Understanding Bone Health, 1e

Health education and wellness books written for general public to educate them about major health specific topics. This book provides information about bone anatomy, calcium metabolism and the risk factors for bone diseases. A complete section on diet for healthy bones is also included with the majority of recommendations easily available in our Indian kitchens. Among the topics that are discussed, the common one is of osteoporosis. In many western countries, because of their populations’ long survivals, this disease is considered to be a problem of old age. In India, however, osteoporosis is now being frequently seen in the young and economically productive age groups. The most serious consequences of osteoporosis are fractures that may commonly affect the spine, forearms and hips. However, by the time these fractures occur, much damage has already been done to the bone, and to prevent them it is important to act early. Treatment will include treatment with newer drugs and occasionally surgery, and prevention will include simple exercises and yoga descriptions, all of which you will fi nd described in this book. We have also discussed a related bone softening disease called osteomalacia, which is usually called rickets in childhood. This has become more frequently diagnosed, perhaps because testing for vitamin-D levels in the blood and bone density measurement have become routine in ‘Executive Health Checkups’ and under ‘Bone Health Packages’ by some laboratories. This condition is eminently treatable by encouraging exposure to sunlight and providing calcium and vitamin-D supplements and is possibly a positive side of the routine check-ups that many doctors consider to be of doubtful value. Vitamin D has also gained a lot of attention after some studies have shown that it might play a role in the prevention of chronic ailments like heart disease, cancer and autoimmune conditions. However, although present data are not strong enough to recommend widespread supplementation to prevent chronic diseases, supplementation should be given to all patients who have vitamin- D deficiency because of its beneficial effects on the skeleton. It has been estimated that 80% of the 1-4 billion Indian population is either deficient in or has insufficient vitamin D and perhaps health care authorities should seriously consider adding it to fortify certain foods. We hope you will find this book informative and that this and the subsequent publications will help maintain and enhance your health and that of your loved ones. We would be very happy to receive feedback on how we could improve the content and suggestions on which future topics we should include that you would find useful.