Food for osteoporosis

Osteoarthritis experts advise you not to wait until middle age to care for osteoporosis, but to prevent this disease right before puberty with a proper diet.

'From a young age, your child's diet needs to ensure adequate calcium and vitamin D to avoid rickets. At a young age, it is necessary to ensure that these two factors are sufficient for the skeleton to develop well and reach the peak of calcium concentration (bone density) at the age of 25-30. After that, bone density will decrease when reaching menopause with women and men after 55 years, 'said Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam, Vice President of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).

Foods such as shrimp, crab, fish are calcium-rich foods.(Photo: aquanic.org)

According to Ms. Lam, the current Vietnamese diet does not meet the body's calcium needs. Most people do not get enough calcium every day. The average intake of calcium is 524mg / person / day, lower than the average demand of 800-1,000mg / person / day for adults.

Therefore, increasing supplementation of calcium rich foods is essential. At every moment, the body absorbs only a certain amount of calcium, so it is recommended to break down these rich foods into several times a day. In addition, vitamin D is also needed, to help calcium be better absorbed.'Don't think you should eat 1,000 milligrams of calcium, your body will have 1,000 mg of calcium because your eating habits will affect the absorption and excretion of this substance, ' Dr. Lam said.

Foods such as shrimp, crab, fish are calcium-rich foods. This amount of calcium will be significantly reduced if we only eat meat and remove bones. Therefore, when processing, it is best to eat all the bones, it is the best source of organic calcium absorbed and used by the body.

Milk and milk products (yogurt, fomat) are calcium-rich foods, easy to eat and suitable for all ages. People who care about maintaining weight and lowering blood cholesterol should use lean milk, which is low in fat, without sugar and salt to supply calcium to the body.

Eat protein-rich foods at moderate levels. Lack of protein causes osteoporosis, but eating a lot of protein also leads to this disease by increasing the elimination of calcium through the urine.

Many substances in food cause calcium loss due to reduced absorption or increased excretion of this substance, such as fiber and some combinations such as phytate, oxalate (in amaranth), coffee, coca, tea, saturated, sodium (in table salt), phosphorus .

Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam said that diet, especially intake of calcium, has a great influence on the risk of osteoporosis. In the body, 99% of calcium is concentrated in bones, only 1% in blood and organizations. If the diet does not provide enough of this substance, blood calcium levels will drop, forcing the body to manipulate calcium from the bones, which leads to osteoporosis for a long time.

According to NIN data, in Vietnam, osteoporosis affects 1/3 of women and 1/8 of men are over 50 years old. Survey results of NIN in 2,400 women aged 20 and older in 30 communes and wards in Hanoi showed that the rate of osteoporosis in women is quite high. After five years of menopause, the rate of osteoporosis in Hanoi women increased by 10% and after 20 years, this rate was 57.3%. Up to 36.4% of women in menopause age in Hanoi suffer from osteoporosis.

Patients with osteoporosis often have no symptoms until a fracture occurs, especially fractures in the femoral neck, forearm bones, spine bones, pelvis, ribs .

In the case of femoral fractures, only 30% of victims may partially re-integrate with life but the risk of fracture is very high, 10-20% of victims die in the next 12 months, the victims the rest must be disabled, dependent on others for life.

Foods rich in calcium

- Milk and milk products such as yogurt, cheese .

- Fish, especially sardines, mackerel (should use bone).

- Seed vegetables: green cauliflower, kale, beetroot, dark green vegetables, soy beans.

Amount of calcium per 100 g of food:

- Copper: 5040 mg;Small cloves: 910 mg;

- Oily fish: 527 mg;Yogurt: 65-150 mg;Soybean: 165 mg;Meat: 50mg.Vegetables: 60mg.

The daily calcium requirement is recommended by WHO / FAO:

1. Under 1 year: 300-400 mg;
2. 1-3 years: 500 mg;4-6 years: 600 mg;
3. 7-9 years: 700 mg;
4. 10-18 years: 1,300 mg;
5. Adults, breast-feeding women: 1,000 mg.

MY HANG