Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and loss of bone tissue that may lead to weak and fragile bones with an increased risk for fractured bones in the spine, wrist and hip. Osteoporosis can affect all age groups, but it’s most common in postmenopausal women. Early in the course of the disease, osteoporosis may cause no symptoms. Later, it may cause dull pain in the lower back or neck.

Nutritional self-care:

* Eat a diet rich in calcium to maintain healthy bones. Good sources of calcium: milk, hard cheese, yogurt, dried figs and apricots, sardines and salmon with the bones, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, watercress and curly kale, calcium-fortified foods such as cereals, orange juice and soymilk. Diets high in salt, animal protein and caffeine may interfere with calcium absorption.
* Your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium properly. Vitamin D is produced naturally by your body when your skin is exposed to sunlight and can also be obtained from foods such as liver, oily fish e.g. salmon, mackerel and tuna, egg yolks and vitamin D fortified milk, orange juice, soymilk and cereals.
* Take a good multi vitamin and mineral supplement containing vitamin D and calcium.