Menopause can weaken your bones. Read this document to know how menopause can affect your bones and what all habits you should adapt to prevent osteoporosis.

1. Menopause Influences Bone Density in Women
Menopause is a natural cessation of the menstruation cycle that usually occurs between the
ages of 45-55 years, which further increases the chances of osteoporosis in women.
Osteoporosis is a disorder in which bone density decreases, bones becomes thin and may
fracture easily. An average woman losses up to 5% of bone mass in the first 5 years after
menopause.
A woman must have a calcium rich diet and do regular exercise to reduce the chances of
osteoporosis. It’s best to adapt these lifestyle habits in child to get most of the benefits.
Bone Loss Speeds Up In Post-Menopausal Women
Body keeps a proper balance between the loss of bone and creation of new one throughout the
life. You have maximum bone density at the age of 30 but after 30 years your body begins to
lose bones faster.
Post menopause bone loss speeds up. After menopause, the ovaries stop producing the
hormone oestrogen. Even at the time of perimenopause (the period of a woman's life shortly
before the occurrence of the menopause.), the oestrogen levels starts dropping off and you
could start to lose bone density more rapidly. If a woman’s highest bone mass before
menopause is lower than ideal, the bone loss during menopause may result in osteoporosis.
Today, about half of all women in America, aged more than 60 years are at risk of osteoporosis.

2. How to Prevent Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is common in women after menopause, but most of the women are not aware of
it. Fracture is the first symptom of weaken bones. While you can’t halt the bones weakening
but there are plenty of things that can help you to slow it down. Here are the few steps that
you can take peri and post menopause to protect your bones.
 Exercise – Make a habit to exercise daily as it makes
muscles and bones stronger further prevent bone
loss. Women of age 19 – 64 years, must do exercise of
at least 150 minutes in a week to stay healthy. Avoid
sitting for a long period of time.
 Have balanced diet - Eat a balanced diet which
includes calcium and vitamin D. Calcium and vitamin
D slows down the bone loss process post menopause.
Good sources of calcium include green leafy vegetables,
tinned fish, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, and dairy products
like milk, cheese and yoghurt. Sources of vitamin D include
eggs, oily fish, eggs, etc.

3.  Sun
Sunlight is a good source of vitamin D. Sunlight between the month of May and September are good
for the production of vitamin D. Spend 10 minutes outside without sunblock to maintain vitamin D
level in the body. Take care of skin burns and tanning.
 Quit drinking and smoking
Smoking and drinking results in higher chances of having osteoporosis. Quitting smoke and drinking
lowers the risk of weakening of bones, heart diseases, etc. The daily limit of alcohol for women is 2-3
units.

4.  Avoid medications
Some medicines include drugs, steroids, etc. which increases
the chances of bone loss. If you are on medication then
consult your doctor regarding risk of bone loss.
 Calcium Supplements
Consult with your doctor if you think you need to intake osteoporosis supplements to have
enough amounts of calcium and vitamins. Make sure not to consume more than 2000 mg of
calcium in a day. Adding calcium supplements to the diet can fortify your bones. Calcium
supplements from companies like Viactiv completely understands the nutritional need of teen
girls and women. That’s why they offer healthy and safe soft chew calcium supplements.