Know Your Bones

In your 50's

• Increase your calcium intake. Estrogen levels drop with menopause, and the rate of bone loss accelerates - to about 1 to 2 percent a year. This is the time to step up your calcium intake to 1,200 milligrams a day. Some experts believe you should also increase your vitamin D intake to 1,000 to 1,500 I.U., but talk to your doctor first.

• Pay attention to back pan. Sudden pain in the back may be caused by a vertebral fracture. This is very common in women over 50 and often go ignored. It should be checked by a doctor because one vertebral fracture will predispose you to a second.

• Have your bone density tested three to fiver years after menopause. The gold standard method is a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which typically measures bone density in the hips, the spine, or the whole body. Other tests, involving high resolution CT (also known as CAT) scans or ultrasound, are also available; all are painless, quick and covered by most insurance plans.

• Discuss treatment with your doctor. Once you know your bone density, devise a plan of action. While there is no cure for osteoporosis, a variety of medications - including bisphosphnates, hormone therapy, and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs)-can help limit bone loss in post menopausal women.

Real Simple, May 2007