Healthy Eating for Women

Osteoporosis has been called the “silent disease,” deteriorating bones often without warning signs, leaving many older women incapacitated with fractures, in pain, and with significant medical bills. Throughout recent years, physicians and nutritionists have recommended high doses of calcium—mainly through dairy products and supplements—as the primary means of prevention. The U.S. government, in its dietary guidelines, strongly advocates milk drinking. Dozens of celebrities have even joined the promotion, sporting “milk mustaches” in a high-dollar ad campaign urging everyone to drink up, yet the risk for osteoporosis and related bone breaks is not decreasing.

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A group of Yale researchers looked at hip fracture rates in sixteen different countries, focusing on women over fifty because osteoporosis is particularly aggressive in women after menopause. They found that countries with a high calcium intake happened to be those where Western diets—high in meat and dairy products—were popular. A closer look at meat consumption in these populations revealed that, indeed, the more meat people ate, the more fractures they had.

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Limit Caffeine and Salt

Caffeine and salt in the diet pose problems as well. Caffeine, acting as a mild diuretic, causes calcium loss via the kidneys. For postmenopausal women, the effects of calcium loss through soda, coffee, and tea drinking is significant.

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The healthiest, most absorbable sources of calcium are found in green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, which contains 115 milligrams per 100-gram serving. An exception is spinach, which is different from other greens because it has a less-absorbable form of calcium. Beans, lentils, and other legumes are good sources of calcium as well as omega-3 fatty acids, cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, and complex carbohydrates. As for supplements, the best source is found in calcium-fortified orange juice. It is more absorbable than calcium carbonate supplements.

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A little sunlight and daily exercise are important in preventing osteoporosis, too. Bones respond to the push and pull of exercise, especially the weight-bearing variety, by becoming stronger and denser. The effect is really remarkable.

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It has become common practice for physicians to prescribe HRT for their female patients after menopause, but this hasn’t provided the protection many—especially its manufacturers—hoped it would. Researchers have found that even if postmenopausal women take estrogens faithfully, most will still lose bone, albeit at a slower rate.

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Natural progesterone, derived from various plants, most notably wild yams and soybeans, has proved to be a very beneficial treatment option for postmenopausal women, not only in slowing bone loss but also in building bone. One study showed an average bone density increase of 15 percent in a group of a hundred postmenopausal women. And, unlike estrogens, progesterone does not appear to increase cancer risk. Progesterone often reduces hot flashes, eases fibrocystic breast pain, improves thyroid functioning, and encourages weight loss.

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