Keeping your bones healthy during Menopause
Keeping your bones healthy during Menopause Over the course of life, the body maintains a balance between the loss of bone mass (bone) and the creation of new bone mass. Bone mass reaches its peak (in size and density) at the age of approximately 30 years. Then, between the ages of 30 and 35, the body begins to lose bone mass more rapidly than it can build it. Menopause - the suspension of menstruation, usually around the age of 50 - considerably accelerates the loss of bone mass. After menopause, the ovaries stop making estrogen, a hormone that helps keep bones strong. Even during perimenopause (the two to an eight-year period before menopause), when menstruation becomes irregular, the level of estrogen can begin to drop and cause a rapid loss of bone mass. Over time, this excessive bone loss can initially cause osteopenia (loss of bone mass) or even osteoporosis, a disorder in which the bones become weak and the chances of fracture increase. How can the loss of bone mass be re...