In osteoporosis, your bones gradually become weaker and weaker—and then they may break. The frightening thing is that you may not know that you have ostoporosis until you get a fracture. For that reason, it’s often called a “silent disease.”

As a normal part of taking care of your body, you should monitor your bone health, especially as you get older. SpineUniverse.com has a quiz to help you assess your risk for Osteoporosis. It asks you about 15 questions about your demographics, lifestyle, and your past health history. It then gives you a result based on how you answered those questions. It’s far from scientific, but it’s a good way to become a little bit more aware of your bone health.

Take the quiz at SpineUniverse.com

1. Quit drinking soft drinks. High phosphate levels in the blood (which can be caused by consuming large quantities of pop) leach calcium from your bones and prevent the absorption of new calcium.
2. Get enough Vitamin D. Calcium is absorbed by the body and used only when there is enough vitamin D in your system. A balanced diet should provide an adequate supply of vitamin D from sources such as eggs and liver. Since most people don’t care for liver, go ahead and enjoy your omelets (and add some spinach!)
3. Eat your beans (baked). One cup of baked beans has 154mg calcium (remember the target is 1,200mgs/day).
4. Canned Salmon. Three ounces of canned salmon contain 181mg calcium. Salmon also is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
5. Calcium fortified foods. Many foods are now calcium-fortified. You can find calcium fortified soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, orange juice, cranberry juice, breakfast cereals, breakfast bars at almost every grocery store.
   - An 8oz glass of calcium-fortified orange juice provides about 300mg of calcium – which is about the same as a single serving of milk.
   - One cup of calcium fortified soy milk has nearly 300mgs of calcium and can be used over calcium fortified cereal. Two great sources of calcium in one meal.
6. Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast. One cup of oatmeal not only provides 100–150mg of calcium, it is also a versatile add-in to many other foods and can be used to goose up the calcium quotient in your breakfast cereal, added to yogurt, or even mixed in with your favorite baking recipes.
7. Eat your veggies… especially spinach, broccoli and dark green leafy vegetables. Kale, parsley, broccoli, spinach and other dark green leafy veggies each provide about 100mgs of calcium per serving. In addition to just making an effort to eat your greens, you can also try substituting raw spinach for iceberg lettuce on your sandwiches and in your salads.
8. Go Nuts. Almonds and brazils nuts contain about 100mgs of calcium per serving and are both recommended snacks for people on low carb diets.
9. Drink your latte. A Starbucks Grande latte provides almost half your daily calcium needs and is such a pleasure. If you’re lactose intolerant, you can get your latte made w/ soy instead of cow milk.
10. Take an Over-the-Counter Calcium Supplement. You can add a calcium supplement like Os-Cal® or even Tums® to your daily routine to make up the calcium gap. Word of caution… Just because a single Tums has 200mgs of calcium doesn’t mean you can take 5 a day to meet your RDA. It is ultimately and primarily an antacid, not a calcium supplement, and as such it can have a detrimental effect on your digestive system if taken long term.

Tips from Spine-Health.com
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