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ACCORDING to the International Osteoporosis Society,
more than 200 million women are suffering from
osteoporosis worldwide.
Osteoporosis is a condition wherein a person loses
normal bone density, causing curving of the spine and
loss of height. The disease can also lead to porous
bones—the spine, hips, wrists and almost any other part
of a person’s skeletal system—that break easily. It is a
silent disease that can develop over the years and may
remain undetected only to reveal itself in the event of
an excruciatingly painful fracture caused by a serious
fall that could cause one to spend months in a cast or
the rest of one’s life in a wheelchair, unable to do the
things that were once normal and routine.
Medical
experts agree, however, that with a few healthy habits,
such as drinking a glass of milk and exercising every
day, the Big O can be beaten.
In the
country, where one out of three Filipinos is at high
risk for the disease, Anlene Philippines and the
Osteoporosis Society of the Philippines Foundation Inc.
(OSPFI), an organization of specialists, led by Dr.
Leilani Mercado Asis, recently kicked off an awareness
campaign at the Milky Way in Makati City.
“Our
bones are constantly undergoing remodeling,” Dr. Asis
says. “And we have two remodeling cells—one is the
pickup or ‘pacman’ cell, which eats up the calcium in
the bones. The other is nicknamed the ‘cementer’ because
it puts back the cement in the bones. These should be
equal in number, equal in activity. If there are more
‘pacman’ cells than ‘cementers,’ bones start to thin out
and osteoporosis sets in. As the problem progresses, an
afflicted person might stoop, because his or her back
has already collapsed.”
Estrogen
controls the “pacman” cells in our bodies and a drop in
its levels stimulates these bone-eaters in our system.
Although everyone can get it, the risk of osteoporosis
is thus greater for women, who suffer major estrogen
loss during menopause. Asians in general have thinner
bones than Caucasians and females have thinner bones
than males.
The good
news is that osteoporosis can be prevented and the
higher a person’s bone density (the amount of bone
present in a person’s skeletal structure) is, the
stronger his or her bones are. Bone density is
accumulated from childhood all the way up to a certain
age in adulthood. For Filipinas, the average age when
bone density stops building up is 26.
Bone
density is influenced by genetics, and a family history
of osteoporosis, for instance, makes one more likely
than others to get it. Still, certain factors can put
one at greater risk of the disease such as a pack of
cigarettes (20 sticks) a day burned throughout one’s
adult life leads to five- to 10-percent loss of bone
mass. Others are excessive alcohol drinking, lack of
exercise, a bad diet (low in calcium, high in sodium),
as well as overall poor nutrition and health.
If such
is the case, you will need a major lifestyle change:
quit smoking, limit alcohol drinking, improve diet,
start exercising. You’ll also need to load up on calcium
and vitamin D for maximum effect.
The
National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on
osteoporosis recommends 1,000 mg of calcium a day for
pre- and postmenopausal women (total daily should not
exceed 2000 mg). Experts also recommend targeting 10,000
steps a day to maintain an active lifestyle. Dancing is
a fun way to do it. And if you’re going to acquire a
milk habit, it’s best to take it from the expert on bone
nutrition like Anlene. Every glass of Anlene gold milk
contains 600 mg of calcium (500 mg for Anlene regular),
plus essential nutrients for bone health that give
maximum bone-strengthening benefits.
Anlene
has tapped seven personalities to serve as ambassadors
in its campaign to raise awareness on the importance of
calcium’s ability to keep osteoporosis at bay.
Actress
Dina Bonnevie, 45, relies on a two-pronged fitness
regimen: a daily Anlene habit, and regular exercise that
includes sessions at the gym, Bikram yoga and, for an
extra element of fun, dancing. “The benefit of milk is
something else because the body will easily absorb it,”
says Bonnevie. “And the little fat that it has is good
for the suppleness of the skin.”
Pilita
Corrales, Asia’s Queen of Song, is a tour de force
performer known for taking
not-possible-for-regular-people backward dips when
hitting the high notes. “With my style of singing, I
really need healthy bones.” Corrales credits her daily
Anlene habit for making her stronger and feel more
alive. “You see so many younger men and women
complaining about aching bones,” she says. “Not me.”
Actress
Jackie Lou Blanco, 43, surprised everyone when she
bagged the top spot of a fitness competition. She
attributes this to “cardiovascular exercises every day
for 45 minutes, exercise with a core ball, or weights,
or bands, then I stretch. I also do Bikram yoga and I
drink a glass of calcium-rich with every day.”
Former
Miss Universe Margie Moran, 54, has maintained a fine
form that has blossomed with age. Margie says, “Being an
active volunteer for Habitat for Humanity requires me to
have the energy and strength to visit and build in
various communities in far-flung areas of our country.
To keep me in top form, I eat a balanced diet with a low
glycemic index value of food intake. Milk also is a rich
source of animal protein, vitamin B and calcium,
definitely important for my body.”
Sixty-one-year-old restaurant manager-cum-pastor Rosita
Gomez, on the other hand, has always harbored a secret
passion—“ballet”—but when she reached her 50s, she
couldn’t do it anymore. That is, until she discovered
Anlene at 56. “Dati, marami akong nararamdaman nung
hindi pa ako umiinom ng Anlene,” Gomez explains. “’Pag
nakaupo ako, hindi na ako makatindig, kung saan-saan
sumasakit—mga balakang ko, mga tuhod, mga buto. Sa
tamang diet, exercise and Anlene, nawala na ’yon.” When
Gomez turned 60, she tried dancing ballet again and she
now amazes everyone as she even does the splits.
These
and other prominent women are inviting everyone to lead
the fight against osteoporosis at the CCP Complex on
October 20 at 6:30 am, where they will also seek to
break the Guinness World Record for the country that can
gather the largest number of dancers in a single event. |
