It can be quite scary to get the news. "I am sorry to tell you ma'am. You have osteoporosis". No one wants to be sitting in that chair hearing that news. All over North American, thousands of women and even men are hearing it though. The thought of not being able to enjoy life any more because of the risk of having a un-healable bone break is scary to say the least.

New evidence has shown that this news is preventable, and not by what you are seeing in all those TV commercials centered on calcium supplements. In her new book, "Better Bones, Better Body: Beyond Estrogen and Calcium", Dr. Susan Brown, leading researcher on osteoporosis is presenting some starting facts about this most unnatural condition of old age.

First of all, this condition seems to affect the women and men of North America more than other countries. In fact, in Asia, it is quite rare for women to get osteoporosis. Some other startling facts include:

1) It is NOT normal for ones bones to get more brittle as we age. The bone metabolism is setup to keep our bones strong for our entire lives.

2) It is NOT just a female condition. Men also are showing signs of this condition

3) It is NOT just a condition of the elderly. More and more, younger patients are being diagnosed with this condition

4) It is NOT caused by low calcium intake

5) It is NOT only caused by the effect of lowered estrogen production

What Dr. Brown goes on to show in her book is the total effect of ones lifestyle on your bone strength. Your diet, your stress levels and your physical activity all go hand in hand to determine your bone strength. The typical SAD diet (Standard American Diet) is partly to blame for this condition. In addition, a lack of physical activity as we older only makes things worse.

So, want are people to do to avoid becoming another osteoporosis statistic? First, learn about the acid alkaline balance in your body. The foods we eat, external stress in our lives, physical stress, all add to the acidity of our body. Most importantly, the acidic level of our blood is of primary concern. If the blood becomes too acidic, the chemical processes that occur inside our cells stop. Taking this to the extreme, the body will die. So, to prevent this, the body has a mechanism of controlling the acid level. It does this with acid buffering minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium, and iron.

These best source of these minerals in our body is our bones. As the body works to overcome an over-acidic condition, it will do so at the sake of our bones, leading to poor bone density. To prevent this from happening, and to even reverse it, you should consider adopting an alkaline diet. Most green plants and sprouts are very alkaline. Foods that are high in sugars, proteins, refined foods, alcohols, and starches are acid forming. Dr. Brown calls these antinutrients. In the book, we are told to avoid excessive protein, reduce our caffeine consumption, eliminate sugars and excessive fats, reduce our salt intake and avoid alcohol and tobacco products. Next, replace all of these antinutrients with alkaline foods. This may be challenging for some people and the promise is that once your body is in balance, you could never consider going back to your old eating habits. The pleasure of being in acid-alklaine balance will overcome any cravings you may 'think' you will have.

Lastly, Dr Brown recommends we all take part in a regular exercise program. She gives guidelines to develop your own personal workout program. Of course, this is nothing new to us. We have long known the benefits of regular exercise. When combined with an alkaline diet however, a daily physical fitness program, including strength training can go a long way to helping prevent osteoporosis.

This treatise has been an introduction into the things you can do to stop this condition before it starts. It is not a replacement for sound medical advice. To obtain recommendations appropriate for your current situation, always seek the council of a qualified health care provider.