Good bones

[redbird]

Some days, there are free bagels or salads in the office dining room. Today, there were free bone density screenings.

It was a fairly simple procedure: a form with a handful of questions (including age, sex, whether you're taking three specific medications, whether you eat a lot of dairy, whether you regularly do aerobic exercise, and whether you have blue eyes*), and then an X-ray of your middle finger. The person doing the tests asked me for "the hand you don't use", which I translated as "your non-dominant hand", because of course I use both.

I have healthy bones: well above average, in fact. I commented that this was probably because I lift weights, and the screener said that was likely. (I was half-expecting to be advised to start taking more calcium, at least.) Afterwards, I realized: I lift weights, I walk a lot, and I'm fat**. Of course I have good bone density.

*I hadn't known this, but apparently blue eyes are a known risk factor for osteoporosis.
**The form didn't mention this, but lifelong thinness is also a risk factor for osteoporosis.

Comments

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Boy my poor family. We're all thin and all the women have blue eyes. Grandmother, mother, and sister. I suppose my grandma does have osteoporosis, she is rather stooped. But then she's 87.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you could pass along the news about those less well-known risk factors, so your mother and sister will know about their particular need for calcium and weight-bearing exercise? You might want to get extra calcium and exercise, yourself. Testosterone is somewhat protective against osteoporosis, but men get it too. Especially thin men.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I'll mention it to them. As for myself, living to be old enough to get osteoporosis is not something I'd expect.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I've heard it speculated that carrying around some "extra" pounds is the equivalent of full-body weight-bearing exercise every time you move - and weight-bearing exercise is one of the best ways to keep your bones strong.

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

Good!

I've never had one of those screenings, but will go to a drugstore one next month if things don't get too impossibly hectic that day.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Sounds like I've probably got healthy bones - brown eyes, always overweight my entire life. The calcium question is the only possible problem ... I've taken a lot of dairy most of my life, and it's isn't clear that's a protective way to get your calcium. These days, I'm taking it from vegan sources and actually working at getting enough.

[crazysoph.livejournal.com]

Yup, I've also heard, the exercise stimulates the bones to absorb more calcium, and to also generate more cells that build more bone-structure.

I'm intrigued that they ask for a measurement from the off-hand. Just so the baseline is as close to "problem" as possible, so that the test errs on the side of caution?

I've wondered what those travelling "bone test clinics" do. (Talking past you kightp to our hostess, redbird, sorry!) A few years back, I ordered a bone scan for myself, for future reference. Quite a production, but with computers the images were available immediately after, so the consultant could discuss specifics of the two sites they X-rayed, the hip and the lower back.

Crazy(and when I go, surely won't be from a broken hip...)Soph

Indeed ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... as you say the current wisdom is that milk contains substances that leech calcium out as fast as the milk provides it ... but that could change again!

I heard a Radio 4 programme that claimed that weight bearing exercise early in life is vitally important, particularly for those in high risk groups, as the bone density added up to, say, age 25 is the high point and you'll be digging into those reserves for the rest of your life ... but I've been overweight my whole life too, and I've been fairly active (long walks, enjoyed dancing etc.) so I have a ton of leg muscle etc. ...

... and I believe being male I'm also in a lower risk group! Not sure whether diabetic has a minus effect ...

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

I guess anemia doesn't help? Though I'm certainly overweight and I do a ton of load-bearing exercise. When I did do weights, my leg strength was very high for women who didn't lift weights regularly, and my arm strength was completely pathetic. (Yoga's helping a bit there).

Re: Indeed ...

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

If I read you right... I don't think I realised that you are diabetic?

current wisdom ... that could change again!

True :-) The mechanism which I've heard is related to the relatively high sulphur content of animal protein amino acids. Also, there are epidemiological studies suggesting that high milk consumption does not simply correlate with good bone health.

The American Dietetic Association says (http://www.eatright.org/Public/GovernmentAffairs/92_17084.cfm):
"Diets high in sulfur-containing amino acids may increase losses of calcium from bone. Foods with a relatively high ratio of sulfur-containing amino acids to protein include eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, nuts, and many grains. There is some evidence that the impact of sulfur- containing amino acids is only important with low calcium intakes. Excessive sodium intake may also promote calcium losses. In addition, some studies show that the ratio of dietary calcium to protein is more predictive of bone health than calcium intake alone."

So I think the message there is to eat plenty of beans and broccoli :-)

I have good bone density too

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I had it done at fifty. My insurance company wasn't happy to pay at first, but I was prepared. I told the doctor's office to mention the prednisone I've taken for years off and on, and they shut up. Turns out my bones are in great shape for a woman of my age who spent the first 22 years of her life drastically underweight due to the meds she was taking. I was also very, very, very fond of dairy products and as active as my asthma would let me be. Makes a difference, no? I still love dairy products, and I move a reasonable amount, though I should get more exercise.