Patricia Dezynski, RN from Interim Healthcare will present a ‘Quality of Life’ health seminar about osteoporosis at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Avenue. The public is welcome to join the residents for this free presentation.
Osteoporosis, which means "porous bones," causes bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses like bending over or coughing can cause a fracture. In many cases, bones weaken when you have low levels of calcium and other minerals in your bones.
According to Mayo Clinic preventative steps can be taken to avoid Osteoporosis:
Calcium: The amount of calcium you need to stay healthy changes over your lifetime. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends the following amounts of daily calcium from food and supplements:
· Age 19 to 50 years — 1,000 mg
· Age 51 and older — 1,200 mg
Dairy products are one, but by no means the only, source of calcium. Almonds, broccoli, spinach, cooked kale, canned salmon with the bones, sardines and soy products, such as tofu also are rich in calcium.
If you find it difficult to get enough calcium from your diet, consider taking calcium supplements. The IOM recommends taking no more than 2,500 mg of calcium daily
Vitamin D: Getting enough Vitamin D is just as important to your bone health as getting adequate amounts of calcium. Scientists don't yet know the optimal daily dose of vitamin D, but it's safe for anyone older than 1 year to take up to 2,000 international units (IU) a day.
Experts generally recommend that adults get between 400 and 1,000 IUs daily.
Although many people get adequate amounts of vitamin D from sunlight, this may not be a good source if you live in high latitudes, if you're housebound, or if you regularly use sunscreen or you avoid the sun entirely because of the risk of skin cancer. Although vitamin D is present in oily fish, such as tuna and sardines, and in egg yolks, you probably don't eat these on a daily basis. Vitamin D supplements or calcium supplements with added vitamin D are a good alternative.
Regular exercise: Exercise can help you build strong bones and slow bone loss. Exercise will benefit your bones no matter when you start, but you'll gain the most benefits if you start exercising regularly when you're young and continue to exercise throughout your life. Combine strength training exercises with weight-bearing exercises. Strength training helps strengthen muscles and bones in your arms and upper spine, and weight-bearing exercises — such as walking, jogging, running, stair climbing, skipping rope, skiing and impact-producing sports — mainly affect the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine. Swimming, cycling and exercising on machines such as elliptical trainers can provide a good cardiovascular workout, but because such exercises are low impact, they're not as helpful for improving bone health as weight-bearing exercises are.
The Oak Park Arms is a rental retirement community which provides independent living and assisted living apartments and a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay - a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The class is free and open to the public. For more information contact Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.
