40 ways to slash your risk of osteoporosis

Although it won’t prevent osteoporosis directly, making your home fall-proof can guard against the devastating effects of a fracture. “Make sure that you keep floors free of any clutter or cords, and that carpeting is secure,” Dr Hofflich says. “Have handrails around hard-to-reach areas like stairs, the bathroom and shower, and use a non-skid rubber mat in bathtub.” In addition, wear grippy slippers to avoid slipping on floors, and make sure outside walkways are cleared and even.

Inside the home, mind the pileup of clutter. “Hoarding is another issue that can lead to falls,” says senior care expert Anthony Cirillo. In addition to clearing out pathways, make sure telephones are placed throughout the house at low levels to reach in case of a fall, or consider wearing a medical alert device you can press if you can’t get up.

Also consider having your sight and hearing checked, because declining vision and hearing places you at risk for falls, and falls lead to fractures. Keep your home well-lit, and consider installing night-lights.

“The bones need to be adequately loaded in order to stimulate them, enough to respond to the load and generate more biomechanically ‘good’ bone,” Dr Lee says. “In addition, those who are underweight might also be suffering from malnutrition, which can contribute to osteoporosis as well.” Those who have eating disorders are at particular risk for osteoporosis, he says. In addition, “being either underweight or overweight is likely to be associated with poor nutritional behaviour,” Mulford says, as well as lack of exercise.

A lack of sleep and sleep disturbances may lead to poor bone health. A 2017 study published in PLoS ONE found that a marker of participants’ bone formation in their blood was lower after several weeks of sleep restriction.  The researchers believe this alerted bone balance can create a potential “bone loss window” “that could lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Here are some weird tricks that really do help you go to sleep.

Among the surprising health risks men need to watch out for is osteoporosis. “Men experience hormonal loss later in life, and therefore are at high risk for accelerated bone loss after age 65,” Mulford says. Although they don’t go through the rapid loss that occurs with menopause, the slow loss can still lead to osteoporosis, Dr Laude says. “The decision to check a bone density scan in men can be based on risk factors and the individual clinical decision,” Dr. Hofflich says.

There are medical reasons you shouldn’t ignore heartburn – and just popping antacids could lead to risks of their own. “Some medications used to treat reflux and over-the-counter heartburn medications can reduce your absorption of calcium, increasing your risk of fracture,” Dr Laude says. “If you are taking a medication long-term, talk to your doctor about your bone health and the risks and benefits of your reflux medication.” These include proton-pump inhibitors like Prilosec and H2 blockers like Pepcid, says Dr Abelson, so if you’re also taking calcium supplements, look for calcium citrate instead of calcium carbonate for better absorption.

Other medications you take also affect your chances of osteoporosis, so talk with your doctor about calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Watch out for steroid-induced osteoporosis if you’re on prednisone or inhalers for asthma. “It seems that steroids have an effect on bone cells, causing alterations in both bone formation and remodelling,” Dr Lee says. In addition, some anti-seizure meds have also been associated with low bone mineral density. “Reasons for this are not entirely clear, but some researchers attribute this to higher than normal vitamin D metabolism and accelerated bone turnover,” Dr Lee says.

Confer with your doctor about gastrointestinal conditions that can threaten calcium levels, and what countermeasures you may need. “Disorders of the GI system, such as coeliac or Cohn’s disease, can contribute to osteoporosis by altering the absorption of calcium [in the gut],” Dr Lee says. “For example, coeliac disease can damage the lining of the gut and can interfere with calcium absorption.” Dr Hofflich says inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is another culprit, and that includes conditions like ulcerative colitis.

Here’s another reason to make easy food swaps to reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates: diabetes is a risk factor for low bone mineral density, possibly because high blood sugar may slow bone formation, Dr Lee says. “According to a 2014 review article in the International Journal of Endocrinology, type 1 diabetics have a six-time increased risk of fractures, and this is due to lower bone mineral density,” he says. While you can’t prevent type 1 diabetes (it’s an autoimmune disease), healthy eating and exercise can help delay or prevent type 2 diabetes.

Try these little healthy habits that may your thyroid happy, and reduce your risk of osteoporosis at the same time. “Believe it or not, both low thyroid hormone and too much thyroid hormone can be contributing factors to low bone mineral density,” Dr Lee says. “Too little thyroid slows bone development, while too much thyroid hormone creates a scenario where the bones are ‘older’ than the actual chronological age of the patient.” Dr Abelson recommends close follow-up with your doctor to assure appropriate thyroid replacement levels.

Autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, are linked with increased risk of bone loss. “Some studies report fracture risk to be five times greater in patients with lupus as compared to the general population,” Dr Lee says. Reasons why may be related to steroid use, as well as decreased activity. “Rheumatoid arthritis is also a risk for osteoporosis as it directly affects the cells in bone that affect bone strength,” Dr Abelson says. “Patients who take prednisone for rheumatoid arthritis are also at risk since it decreases calcium absorption.”