Vegan Diet Plan for Seniors with Osteoporosis | Top Best Diet Plans for Healthy Lifestyle

What are foods against osteoporosis?

Aging often comes with the risk of developing osteoporosis. Although the clinical consequences of this disease are observed mainly in postmenopausal women and the elderly, there is now scientific evidence that shows that the factors predisposing to osteoporosis can appear much earlier. Anyway, a good diet as a preventive measure can be a solution from an early age to avoid this problem.

What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease that affects the bones. It is defined by the World Health Organization as a disease manifested by a reduction in bone density and a deterioration of the microarchitecture of bone tissue. These problems lead to increased bone fragility, with a consequent increase in the risk of fracture.

Today, osteoporosis affects more than 75 million people, with a 15% risk of contracting fractures of the wrist, femur or vertebrae. According to data and estimates of the European situation, the number of femoral fractures is constantly increasing. In women alone, this figure was estimated at 300,000 in the year 2000 and almost 800 thousand by 2050. Apart from fractures, there are more than 3 million people with asymptomatic osteoporosis, mainly women over 50 years old.

Factors and causes of osteoporosis
Often wrongly described as an asymptomatic disease, osteoporosis is inevitably linked to advancing age and individual genetic characteristics. After the milestone of 30 years, the loss of bone density occurs equally well in men and women. However, special attention should be paid to women in the post-menopausal phase.

Other risk factors for osteoporosis include tobacco and alcohol consumption, low body weight, inadequate diet, calcium and vitamin D deficiency, and a sedentary lifestyle.

A small percentage of the population may suffer from it as a side effect. The risk in people with kidney, liver, endocrine and hematological disease is quite common.

In addition to the period of bone growth, other moments of bone vulnerability can occur during pregnancy, breastfeeding, periods of forced immobility, prolonged cortisone treatments, malabsorption diseases as well as problems related to disorders diet such as anorexia and bulimia.

What are some natural foods and treatments that strengthen bones?
The main goal of osteoporosis prevention and treatment is to avoid fractures. These problems are most often located in the spine, wrists, arms and hips.

Primary prevention is based on comprehensive measures such as adequate nutrition, physical activity and a better lifestyle to avoid and/or minimize the consequences of osteoporosis. These preventive measures should be adopted as soon as possible. Ideally, they should be applied during the bone mass formation phase, that is to say during childhood and adolescence.

Treatment also involves inhibiting factors that promote urinary calcium excretion such as excess caffeine, sodium, sugars, animal proteins, fats and other chemical additives.

Diet to strengthen bones: based on calcium and vitamin D
The best treatment for osteoporosis is above all an adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. Calcium is the basis of the structure of the bones, while vitamin D ensures its absorption by the body.

Foods sources of calcium: what to eat to strengthen and strengthen the bones?
Certainly, dairy products, such as yoghurt, fresh cheeses and aged cheeses, contain the maximum amount (from 125 mg / 100 ml in milk to 1159 mg / 100 g in parmesan). However, calcium is also found in other foods such as:

The egg yolk ;
Fish (especially blue fish such as sardines, anchovies, salmon, herring, but also in octopus, squid and prawns);
Plant foods such as legumes (including chickpeas, lentils, white beans and soy products);
Nuts (almonds, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts), in oilseeds (sesame, chia, pumpkin, flax);
Vegetables such as arugula, dandelion, artichokes, thistles, endives, chicory, spinach.
Alternatively, you can also drink calcium-rich water throughout the day and, where possible, between meals.

Daily Vitamin D and Calcium Recommendations
The recommended daily amount for vitamin D is 800 IU to 2000 IU (20 to 50 µg). For calcium, the World Health Organization recommends that an adult consume an average of 1,000 mg of calcium per day. It should be noted, however, that this quantity varies with age. In general, there are no differences between sexes, but the quantity is greater for the elderly or in the growth stage.

Daily nutritional requirements: