A common myth is osteoporosis only affects older adults. This is simply not true. Osteoporosis can creep up on anyone who has weak bones. According to the Mayo Clinic, osteoporosis, which means “porous bones,” causes bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses like bending over or coughing can cause a fracture. In some cases where people fall and break bones, it is assumed the broken bones were due to the fall, but, really, the fall was due to brittle bones.

       How likely you are to develop osteoporosis depends on how much bone mass you attained in your 20s and early 30s (peak bone mass) and how rapidly you lose it later. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have “in the bank” and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age. Osteoporosis is sometimes called a “silent disease,” with few if any noticeable changes to your health to indicate you have it. Often, the first indication of osteoporosis is when a bone breaks. Some symptoms include:

l Back pain, which can be severe, as a result of a fractured or collapsed vertebra

l Loss of height over time

l A stooped posture

l Fracture of the vertebra, wrist, hip or other bones

       There is good news and bad news in regards to this silent disease. The bad news is there are risk factors that you cannot control; they include being a woman. It appears women are twice as likely to get the disease. Individuals with really thin frames and a low Body Mass Index tend to have a higher risk. Medical conditions and weight loss surgeries affect the body’s ability to absorb calcium. Also just like other diseases, family history can affect one’s chances of getting osteoporosis.

       Now, on to the good news. There are risk factors you can control and heighten your chances of not getting osteoporosis.

l Not using tobacco

l Watching excessive alcohol usage

l Staying away from eating

     disorders

l Increasing calcium intake

       In reference to calcium, bones weaken when you have low levels of calcium and other minerals in your bones. A major component needed to help protect bone is calcium. This major nutrient is needed to form new bone cells and, as you guessed it, is vital for bone health. Your bones store more than 99 percent of the calcium in your body. Good sources of calcium include dairy products, almonds, dark green leafy vegetables and calcium-fortified foods such as cereals and fruit juice (ADA). The amount of calcium one requires changes with age. For example, an adult between the ages of 19-50 needs 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day while an adult 50 and older needs 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day.

 

Dear Robust Reader,

Calcium is a nutrient that offers more bang for your bucks besides stronger teeth. Remember, it is not enough to be informed on how to stay clear of ailments. We must practice what we know to be good for our health. Ultimately, these habits will spill over into the lives of those around us in time.

       Stay tuned next month. Please forward your thoughts, comments and ideas, as they are important to me to: ajohn006@waldenu.edu attention: Anika

RISK FACTORS OR PROTECTIVE FACTORS  —  WHAT WOULD YOU WANT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

By Zaida Govan

Think about the neighborhood you live in. Think about the number of gas stations near you. Think about the number of beauty salons and auto mechanic shops near you. What about the streets? Are you able to walk on them without fearing for your safety? Are there enough trees to clean the air for everyone in the area?   

       These kinds of things could either be called protective factors or risk factors. Protective factors are those things that help to build and sustain community and individual health. Safe, well maintained parks, access to healthy food, clean air and reliable, safe transportation. These and other factors are ways that a neighborhood’s protective factors can positively impact individual health. 

       Risk factors are things like a resident’s fear of walking outdoors in the evening and not letting their children go out after school or on the weekends. Shoddy school buildings, lack of decent full line grocery stores where fresh fruits and vegetables are available at reasonable prices, little access to jobs, high crime areas. These factors have a profound impact for community and individual health. 

       Is the Mason Square area a community with more protective factors or more risk factors? In the video “Unnatural Causes: Place Matters” (unnaturalcauses.org), you see that neighborhoods with protective factors are usually isolated in the outskirts of the city, out in the suburbs, not in the middle of the city where more times than not people of color live. In the city of Springfield, the middle of the city is the Mason Square area. A long time ago this area used to be thriving and had many protective factors, it seems that it is now a forgotten area of the city. The City of Homes was called such because of the beautiful, Victorian houses here in the Mason Square area and other parts of the city.

       It is our responsibility to assure that this area not be forgotten. We have to work together to bring it back to its glory days. It won’t be easy because of the institutional racism that continues to be perpetuated by gatekeepers who don’t even know they are doing it. We have to collaborate in the effort to have more protective factors than risk factors. It can be done. Think about the Dudley Street Initiative (dsni.org) in Boston where one little boy chased garbage trucks out of his neighborhood because they were going to illegally dump garbage because it was a black neighborhood and no one had cared for a long time. It was almost legal to do that by the time the residents began to show they cared and worked hard to change things. Dudley Square is now a thriving neighborhood with protective factors that outweigh the risks.  That little boy is now one of the leaders of the initiative and is still working to keep the protective factors in place and increase them. 

       It will not be done overnight; it may take 10 years, 20 years or more, but it has to be started. Think about your children, your grandchildren; do you want them to live in a neighborhood with protective factors or risk factors? Then we have to make it for them; it won’t happen by itself and no one is going to do it because we want them to. Many feathers may be ruffled, but without agitation things never change.  n

Colon Cancer Awareness Month

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health Call to Action: 

 

If you are 50 and older, call your health care provider, today, about a colon cancer screening test. This test can completely prevent colon cancer or mean a life saving difference in treating and beating this disease.

 

At Risk Populations:

The MDPH call to action should be taken by all Massachusetts residents, both men and women, who are 50 years and older (nine out of 10 colon cancer cases are diagnosed in people older than 50). In Massachusetts, statistics show that African American and Latino males should especially heed the MDPH message. Studies reveal that in our state African American males have higher mortality rates from colon cancer, possibly due to the fact that they are being diagnosed at later stages of the disease; while Latino males in the state are being diagnosed with mid-to-late stage colorectal cancer at almost twice the rate of the population as a whole.
       With screening and early detection and treatment, colon cancer can be highly preventable, treatable and beatable. To reap these benefits, the MDPH advises that you have to take action--by speaking with your healthcare provider, now, to determine which life saving colon cancer screening procedure is right for you. Undergoing colon cancer screening, now, is the key to prevention and wellness.

       Everyone 50 or older should undergo life saving colon cancer screening.

Colon cancer can occur without you having any symptoms, making early screening even more important.

Talk to your health care provider, now, about scheduling a colon cancer screening.

       Most health insurance plans cover colon cancer screening procedures, as does Medicare and Medicaid.

TAKE PART IN AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION ALERT DAY, MARCH 23

African Americans at Higher Risk

Springfield – “Diabetes is one of the most serious health concerns for African Americans today,” according to Dr. Sabyasachi Sen of Baystate Endocrinology and Diabetes.

       That’s why it’s important to remember the American Diabetes Association Alert Day, March 23, a one-day “wake up” call to encourage the American public to learn more about their risks for diabetes and to take the Diabetes Risk test to determine their chances of developing type 2 Diabetes.

       Over 23 million people currently suffer from diabetes, while an additional 57 million, or 1 in 5 Americans, are at risk for developing the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 14.7% of all non-Hispanic blacks, age 20 and older, have been diagnosed with the disease, whereas 9.8% of non-Hispanic whites, age 20 and older, have type 2 diabetes.

       Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include frequent infections, blurred vision, bruises and cuts which are slow to heal, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, extreme hunger or thirst and fatigue.

       Type 2 diabetes is also more common in Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

       Minority populations in the United States have higher instances of non-insulin dependent diabetes, and are more likely to die from the complications of type 2 diabetes than the general population.

       According to Dr. Sen, genetic make-up and poor dietary choice puts African Americans at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. African Americans are also more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, said Dr. Sen, which also increases their risk for disease.

       “People with diabetes must take responsibility for their day-to-day care,” said Dr. Sen.

       The chances of having diabetes complications can be reduced significantly by keeping blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in the target range recommended by a doctor.

       Early detection is critical to successful treatment and delaying or preventing some of the complications of diabetes such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and death. Type 2 diabetes was the number seven most common cause of death in 2006.

       Dr. Sen said several studies have shown that diet modification and exercise are the best ways to reduce the risk of diabetes. Despite available medicines that claim to reduce glucose levels and other internal levels, maintaining a healthy body weight by watching what you eat and how often you exercise will offer many the results they need to rise above the disease.

       For more information on diabetes care, or to find out your risks, take the Diabetes Risk test, available on the Baystate Health website at www.baystatehealth.org and click Diabetes under the Clinical Services tab.  n