Beware of ''bone thieves''

Dr Harinder Batth

So you think you are doing everything to safeguard your bones? Little are we aware of small innocuous things which erode our bones. These ‘bone thieves’ rob us of our musculoskeletal strength, weakening them gradually over the years.

Ditch the chair 

Your chair is the biggest stealer. Just get out of it and move, find reasons to take those extra steps or stairs. You need to put stress on bones to strengthen them. Adding some additional weight bearing activities to your weekly routine like jogging, gym training, dancing or outdoor games can be helpful. Remember one is never too old for stuff like this. So right was Martin Luther when he said, “run, walk or crawl just keep moving” 

Stress, stress go away 

Stress is a silent killer. Not only is it bad for your heart, it is worse for your bones. Stress increases Cortisol Hormone levels in our body which thin away our bones. Try any relaxation technique which works for you. Anything from yoga, meditation to exercise.

Diet no more 

Dieting is another major culprit. Not only does it deprive us of major nutrients but sudden weight loss is deleterious to our skeleton. Strangely, obese people have stronger bones; nevertheless, the importance of good body weight can’t be over emphasized. 

Diabetes, a culprit 

Diabetes, at whatever age, is deleterious to our bones. High blood sugar slows new bone formation, accelerates bone resorption and impairs fracture healing. Associated diabetic neuropathy and myopathy predisposes one to imbalance and frequent falls.

Prescription drugs 

Then there are lots of prescription drugs which cause negative impact on bones. Steroids, antiepileptic or anti-seizure drugs like Phenytoin etc, cholesterol lowering drugs, blood thinners and various weight loss drugs. Discuss your concerns with your physician and discuss ways to offset its impact. It may be as simple as taking supplements with your medicines. 

One for the Vitamin D 

By now we are all aware of the importance of Vitamin D. We think we get this from sunlight. After all, there is Sun everywhere in our country. But then we use sunscreen and sunlight will not penetrate it to synthesise Vitamin D. My suggestion – use sunscreen in moderation and take supplements.  A dose of 1000 U per day. Add fish and don’t ditch that egg yolk.

Foods to the rescue 

Too much processed foods and fast foods bring extra sodium in or body. Our system responds by excreting large amount of sodium in urine but it also washes away calcium along with it. So cut back on fast foods and eat healthy. Just what your grandma suggested… yes, I mean green vegetables and fruits.

Too many happy hours are also bad. Alcohol in excess erodes the bones and is a major cause for osteoporosis. Moderation helps here. Smoking is associated with decreased bone density and in women it reduces levels of oestrogen (protective hormones).

Our craving for cola drinks will harm our bones because of its high content of phosphoric acid, which simply washes way bones. This is more harmful in adolescents where they are yet to build their bone mass.

These small things over the years have cumulative negative impact on our bones, steal our bone strength and cause osteoporosis (porous bone). Osteoporosis is a silent disease – it is not something we can “feel in our bones” until we suffer a debilitating fracture.

(Dr Batth is a Chandigarh based orthopaedic surgeon)