Tag: osteoporosis

A Second Look at Osteoporosis

Posted on by jane

Last January, I wrote a post about why the issue of osteoporosis is close to my heart. I’m osteopenic — and all these years I have been trying to keep my body condition from deteriorating to the point where I would be at high risk of osteoporosis.

The background on why I think I became osteopenic and what I’m doing about it can be read HERE.

We really don’t think of it. I know I fail at that many times too. But we tend to overlook the health of our bones. We take in too much caffeine, sleep late, eat unhealthy and take in too little calcium. Many of us lead sedentary lives and hardly ever go out in the sun. I have to keep reminding myself that if I want to stay active well into my senior years, I just cannot afford to get a fracture – anywhere. A bad fall, a twisted limb, or any other sudden movement in the wrong way could really injure me if my bones are weak. And I really cannot imagine how my present active life can suddenly be curtailed if I can no longer be mobile due to fracture or worse, broken bones.

At a recent intimate gathering with the people behind Anlene, I learned more about osteoporosis and how it is affecting people worldwide as well as close to home – how many Filipinos are going about their daily lives without realizing they’re already at risk of becoming osteoporotic. From the pics below, what’s really important when it comes to bones is DENSITY. The denser the bones, the stronger these are. When bones have lots of gaping spaces, that is when fractures are more likely.

Once bones lose density, nothing can gain this back. At the very least, you can just arrest and delay its further deterioration. That is why once you know where you stand in the spectrum of osteoporotic risk, intervention is needed for those at risk while those still at low risk can also take supplements to ensure they stay in that category.

Left photos show healthy bones. Right ones show osteoporotic bones.

In this fight against osteoporosis, I am happy with how Anlene has been so active in coming up with products that help prevent osteoporosis or delay the deterioration of those who are osteopenic like me.

But more than just making these products, Anlene has taken the additional step of scanning 1 million Filipinos. Based on data gathered from people in all walks of life and from Luzon to Mindanao, they are reporting that 1 out of 2 Filipinos are at risk of osteoporosis. That is a whopping 50% of a population running into 100 million!
The people behind Anlene have allotted P100 million in the last 5 years to fund the campaign against osteoporosis. In 2011, it is once again pledging another P50 million for its Bone Health Check program. They began this program in 1999 till 2001 with just one machine – the GE Achilles Ultrasonometer – a portable bone scanning machine that harnesses the power of high frequency sound waves. They purchased another machine for use between 2002-04 but in 2005, they upped that to 11 machines and this year there are 36 bone scanning machines going all over the country.
They have been doing these in malls, offices and places where they can scan a good number of people of all ages. When you see the Anlene people in a Bone Health Check stall, take time to have yourself scanned. It only takes 3 minutes, is absolutely painless, and just requires a scan of the bone near the heel like this lady in the picture. Have your older family members scanned as well. If you are diagnosed to be low risk, celebrate! But if you are diagnosed as medium- to high-risk, at least you can take action immediately to change your lifestyle, diet and supplements like Anlene.
What I am excited about with the findings presented by the Anlene people is that a group of women in a study who were made to drink Anlene had reduced bone loss after 4 weeks.
Graph on left shows improvement in the women made to take Anlene
compared to those in the right who were non-Anlene drinkers.

Eating a balanced diet rich in calcium, protein and vitamin D; regular exercise especially weight-bearing ones; and a healthy lifestyle can all contribute to keeping bones healthy well into your senior years.

If you are a smoker, heavy caffeine drinker, leads a sedentary lifestyle, and not eating calcium-rich foods, you could be at risk. Make sure you get your bone health diagnosed as early as possible.

As for me, it’s going to be more of yoga (weight-bearing), earlier sleeping habits (my doctor told me already to do this) and a more conscious effort to eat calcium-rich foods. Anyway, I love dairy products. And of course, I’ve still got Anlene to help me.

Osteoporosis: The “Silent Killer” of Women

Posted on by jane

I love milk, ice cream, cheese and other dairy products.

I used to be a ballet dancer in my younger days and am presently a yogini, doing weight-bearing exercises which are good for building body mass and bones.

And yet, I have been diagnosed to be osteopenic (at risk of osteoporosis).

Time and again, when there are bone density tests at malls or at blogger events, I go for a test (silently hoping that one of these scans will prove all the past ones wrong — that I have healthy bones). And yet, every test continues to show that I have osteopenia.

How could this happen?

First, my dairy intake slowed down when I started becoming lactose intolerant. I used to drink milk in the morning before going off to work but that was replaced by coffee when I dared not drink milk before commuting for fear of wanting to go to the bathroom before I got to my office. Of course, coffee as a replacement was really not a substitute because there is a connection between caffeine intake and osteopenia. Coffee is a diuretic and the caffeine in it increases the amount of calcium excreted with our urine for several hours after drinking it. So without appropriate replacement or intake of calcium, bone loss results over time.

Second, I have gone through five pregnancies (though one was a miscarriage) and every time a woman becomes pregnant, the demands placed on her body by a growing baby also affect her bone density. There is increasing demand for maternal bone before childbirth and after childbirth, the act of breastfeeding puts a mother in a hypoestrogenic (low estrogen) state.

Third, as one approaches the menopausal state, bone loss accelerates even more as the body produces less and less estrogen, the hormone that protects bones.

Fourth, just being a female places me at greater risk as studies show that women lose bone density faster than men.

At a recent Anlene event, I learned about the ideal daily calcium intake for women. Women between the ages of 25 and 50 years should aim for 750mg of calcium while those who are older, pregnant or lactating should aim for a higher calcium level daily. I also found that taking calcium alone is not a solution; one needs Vitamin D so that the calcium consumed will be absorbed by the body. So, the real answer to prevent osteoporosis is the right amount of calcium + Vit. D.

So, why is osteoporosis a “silent killer” of women?

It kills not just physically but more than that, it can also kill one’s spirit and lifestyle. Just imagine an active woman who is used to walking by herself and doing things she loves to do. Imagine the same woman suffering a hip fracture that confines her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Gone is her independence. She has to depend on others even for simple things like going to the bathroom or even just opening a door. Her lifestyle is crimped because there are limitations to what she can now do. Your whole life just makes a 180-degree turn once osteoporosis hits and your bones become brittle and at risk of breaking.

Anlene now has a new Ambasadress and I must say, she is the epitome of what a woman with great bones and muscles should be. She’s no other than Sec. Pia Cayetano, who is not only an amazing woman-senator but is also known as a triathlete.

Sen. Pia Cayetano with Anlene officers and Karen Davila (event emcee)

Sen. Pia told us that her favorite sport was the Ironman Triathlon. For many of you who don’t know what that entails, a triathlete participating in this event has to complete a 4k swim, a 108k bike, and a 42k marathon. Whew!!! May I now call her IRONWOMAN?

I now always have Anlene at home. Whenever I remember, I spike my morning coffee with Anlene as my dairy creamer. At the very least, even if I can’t do away with coffee yet, at least I am taking in some replacement calcium.

But you know what’s new in the Anlene product line and which is the perfect Anlene product for me? This…Anlene Concentrate…

Anlene Concentrate (front)
Anlene Concentrate (back)
This was what excited me. Look at the nutritional content of this tiny, 125ml tetrapak. It’s loaded with 650mg of calcium! In the past, although I’d take Anlene, I’d need several tablespoons of the powder to mix so I get my daily requirement. But I’d still be lactose intolerant for several hours afterwards. Now, this tiny pack gives me the same 650 mg of calcium MINUS the lactose intolerance. At the event, I was initially hesitant to try it (they were distributing the milk packs for us to try for free) but when I eventually did, guess what. My tummy did not do a revolution. Yay!
I know a lot of you out there are as lactose intolerant as I am. Now, we need not fret about it.

Let’s be more conscious about our calcium intake so we don’t become an unwilling victim of osteoporosis. Now that I know I’m osteopenic, I have resolved even more never to let go of my yoga, being more conscious of calcium-rich food, and of course, taking my Anlene.