.com/health/osteoporosis/why-your-bones-love-prunes-11/

Exercise is good but it has to be weight bearing and unless you are walking above 3mph your bones won't get much of a 'jolt'. Strolling along on the flat doesn't do much really.
Exercises like lunges and shallow squats are good for the legs and hips and there are other exercises that you can do for the spine.

[Rowan]

Prunes and apples are Boron rich.

I try for an apple a day but not keen on prunes though OH has them everyday, OH also has  a dessert teaspoon on virgin oil daily(good for constipation too) I use to, but now take omega oils 2 6 7 and 9, I thought if I took the olive oil as well it would  too much, so just use it as a dressing.

Virgin olive oil has many health benefits.

[honeybun]

For some people natural is not enough. My sister has regular scans as she has taken cortisone for most of her adult life and as that is a steroid it contributes to bone loss.
She takes AD CAL daily and is careful with her diet. It's a never ending battle for her because the steroids cause weight gain. It's really very difficult.

She could not rely on natural alone as its simply not enough to maintain good bone health.

Sometimes you just have to take something more.


Honeyb
x

[Limpy]

Exercise is good but it has to be weight bearing and unless you are walking above 3mph your bones won't get much of a 'jolt'. Strolling along on the flat doesn't do much really.

3mph is going pretty quickly. What do you suggest for those who can't reach that speed,
Just give up and perfect the couch potato pose?

[CLKD]

3mph isn't fast  ………… usual walking speed is 4mph.  Skipping anyone    ………. tried it a few years ago and can't do it any more, hula hoop was difficult too - managed that as a teen but no longer 

Running upstairs rather than walking ……….

[Hurdity]

I think if you are at risk of osteoporosis genetically and have an early or premature menopause then you would be very advised to replace oestrogen as first line of treatment. You could argue that a menopause well before the average age is not natural anyway - whatever "natural" is!

Aside from HRT, which I've taken since almost 54, I make sure I have a calcium rich diet, and take regular weight-bearing exercise (vigorous walking) including classes, go out into the daylight and sunshine when I can, chew the odd calcium and Vit D tab now and again (for what it's worth) as well as a spoonful of pure cod liver oil every few days. Not sure about all those prunes Sarah2 - I only have to eat one fig and I can tell the difference !!

There is some information on this site too about oesteoporosis, as well as dietary calcium:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/osteoporosis.php and several other pages in the sub menu

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diet.php - scroll down for calcium

Hurdity x

[Limpy]

You must move fast CLKD - I am reliably informed that 4mph is quick rather than average.
It's 2 yards a second, that's not slow.

[Dana]

A healthy, reasonably fit, woman should be able to briskly walk at least 1 kilometre every 10 minutes. So that works out to be about 6 kilometres per hour, or 3.7 miles per hour.

I'm able to maintain that pace when I walk, and I'm a fairly short woman. A taller woman would probably be able to go a bit faster. It's not a jogging pace, but it is a brisk pace, and will get the heart rate up. If you're not used to exercise you may have to build up to that rate though, but it is certainly do-able.

[Sarah2]

Normal walking speed ( ie strolling along the High Street)  is around 2.5- 3 mph.
Brisk walking is 3.5 mph.
Speed walking and very fast walking is anything above 4mph.
Over 4mph you are entering jogging pace.


Plenty online if you want to check!

If you can't manage 3mph then you need to look at your overall lifestyle because 3mph should be achievable- it's just slightly quicker than strolling pace. You need to look at building up to that level - one way is to walk at a moderate pace for 100 yards then increase your speed to walk as fast as you can for 100 yards and alternate like this. Start with 15 mins a day and build up to 30 mins, 45 mins and an hour.

[Taz2]

My two mile daily (well almost daily  ) walk takes me thirty minutes. I used to do a daily three mile walk in forty five minutes before fibro scuppered that. Two is all I can manage nowadays without a stop. I know that research has been done into weight loss and walking and it found that you needed to walk for forty five minutes, non-stop, before your metabolism begins to change which is a bit depressing as I can only manage thirty! Still any walking is better than no walking at all when it comes to overall fitness.

There are some interesting facts in this quiz http://www.rd.com/slideshows/whats-your-walking-iq/

Taz x