6 ways you can help take control of osteoporosis

While difficult to avoid, there are ways you can take charge of osteoporosis. Here's just six such ways.

• Lack of estrogen appears to be its key contributing factor.
• A falling off of androgens — the male hormones — is also involved, coupled with an inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D.

• Bones grow in length and density, with peak bone mass occurring in your 20s.
• The denser your bones, the lower risk of osteoporosis later.
• Once peak bone mass is achieved, you can't improve it. It's determined by genetics and nutrition.
• Both men and women begin to lose some mass with increasing age. In women, the loss is greatly accelerated with the decline in estrogen production at menopause.

• Osteoporosis affects both women and men, but women of Northern European and Asian ancestry have the highest risk.
• Women of Mediterranean and African descent tend to have more bone mass and typically get the sun needed to make vitamin D. As a result, they are less affected by osteoporosis.

• Moderate weight-bearing exercise can help the bones at any age.
• Exercise is one factor that is known to improve bone strength in later life.
• A very high level of athletic training in adolescent girls robs their bodies of the fat they need to produce and store estrogen.
• Highly-trained teenage athletes and ballet dancers may be more at risk for developing early, severe osteoporosis. Anorexic girls are at high risk as well.

• Smoking greatly increases the risk of severe osteoporosis.
• Women smokers have lower levels of estrogen at all ages, and may enter menopause up to five years earlier than non-smokers.
• In addition, nicotine is known to interfere with the ability of the body to use calcium.

• Women whose ovaries are surgically re­moved experience an abrupt withdrawal of estrogen production rather than a gradual de­cline. They may suffer more severe osteoporosis than those who have normal meno­pause.
• Kidney diseases and the use of steroids also are risk factors.

Osteoporosis doesn't have to be the end. With these six pieces of advice, you could help take control of the situation, and lead a healthier life.