Good to the Bone

Whether you're 17 or 70, now is the time to protect yourself from osteoporosis. Weight-bearing yoga poses can help tone your bones.

By Linda Sparrowe

Practice standing, sitting, and walking with the same attention to alignment of the spine that you bring to Tadasana (Mountain Pose) to help strengthen the back muscles and improve your posture. Including forward and backward bends in your daily yoga practice can strengthen the front and the back part of the vertebral column and increase overall flexibility. Modified backbends over a bolster or chair can passively lengthen the thoracic spine as well as help prevent stress fractures.

DIET. The food we eat is extremely important for maintaining bone mass, and even if we've been less than diligent in the past, it's never too late to start. These are some guidelines to follow:

Eat less animal-derived protein. A study conducted in southwestern Michigan reported that women who were vegetarians for 20 years had only 18 percent bone mass loss while their carnivorous counterparts suffered 35 percent loss. One reason forthat, according to Dean Ornish, M.D., director of Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, is that a diet high in animal protein can cause the body to excrete too much calcium into the urine. That means the body actually gets rid of the calcium before it can benefit. Vegetarians, on the other hand, excrete far less calcium and therefore profit from its bone-strengthening capabilities.

Calcium. Adequate amounts of calcium—1000 mgs daily, 1500 mgs daily after menopause—are critical to healthy bones and a healthy heart. Remember, however, that no amount of calcium supplementation will do you any good if your diet prevents your body from absorbing the calcium optimally. Whether you ingest too little calcium or whether your body excretes too much through the urine, your bones will suffer. That's because your body will grab the calcium it needs from the bone, which affects the bone's microarchitecture and causes you to lose critical bone mass.

According to the November 1998 issue of Internal Medicine News, taking calcium (1200-1500 mg/day) and vitamin D (700-800 IU daily) supplements reduces fractures in postmenopausal women by 50 percent. If you don't drink much milk or if you suffer from lactose intolerance, don't despair. You can get adequate calcium from a variety of sources: dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, tofu, soy products, miso, seaweed, and salmon. One glass of calcium-enriched orange juice delivers as much calcium as a glass of milk. Good calcium-rich herbs include nettles, horsetail, sage, oatstraw, borage, raspberry leaf, and alfalfa.

Sunbathe. Everyone knows the dangers of getting too much sun. However, 25 to 30 minutes three or four times a week provides all the vitamin D your body needs in order to be able to absorb and utilize calcium properly. If you can't be in the sun, make sure your supplements contain enough vitamin D (400 IU daily).

Absorb calcium more effectively. If you use calcium supplements, take them according to directions on the label for maximum absorption. (Note: Don't get your calcium from antacids that contain aluminum, which causes the calcium to be excreted.) Some forms of calcium, like calcium carbonate, get absorbed better with food; others, like calcium citrate, work better on an empty stomach. In order to utilize the calcium you do take in, your body needs not only adequate amounts of vitamin D, but also magnesium, trace minerals, and hydrochloric acid (HCl) or stomach acid, which postmenopausal women often lack.

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