Listen to your bones.
This is the message of Osteoporosis Society of the Philippines Foundation Inc. with its advocacy partner Fonterra Brands Philippines, the manufacturer of Anlene, during their recent campaign against osteoporosis at Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The aim of this campaign is to instill awareness among people, young or old, on the importance of having healthy bones as well as on preventing osteoporosis, the main culprit behind fractures caused by low bone density.
To start off, everyone was encouraged to submit themselves to a bone density test before proceeding to the ballroom of the hotel for a sumptuous calcium-rich lunch buffet. Celebrity mom Christine Bersola, who hosted the event, introduced Charlene Gonzales, the new endorser of Anlene.
“When I was still a kid, my mom would make sure that I drink milk every day. Up to now, I still do and that’s also the same practice that I’m teaching to my kids. As matter of fact, it’s a practice of the whole family,” says the statuesque Gonzales, a former beauty queen and athlete.
“Charlene is the perfect ambassador for Anlene because aside from having a healthy lifestyle, she has always been an advocate of OSP in her own ways,” says Bersola, who also expressed her own family’s habit of drinking milk every day.
Osteoporosis: A burden forever
Medical experts believe that by 2050, 50 percent of the world’s fracture incidences, largely because of osteoporosis, will occur in Asia.
“That’s one too many broken bones or fractures not to mention a huge personal, social and economic burden on a person and to those providing support in a family,” says Julie Yu of the OSP.
“Osteoporosis is partly genetic and definitely not an overnight affliction. It doesn’t even happen over the year—it builds up slowly, without any symptoms, over years and years of neglecting bone health, before finally, cracking. Bones become weak and brittle because of a severe lack of calcium and vitamin D, as well as exercise,” adds Yu.
Many of us are familiar with what osteoporosis may cause—problems in the vertebrae, or the spine, and the most visible ruin quite literally cut a person down to size. When you see elderly women walking with a permanent stoop, unable to reach for things or go about their lives as they used to, that’s but one of the ill-effects of osteoporosis.
Awareness campaign
Bone mass, or bone density, is the amount of bone in a person’s skeletal structure—the higher the density, the stronger the bones. Bone density accumulates during childhood and all the way up to a certain age in adulthood. For Filipino women, the average age when bone density stops building up is 26.
While bone density is determined by one‘s genetics, certain things well within your control put you at greater risk of the disease: unhealthy habits such as smoking and excessive alcoholic bingeing, as well as lack of exercise, a bad diet (low in calcium, high in sodium), and overall poor nutrition and poor health. If you are guilty of the above, you’ll need a major lifestyle change. Quit smoking, limit alcohol drinking, improve your diet, and get on your feet and start exercising. You’ll also need to load up on calcium and vitamin D for maximum effect.
“It’s not a radical idea,” says Leilani Asis, president of the OSPFI. “After all, because prevention is the best cure, fighting osteoporosis—and many other diseases, for that matter—begin with creating a generally healthy environment in your system. By drinking milk and acquiring these healthy habits, you can strengthen your bones over time, and rely on that strength when the time comes.”
The National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on Osteoporosis recommends 750 mg of calcium a day for women below 50 years of age, and 800 mg for pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. A regular glass of milk, or 8 ounces, contains 250 mg. Having a glass a day, therefore, completes a third of your requirement. Unless you have special conditions that require aggressive medication or intense treatment, staving off osteoporosis is a matter of developing a drinking habit.
Knowing all these is an important first step for women everywhere. As what Gonzales said during an interview, “You will have to take care of yourself. When you listen to your bones, it means you love yourself and if you do love yourself, you will take care of your health. For women, if they are happy at their current state, why not experience that for the rest of your life given the option and fight osteoporosis before it’s too late? Get on an Anlene habit—that’s what I do and I would encourage everyone to do the same.”
“As we all must have heard, prevention is better than cure,” she ends.
