Many women rate turning fifty as a positively high experience. I once looked forward to the celebration. The inner peace that comes with this proclaimed turning point is chafed only by my recent diagnosis of osteopenia. Osteopenia is the beginning phase of osteoporosis. Any age is too young for this disease.

My hope of naturally preventing further bone density loss and even reversibility is to not take drugs for the rest of my life. I prefer to walk around straight and stand short at 5 foot 2 inches. Unbelievably my new gynecologist reported my height at one inch less than just a short thirty years ago. My fear is that only a life sentence to some prescription drug will be the answer. Most of my anger is, “I wish I knew then what I know now.” The rest of the anger is of closed and under-educated minds in a medical society that takes the Hippocratic oath.

BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH

For almost 2 years I asked my gynecologist to prescribe a bone density test for me. He tried to appease me by dismissing my concerns of what I was reading. “You're too young; you needn't worry about this.” But, the risk factors in health magazine articles were consistent. Finally he respected my request.

BE HUNGRY TO LEARN

Can you imagine knowing more about the reading of a medical test of this nature than your doctor? It was inconceivable, but true. The results revealed I was in the beginning stages of the precursor to osteoporosis; something called osteopenia. The test results read similar to what I found in the book The Osteoporosis Cure by Harris McIlwain, MD and Debra Fulghum Bruce. My doctor immediately wrote up a prescription for me. It was for a drug with known possible side effects including breast cancer. He was not interested in hearing about my plan for first trying one year of an alternative program to include more exercise, added soy products and increased calcium supplements. The potential, natural approach to prevent and reverse bone density loss lies in a number of year-round daily routines.

AT LEAST DO THE MOST IMPORTANT EXERCISE

Walking is healthy for both the body and the mind. The outside pleasurable venture is a time to soak in sunshine and nature with cooperative weather. The treadmill is a more repetitive, boring journey to a healthy body but it is tolerable. Weight lifting eventually pays off with a lean looking body besides helping the skeleton. Weight bearing exercise, including a suggestion from what one woman with severe osteo told me: when in a standing position, as often as possible, put all your weight on just one foot. Every step or skip or jump you take tells your bones to bring in some calcium from somewhere in your body. For the longest time the added benefit of keeping my bones strong was not high on my intention of the activities. Some things change. For one there are no options now. I hate not having options. Daily exercise, including weight lifting is a necessity.

EAT AND DRINK CALCIUM

Remember when your mom said, “Drink all your milk?” Profound and simple wisdom. Calcium, along with a variety of vitamins and minerals that activate the absorption of the calcium, is part of my daily diet. Calcium on its own is not enough. It needs at a minimum, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium and zinc. Those chocolate chews Viactiv™ ease the pill popping dilemma. All this and more, is essential for the building of our bone structure until we are 30. After 30 or so it seems our body finds difficulty in building and even weakens in maintaining calcium. I wish this information and even more was rampant 20 years ago. If you know you can choose life with or without a straight jacket, what would you choose? More than what you probably want to know about all these vitamins and minerals is found in Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis by Alan R. Gaby, MD.

DON'T DISMISS PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

If drugs didn’t have a part in the creation, why would they need to have anything to do with sustaining? I’ve always held physicians in high esteem for their technical expertise. Sometimes their bedside manner is an added bonus in the relationship. But, what good is having a doctor near your bedside if they can only sing you to sleep by singing loudly and off key in your ears? When you ask questions of your long trusted doctor and he or she says, “Gee I’ve never heard of that,” the discomfort is frightening. Yes, I would rather have more of the questions, yet I’m wanting the doctor to have more of the answers. The thing they tend to do best is rush to hand you a pre-written prescription for some drug. I fired my gynecologist of almost 20 years. I found an internal medicine doctor, who also does the gynecological tests, on recommendation. She is more current in her information, education and cautiousness to prescribe drugs.

I correspond with several women diagnosed with osteoporosis who took the natural way to bone rebuilding. For all 6 or so of them, a year later none, not one, reported that it worked. A drug prescription is now their life sentence. Yet, there is a recent study of women adding 50 high jumps a day into their exercise. The results increased bone density in all ages of women. One year later, on reading about the study again, it turns out you need to wear a weighted vest to achieve better results.

I’ve discovered osteoporosis is the story for millions of women, yet you don’t have to honor the gathering with your presence. What makes me the angriest is its highly probable I could have prevented or at least minimized all this. You can prevent and reverse your skeletal life structure from collapsing when you begin to take charge of your own health and when you begin early in adulthood, age 30 or so. Fear and anger don’t have to make an unexpected visit. If it’s not too late for you, bone-up on the facts! (pun intended) While there’s still time, you may want to make some easy changes.

Copyright© Patricia Weber, http://www.prostrategies.com.

Pat Weber is a coach, certified telelcass leader, and corporate trainer. With her incisive, effective communication skills, her services can help you to accelerate professional and personal results you want, by helping you increase your choices and build your self-confidence. With personal coaching, a teleclass, an online email course or on-site workshop, get what you want, more easily and more often. Visit her website at http://www.prostrategies.com.