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Osteoporosis Osteoporosis Prevention

Milk and More: Eating Right for Your Bones

Summary & Participants

Calcium is an essential part of a good osteoporosis prevention plan. Low calcium intake has been shown to cause low bone mass, so you need to get the right amount starting early in life. But how much calcium is enough? Are you getting enough in your regular diet? Join us as we discuss the dietary requirements for effective osteoporosis prevention.

Medically Reviewed On: July 18, 2008

Webcast Transcript

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: Every premenopausal woman and every man needs approximately 1,000 mg of calcium, and every postmenopausal woman and every individual with a chronic disease, particularly those patients taking corticosteroids, needs 1,500 mg of calcium. The average recommendation for vitamin D is between 400 and 800 units of vitamin D per day.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: So for a postmenopausal woman, you're really talking about doubling their calcium intake based upon a normal diet?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: Right.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Is that a difficult thing to do without supplements?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: It is actually more difficult than you would think to get enough calcium in your diet. You really have to be conscious of it, and that's why I really recommend that people at least figure out how much calcium they get on an average day and then supplement their calcium to maximize it to 1,500 mg -- not more than that, but 1,500 mg of calcium.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: It's easy to say "figure out." How does a person go about figuring out how much calcium is in their food?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: Most doctors have sheets that they can give patients to help them calculate how much calcium and vitamin D they get in their diet. There are many books out on vitamins. It's actually fairly straight-forward.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: But people don't do it?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: But people don't do it, right.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: There are some other lifestyle components to preventing osteoporosis. Briefly, what are they?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: It's really exercise -- weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging, tennis, soccer. Things like that where you're really using your legs increase bone density. And as we get older, the increase in bone density becomes less significant, but for older patients, weight-bearing exercises and balance training actually increase agility. Remember, what we're really worried about with osteoporosis is fracture, so particularly in our elderly patients, we really want to get them active so that they're more well-balanced and they're less likely to fall.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Any last comments about diet and osteoporosis?

PAULA RACKOFF, MD: Just to really pay attention to it, because it can really make a difference in the quality of your life.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Thank you for joining our webcast. I'm Dr. David Marks. Goodbye.

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