You can have "fine bones" but not "osteoporosis"! Remember to pay attention to your parents' health

As we grew up, our parents started to age. My father, who used to be able to carry 10 kilograms of rice upstairs, now had to take a break. I found that my parents, who used to have an upright posture, now had a hunched back and complained of back pain from time to time, asking me to massage their waists and backs.

Everyone has this feeling, that when you get old, you will have back pain. It seems to be a natural thing, but in fact, it is not.

Why does this happen? This has a lot to do with osteoporosis, which we are going to discuss today.

In fact, we are not unfamiliar with the term osteoporosis. Television is full of various calcium supplement advertisements that use osteoporosis as a gimmick, but what exactly is osteoporosis?

We know a lot about bones. After all, we eat a lot of ribs and leg bones every year! We also know that bones are very hard, which is why they can serve as the support of our body.

Bone tissue is the hardest part, which is composed of organic and inorganic components. It can be simply understood that the organic component ensures that our bones have toughness and elasticity, and the inorganic component can make the bones hard. The ratio of the two is appropriate, and as we age, both of them also increase, maintaining bone health.

Here is a little bit of knowledge: the human body's peak bone mass reaches its peak at the age of 30, and then gradually decreases. After reading this, do you regret not drinking more milk? You thought that if you didn't grow taller, your bone mass would not increase either?

Osteoporosis is caused by the decrease of bone mass and structural damage. It can be understood like this: a house has been in disrepair for many years, the bricks on the wall have been lost one by one, and the load-bearing beams have been corroded and damaged, so the house has become a dangerous building.

According to an epidemiological survey in 2018, the prevalence of osteoporosis in people aged 40 to 49 in my country is 3.2%, including 2.2% for men and 4.3% for women, 3.5% in urban areas and 3.1% in rural areas. The prevalence of osteoporosis in people aged 50 and above is 19.2%, including 6.0% for men and 32.1% for women, 16.2% in urban areas and 20.7% in rural areas. The prevalence of osteoporosis in people aged 65 and above reaches 32.0%, including 10.7% for men and 51.6% for women, 25.6% in urban areas and 35.3% in rural areas.

The most common and most easily overlooked symptom of osteoporosis is back pain and body aches. Even if you haven't done any heavy physical labor today, you still feel weak and uncomfortable all over. You used to feel comfortable sleeping on a hard bed, but now you just want to curl up on a soft sofa.

Secondly, it is easy to get fractured. How easy is it? Just a strong hug may cause a broken rib, and a fall may cause a broken hip. It is difficult to heal, and may even make you unable to get out of bed for life. Secondly, there are many symptoms that seem to have nothing to do with osteoporosis, but are actually the culprits of osteoporosis, such as hunchback, inability to straighten the waist, difficulty breathing, etc.

Osteoporosis is completely avoidable as long as we intervene from all aspects and in all directions.

First, if you are under 30, adjust your lifestyle, eat a balanced diet rich in calcium, low in salt and moderate in protein, get enough sunshine, and do regular weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises to reduce the risk of falls and fractures; quit smoking, limit alcohol, avoid excessive coffee and carbonated drinks; avoid using drugs that affect bone metabolism. Take calcium and vitamin D supplements.

If there are family members over 50 years old, the recommended intake for women is 1200 mg. The average daily intake of calcium for the elderly in my country is about 400 mg from their diet, so an additional 800 mg of elemental calcium should be supplemented on average. The recommended intake of vitamin D3 is 600 IU per day. When used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, the recommended dose is 1000-2000 IU per day.

Here is also a more complete set of dietary principles for your reference.

1. Diverse diet: an average of more than 12 kinds of food per day and more than 25 kinds of food per week, including cereals, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, livestock, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soybeans, nuts, etc., with cereals being the main food.

2. Ensure the intake of cereals and potatoes: 250-400g of cereals and potatoes per day, including 50-150g of whole grains and beans, 50-100g of potatoes; 300-500g of vegetables, of which dark vegetables should account for 1/2; 200-350g of fresh fruit. Juice cannot replace fresh fruit.

3. Ensure protein intake: give priority to fish and poultry every day, and take in 280-525g of fish, 280-525g of livestock and poultry meat, and 280-350g of eggs per week, with an average daily intake of 120-200g; eat one egg a day, and do not discard the yolk; eat soy products frequently and eat nuts in moderation; ensure the intake of milk and dairy products, and the intake should be equivalent to 300g (about 300ml) of liquid milk per day.

4. Drink enough water: Adults should drink 7 to 8 cups (1500 to 1700 ml) of water a day. It is recommended to drink boiled water and light tea. Do not drink or drink less sugary drinks, coffee and carbonated drinks.

5. Eat a light diet: Eat less high-salt and fried foods. Adults should not consume more than 6g of salt per day, and the elderly should not consume more than 5g. Cook 25-30g of cooking oil per day, and cook food thoroughly.

6. Control the intake of added sugar: no more than 50g per day, preferably less than 25g.

7. Eat less smoked and cured meat products.

Traditional Chinese medicine also attaches great importance to daily prevention of osteoporosis, and Chinese medicinal diet is also very popular. You might as well change your role at home and cook a meal for your parents. This can not only show the cooking skills you have acquired after years of independent living, but also teach your parents about medicinal diet. Why not do it?

Mulberry Beef Bone Soup

Ingredients: 25 grams of mulberries, 250 grams of beef bones, and appropriate amounts of wine, sugar, ginger, and onions.

Preparation method: Wash mulberries, add a little wine and sugar and steam them together. Put the beef bones in a casserole, boil over high heat, skim off the foam, add ginger and green onions and simmer over low heat until the bones turn white, remove the bones, add the steamed mulberries, and cook for another 20 minutes. Season and drink.

Fish head stewed with tofu

Ingredients: 500 grams of silver carp head, 500 grams of tofu, and appropriate amounts of ginger, garlic, vinegar, salt and sesame oil.

Preparation method: Remove the gills from the silver carp head, wash it, chop it into two large pieces longitudinally from the middle of the fish head, put it into a casserole, add ginger, garlic, vinegar and appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, add the chopped tofu cubes and salt and simmer for another 10 minutes, and drizzle with sesame oil before serving.

Wolfberry porridge

Ingredients: 30 grams of wolfberry, 100 grams of japonica rice.

Preparation method: Wash the wolfberries and cook them with rice into porridge for consumption.