How to prevent and treat osteoporosis:

The aim is to slow down bone loss, and rebuild the skeleton, and thus reverse the damage.
This will reduce the risk of fractures by 50-60% in persons at risk.

• Oestrogen replacement therapy (HRT) remains the first choice for prevention of bone loss in early postmenopausal women with low bone density (A more recent development is raloxifene, a selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM) which acts like oestrogen on the bone, but has no effects on the breast or uterus)
• Calcium has been shown to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women. Calcium has also been shown to augment the beneficial effects of oestrogen.
• Vitamin D should only be considered in housebound people with little exposure to the sun
• Biphosphonates (including the earlier etidronate, which is used cyclically; and alendronate “fosamax” and risidronate “actonel” now used weekly)
• Natural therapies (including soy, red clover, black cohosh, wild yam, and topical progesterone), which are also used for treating menopausal symptoms. The efficacy and safety of these agents are yet to be documented in controlled clinical trials.
• Exercise: The pulling of the muscles on the skeleton helps keep the bone strong. It is important to improve coordinated, and balanced flexibility and strength, to reduce falls in older people.
• Diet: Feeding the bones keeps them strong and healthy. A diet good for the bones also helps maintain weight, and reduce heart disease (i.e. nutritious foods, low in fat and sugar and salt). Additionally, you need to consume foods containing calcium (milk, calcium fortified soy milk, cheese or yoghurt).