What are Some Bone Risks?

Skipping Meals. Research states that skipping a meal may reduce by a third your chance of getting your 120%DV for calcium.

Replacing milk with nondairy drinks like soda pop or fruit-flavored teas or drinks prevents bones from getting the nutrients they need.

Alcohol and cigarette smoking hurt bones. Alcohol causes loss of calcium, magnesium and zinc, which are vital for healthy bones. Cigarette smoke is toxic to your bones!

Eating disorders weaken bones. Bulimia, extreme dieting, and anorexia upset the body's balance of calcium and hormones. This decreases bone density.

Age. Your bones begin to lose density after your mid-thirties.

Bone Structure and body weight. Individuals with a thin, small-boned frame are at greater risk for Osteoporosis.

Heredity. The bone disease Osteoporosis has a genetic component. If your relatives have been affected by Osteoporosis, especially on your mother's side, you may have an increased risk for Osteoporosis

Medications. Sometimes prolonged use of certain medications such as corticosteroids, thyroid hormones, and anti-seizure medications, can result in an individual with an increased osteoporosis risk.

For Further Information:

Healthy Habits

Bone Builders

Can Aches and Pains be Blamed on Weather?

The relationship between joint pain and weather has been reported on a continuous basis throughout the years. You may have heard you Grandpa say that "a storm is a 'coming, I feel it in my bones" numerous times. However, the relationship between changes in weather and joint pain is conflicting. There have been very few controlled studies dealing with this issue, leaving us with unanswered questions!

Biometeorology is a new field that is beginning to study this issue. Individuals in this field focus on three areas:

	The relationship between weather patterns around the world, climate changes, and effects on health patterns
	The effects of weather patterns on localities
	Tracking how weather affects a person's health

Small studies have confirmed that barometric pressure change can cause pains in joints, especially for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. But, why? Well, we all have tendons, muscles, bones, and scar tissue. These elements all have different densities. Different types of weather, like cold and damp, may expand or contract them in different ways. Places in our body that have been or are injured may be more sensitive to this process causing pain when there is a change in weather (more specifically, a change in barometric pressure). Many people believe that living in a better, warmer climate will decrease their pain. However, literature or research does not currently support that belief.

For Further Information:

Bad Weather

Weather and Pain

Weather, Climate, and Human Health

Rickets and Osteomalacia
This disease results from Vitamin D deficiency. It is called Rickets in infants and growing children, but osteomalacia in adults. Essentially, this disease makes your bones softer than they should be. It results in skeletal pain, bone tenderness, and muscle weakness.

Hyperparathyroidism
Around 100,000 people a year in the United States develop Hyperparathyroidism. In this disease the parathyroid glands secret to much hormone which causes an imbalance in our body. This causes too much calcium in the bloodstream.

Paget's Disease of Bone
This condition is found in about 3 percent of the U.S. population. In Paget's disease bones become enlarged and deformed. Bones become dense and fragile. There is excessive bone breakdown followed by an abnormal increase in bone formation.

For Further Information:

Bone Health Information

Paget's Disease

Bone Diseases

Osteoporosis