Prevention of Heart Disease With Omega-3

You went to the doctor and some bad news. All the tests have taken a blood test, ECG, stress test, and more. Results returned to the desired readings.

You have heart disease (CHD) is due to narrowing of small blood vessels that carry blood and oxygen to the heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States.

CHD is due to pick up the plaque along the artery walls, which slows the flow of blood to the heart you put the stress. The first step would be to toreduce cholesterol diet. You should definitely try it before going to the more complicated treatment.

Even if you have developed heart disease, it's never too late to start trying a few precautionary steps such as omega 3 in your diet. One of the best ways to prevent heart disease is to limit the amount of saturated fat in the diet to include more foods rich in omega 3.

Keep an eye on your cholesterol level has become a joke in the U.S., but in reality it is no joke. Most people in the United States have high cholesterol. Then there is another factor, triglycerides. We're not talking nearly as much as cholesterol, but they are so bad if they are allowed out of control. Research has shown that omega-3, including in your diet can help increase the amount of HDL, the good cholesterol while lowering both LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Cholesterol plaque causes forms in the arteries leading in time to give you heart disease. This is one. Very slowly progressive disease that will knock you down with a heart attack in general, before you know you have

Some common symptoms to warn you of a heart problem could be:

Tiring easily

Difficulty breathing

Feeling weak

Last of all, you may be suffering from chest pain, angina.

The most common sign of heart disease is angina pectoris. You start to feel like someone who enters your heart and emissions. Pain is the result of blockage of the arteries do not receive enough blood and oxygen to the heart. The intensity of pain varies from case to case. Some people have mild pain, while others more serious. You may also feel pain in the arms, neck, stomach or back.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to be highly effective in preventing angina. Increased intake of omega 3 fatty acids in the diet will be useful even if you have had a heart attack. It lowers the risk of death to have another heart attack or stroke. It seems to help stop hardening of the arteries by slowing the development of blood clots and plaque, blocking blood flow.

Certain precautions should be taken in its use. Some people like to do more good. Too much omega-3 fatty acids in your diet can be harmful. If you eat fish three times a day or take more than 3 grams of omega 3 supplements, which can cause other problems. It is advisable to consult a doctor if you are taking more than 3 grams of omega 3 per day, it is always best to consult your doctor before starting any new medicine, if you are already taking other drugs.

Menstrual Irregularities

Although PMS and menstrual irregularities are modern Western disease categories, Chinese doctors treated what they call "the movement of menstrual diseases" (SPM) and "menstrual diseases" (menstrual irregularities) for millennia.
Menstrual disorders consists of the menstrual cycle in which "period" or menstruation coming "late", "early or" any fixed date. "Menstrual disorders also include situations where there is uterine bleeding during the time period and / or persistent uterine bleeding at irregular intervals (menorrhagia / metorrhagia) the absence of periods (amenorrhoea), painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea), ovarian cysts and endometriosis.
According to the theory of Chinese medicine, is very clear in each of these mechanisms are premenstrual symptoms, as well as the "state of health of the menstrual cycle," above. It 'time for each of these treatments tested. These may include acupuncture and / or Chinese herbal medicine. Care ", the business of menstrual disorders" / PMS and menstrual irregularities, some will start 28-30 days during the woman's menstrual cycle, and will depend on how your symptoms. These treatments, with changes in diet, exercise and lifestyle changes.

"Menstrual movement diseases", aka, PMS, is best characterized by the array of possible symptoms that may accompany "this time of the month" such as:
- Nervous tension and Fatigue
- Breast Distention, Pain & Lumps
- Abdominal Distention and Pain
- Headache & Body Pain
- Diarrhea, Vomiting and Nausea
- Constipation, Bloating
- Nosebleed, Bloody stools &/or urine
- Fever, Asthma or Recurrent Colds
- Rashes & Acne
- Changes in Appetite & Cravings
- Changes in Emotions & Irritability


And the ultimate goal of this therapy is to teach women about what foods to avoid and how to organize their lives in order to help manage their condition (s) and help to prevent recurrent symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. In addition, using theories and diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine, we advise every woman, what vitamins and minerals, that you can do it for the treatment even more effective.
Such treatment not only suppress symptoms and regulate the menstrual cycle, but the mechanism for rebalancing the body, resulting in vibrant good health and a renewed sense of balance and harmony.

Using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, all the major organs and intestines in harmony, as well as, a woman's qi, blood and body fluids. Western medicine describes the mechanisms of premenstrual syndrome and menstrual irregularities in terms of hormones, prostaglandins, and neurotransmitters. Even if all these are true and valid, such as biochemical descriptions are to educate and empower women.

Although the Chinese concepts of qi and blood, Yin and Yang, the five elements and twelve organs and intestines may appear primitive and unscientific, however, they have proven their value in clinical practice working in more than 100 generations . Using these concepts, women are educated and independent in a very human practice. No one can control their secretion of estradiol, but "living qi stagnation" may be mitigated by exercise, relaxation and acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine properly.

Menopause

Menopause is not in itself a disease. It is a normal physiological change, the natural way to slow the aging process in women of childbearing age. Unfortunately, many women do not cross the dawn quickly and seamlessly. When this happens, they can experience something of a series of signs and symptoms.
These include:
- Hot Flashes
-Night sweating
- Menstrual Irregularity
- Uterine Spotting and Flooding
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Palpitations
- Migraines
- Insomnia
- Vaginal Dryness & Atrophy
- Vaginal Itching
- Osteoporosis


Traditional Chinese medicine is over 2000 years, professional medical system and gynecology are his specialties. In gynecology, Chinese, menopausal syndrome is a condition recognized and treated. In fact it is a condition most easily and successfully treated by Chinese medicine (as menopause is natural and non-surgical).

Chinese doctors may use acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine, or both to treat symptoms of menopause. Both methods, doctors are trying to nourish and supplement the liver and kidneys, increase and strengthen the spleen qi, nourish the heart and peace of mind, a clear pathogenic heat and lowering of yang energy.

According to Chinese medical theory, menopause occurs when, due to the natural process of aging, without loss of blood is draining from your body and in particular the kidneys, Chinese medicine believes that the root organ of life and longevity. Therefore, the body in its wisdom to reverse the flow of a canal in the center of the body to send blood to the uterus through the heart. Instead, blood and kidney essence is sent to the heart to nourish the spirit of women. Therefore, in traditional cultures, menopausal women are considered to be midwives, because the spirit of the heart is nourished and enlightened in a way that did not exist before.

West not only Chinese doctors use acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to treat menopausal complaints but also typically advise patients on diet, exercise and lifestyle, and therefore to treat the whole person and to the balance in all aspects of the patient's life. These therapies are without side effects when administered correctly by a qualified and professional Chinese medicine.

About Fertility

The debate and research below provides information on infertility, based on our best knowledge, understanding and daily practice. That is not a substitute for care from your doctor.
There are many causal factors that can cause infertility. Both of these systems, Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), are the insights and understanding of the causes and pathophysiological mechanisms of human infertility, and therefore, the management approaches are described below.

Requires balanced fertility hormones in reproductive organs structurally sound, healthy and nutritious diet and clean. Even with the above in place, the chances of a healthy couple of conception each month is only 25%. The paradigm of Chinese medicine, "Fertility" is equivalent to an obstruction, the free flow of Qi, blood and body fluids in the body, so that a balanced sound reproduction that produces fluctuations in the body's Yin and Yang . For the reproductive system to function at its peak, there must be a balance between all these components and systems of the body.

A couple is considered infertile if after a year of unprotected sex, which were not designed. Infertility is a growing problem, especially in the United States, where infertility affects about 15% of women with $ 1 billion spent annually on treatment. In approximately 10% of cases, the exact reason is unknown. In other cases, reproductive problems, whether male or female, or both are sterile, representing approximately 18% of the population according to 2005 statistics from the National CDC.

Fertility program at our clinic that uses acupuncture, Chinese medicine, herbal and nutritional therapies to enhance fertility, improve the overall health and support the ability to become pregnant and bear a healthy baby to term . This treatment method is also used for the treatment program before the overall design.
Pre-Conception Care is a necessary and very important when planning a pregnancy. A healthy, balanced, and the right of the menstrual cycle, as well as healthy, and the eggs depends on the health and well-being of a woman wishes to become pregnant.

Pregnancy occurs when conditions allow the correct timing. Achieving these conditions can be a challenge for many couples, so it is very important to consider a holistic approach. Working with natural conception, we focus on the restoration of fertility by restoring the proper functioning of the body as a whole.
There is a tendency for many patients and doctors to focus almost exclusively on the genitals. Our experience suggests that this approach is often inadequate (as evidenced by the fact that many patients seek us because they have failed conventional medical treatment). We will find good results when it comes to overall health and wellbeing of people. When general health is beginning to change, fertility is often restored automatically. Of course, there are many things that must be addressed directly to the genitals: and that definitely require special skills, but we never could get different results that we see in Chinese medicine, if only focused on the reproductive system.

Note that each of its organs plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy indoor environment. If none of these organs can not function optimally, which can affect your ability to get pregnant and health from your baby if you are pregnant. For this reason, our program in a natural conception to Chinese medicine not only in the treatment and optimizing the function of reproduction, it is actually making healthy couples.

Chronic Pain Can Be Helped By Acupuncture

Acupuncture for pain can be used to treat knee pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, arthritis, and many types of diseases. Although these drugs is still considered the norm in many parts of East Asia, is considered "alternative medicine" in much of the western world.

Although its reputation is growing rapidly as an alternative to traditional drugs, TCM is often misunderstood and considered, in practice, as the "voodoo" or drugs "Gypsy." In fact, TCM has been tested and could probably be the safest type of drug available. TCM does not depend on modern medicines, but aims to promote the body's own defenses and healing powers in the prevention and cure of diseases. In many ways, these traditional therapies are quite a few 'more practical and less invasive than the medical practices of today.

Most of us Westerners feel that we have found in the human body in high school that the "real reality" description of the facts, not a single description possible. However, if Chinese medicine is making sense of the West in any way, we have the capability of the idea that it is likely to find another legal description of the human body, skills, health and disease. Map of Western human biological morphology is the most likely map of precious health. Not much more accurate than traditional Chinese medicine card, which took over 2,000 years of China to develop.

 Perhaps one of the best known techniques associated with traditional Chinese medicine is acupuncture therapy. This involves inserting fine needles into specific points on the body of a patient, with the idea to increase circulation and balance, or Qi, throughout the body. The treatment of ancient China is based on the theory that illness and disease is caused by an interruption in the flow of body energy and blood, especially in case of pain. In this case, the Qi and blood can not circulate freely, either because they are blocked for any reason, simply is not enough Qi and blood to promote and maintain speed. One might say, if freedom of movement, no pain If there is free movement, no pain

Functions for manipulating the needle to restore movement and provide assistance to a variety of ailments. Due to the fact that works to promote the personal ability of the body to eliminate pain and disease, acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine can treat many types of disorders treated well.



Although it may seem an unusual significantly related to the practice of health for people unfamiliar with it, is actually in fact a long and proven method of reducing a variety of ailments. A final exam at the University of Maryland acupuncture on pain found that a large majority of people, acupuncture for pain had a positive impact on affected people suffer from back pain. The review of acupuncture for chronic back pain doctors examined 33 studies and found that most people have made substantial short-term relief. With these research results and many others shed light on the increased health benefits of acupuncture, it may be obvious that such action must have a place in modern medicine.

Another common method of treatment of TCM in the treatment of acute and chronic pain is massage Tuina. This means pushing and grabbing. However, Chinese medical massage consists of a number of other manipulations and massage was developed as a high art in China, and there is a separate clinic devoted to the practice in most hospitals of Chinese medicine. This type of massage apply special techniques to achieve a therapeutic effect is very specific and designed to open directly and immediately regulate the flow of Qi and blood in the canals and boats. Chinese medical massage is an important method in the treatment of any condition, especially the pain has been a popular method for treatment of injuries of athletes from Eastern martial arts.

Cupping Massage is another technique often used in TCM. This technique works on the same principles of acupuncture and Tuina massage, but uses some very interesting methods. This type of massage, a number of glass cups are heated and put into the body. When the air expands in these cups, the suction created that pulls the patient's body. With the oils and these cups can be moved, providing a massage inversion pressure. They are commonly used for things such as arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, tennis elbow, back pain, and many other common ailments.

Another very common, and perhaps the most widely accepted treatment TCM among Westerners, the Chinese herbal medicine. In this type of treatment, the individual is prescribed a herbal remedy based on their different needs. These herbal treatments to boost the function of balance and harmony through the body from the inside out. Herbal formulas often contain up to 25 different Chinese herbs, and may differ from one patient completely different. Chinese herbal medicine works, not only to treat the symptoms of some diseases, but the power to promote proper healing. Herbal treatment is not always taken only during the illness, you can take a lifetime to ensure harmony and balance in the body.

Benefits of Acupuncture

Acupuncture techniques have evolved over the years to better and better pinpoint people's ailments and health issues. Acupuncture is an ancient form of alternative medicine based in Chinese history. It is a Taoist based philosophy where meditation and the flow of positive energy or chi inside and outside the body is controlled. The needles used for shifting the energy flow first were made from refined stone. Here are 4 benefits of acupuncture.

Acupuncture has grown in popularity as alternative medicine techniques have become more and more popular and mainstream. One of the main benefits of acupuncture is to improve the quality of your sleep and promote a good appetite. Sleep disorders and having trouble with insomnia are a widespread problem. When you choose to use acupuncture to cure your sleep troubles, bear in mind, that you won't see immediate results. However, after staying with it, you will notice your overall quality of life improving very much.

Another use of acupuncture is to cure mental health issues and get positive energy flowing thoroughly through your body. The needles used in acupuncture are placed in such a way that it promotes overall well-being. Some areas can be targeted to improve mental outlook and overall positivity. The unconventional treatment of acupuncture also benefits people who have suffered from chronic conditions such as back pains that never disappear, painful headaches and migraines, cancer, depression, sleep disorders, and many other emotional and physical disorders.

That's where we come to the acupuncture benefit of releasing positive energy which promotes healing, relieves stress, and reduces the risk of emotional disorders such as depression. Meditation and focusing on the breath is a proven technique for releasing toxic thoughts and toxic energies. That is why acupuncture is a good overall stress reliever.

Finally, there is the use of acupuncture to promote sexual well-being and improve fertility. Many fertility specialists recommend the use of acupuncture as a supplement to the medical and scientific techniques being used. It helps improve women or men's fertility state by decreasing stress and targeting the reproductive organs.

Before trying acupuncture, be sure to check that the acupuncture practitioners who administer the treatment have gone through proper training and are licensed to practice. You can check any reliable local directory to investigate whether the clinic and the one who administer the acupuncture have good reviews from their previous patients. Sometimes, acupuncture practitioners are even listed in the Better Business Bureau.

Before submitting yourself to acupuncture benefits, you need to make sure that the who administer the acupuncture have undergone thorough training and it is licensed to practice. Check your local directory and investigate whether that clinic and the one who will administer have good reviews from their previous patients. It is better to be sure and safe than be sorry later. Once you do that, you will easily find that acupuncture is an excellent alternative medicine which eases chronic pain and promotes overall well being.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that treats a person according to their individual symptoms, rather than a western diagnosis. It uses a holistic approach and looks at person's lifestyle, as well as their physical and emotional problems. No two people will be treated in exactly the same way, even if they share the same western diagnosis

Acupuncture is thought to date as far back to 200 BCE, where the earliest written record of it can be found. Acupuncture works by regulating the flow of energy within the body. When a person's energy or qi is blocked or diminished, this can result in poor physical and emotional wellbeing. Fine acupuncture needles are inserted into specific points within the body, to help this energy flow more freely or to actually build upon the energy. Acupuncture is a safe and affective form of treatment for a wide variety of ailments and illness that range from emotional problems such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress as well as other conditions such as migraines, infertility, muscular skeletal conditions, arthritis and many more.

 Most patients find the treatment itself highly relaxing and all the needles that are used are extremely fine and do not cause pain on insertion. Needles are left in for approximately 20 minutes and during this time people fall into a highly relaxed state. Many people find themselves falling asleep while their bodies begin to re-balance themselves. Acupuncture is used not only as way of restoring ill health but also as way a preventative treatment. It can be incorporated into someone's weekly routine in the same way that a person may choose to go to the gym and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

In my own experience as a TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) acupuncturist I have found it to be successful with a broad range of issues. In particular people living in a western society find themselves working long hours and showing signs of increased stress, which can result in signs of high blood pressure. Along with long working hours often comes little time to spend on healthy meals and a need to unwind which may often include high consumptions of alcohol, smoking and drug takings; all of which have an effect on an individuals well being.

I have found acupuncture to have a profound effect on stress levels and allow a person to feel more harmonised and balanced. This gives a person more clarity to make better decisions and as a result can often lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Schizophrenics & Mental Health

If you had to pick one disease not to get, schizophrenia would have to be at or near the top of your list. Schizophrenia typically affects young adults, who are suddenly plunged into a world of delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. Fifty years ago, neuroscientists and psychiatrists identified dopamine, one of the many molecules that brain cells use to communicate, as the bad actor in this story. A half century later, drugs that block dopamine action in the brain continue to be the mainstay of schizophrenia treatment. However, these drugs often control only the most dramatic symptoms, and they leave many patients with highly unpleasant side effects, like tremors and uncontrollable lip smacking. Now a new study suggests that researchers may have found a new class of drugs that could revolutionize the treatment of schizophrenia.

Numerous medicines we use today were discovered by accident, and this new drug likewise received a nudge by an unlikely source: the street drug PCP, or angel dust. Many years ago, researchers observed that people who take PCP often experience symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia. It was also known that PCP affects the action of glutamate, an important brain-signaling peptide. Even more intriguing, glutamate modulates how dopamine works. Once they saw this set of connections, researchers began hunting for a glutamate-related drug to treat schizophrenia.

This research finally paid off with a report in Nature Medicine by scientists at Eli Lilly showing that a glutamate-related drug (named LY2140023, for now) appears to be a safe and effective treatment for schizophrenia—at least in short-term trials with a small number of patients. Patients who received the drug experienced improvement in most of their symptoms when compared with placebo, with none of the side effects associated with more traditional dopamine medications.

Sex & the Brain

Conventional wisdom about the sexes—and most movies marketed to men under 24—work from the premise that men’s and women’s brains are just fundamentally different. The medical spin on this has been that testosterone, in addition to providing extra oomph for muscles, is a key component in the wiring of the male brain. The male brain is first exposed to testosterone in utero, changing basic brain biology and imposing masculinity. Then during puberty, another wash of testosterone results in distinctly male thoughts—the fodder for all that guns-girls-and-parties cinema—in the previously testosterone-primed brain. Deprive the brain of testosterone at either time and you risk perturbing the sublime development of maleness.

Well, it turns out that life may not be quite that simple—at least for mice. A new study in Nature suggests that the brain pathways for male sexual behavior are also present in female mice, and with those pathways comes the potential for male behavior. Even more intriguing is that the activation of these pathways appears to be regulated by the animal’s sense of smell. Mice, like many other animals, use chemicals known as pheromones to transmit sexual signals, among others. Investigators have recently found that disabling the part of the nose that receives these signals—the vomeronasal organ (VNO)—produces some pretty strange effects on the way a mouse acts out its sex.

Males without a functioning VNO appear to have trouble distinguishing between male and female. They will try to mate with either one and won’t fight other males. This is certainly strange, but our existing model can live with it. Maybe some pheromone turns on those testosterone-sculpted parts of the male brain. No pheromone, no male behavior.

But when female mice don’t have a functioning VNO, even stranger things begin to happen. Like their male counterparts, these mice will try to mount both male and female mice and they engage in the peculiarly male (and particularly attractive) behaviors of butt sniffing and pelvic thrusting. These female mice will also mate in the more traditional way. However, their maternal instincts are altered: they spend less time with their pups and are less aggressive in defending their nests.

What does this mean for us? Well, human mating is a bit more complicated than it is for mice, and our perfumes have far less power over our brains (whatever the beliefs of pushy department-store perfumers). But it may hint that biological gender differences are a bit less hardwired and more flexible than the conventional wisdom suggests. For now, let’s just inhale deeply and say that these studies raise important questions about how far apart Mars and Venus truly are.

Alternative Medicine

In the 1970s, Dannon ran an ad that featured ancient yet appealing Russian villagers—robust men with full white beards, strong and sturdy women who had aged with grace and dignity. Their secret, of course, was eating lots of yogurt. (Here's a follow-up ad.) While I don’t think my daily yogurt will have me doing Russian dances on tables, a new study suggests that it may prevent the development of a real problem for many people—diarrhea caused by taking antibiotics.

In addition to killing bacteria that cause disease, antibiotics also kill bacteria in our intestines that help keep our guts healthy. These beneficial bacteria crowd out the less friendly strains that can cause problems like diarrhea. One of the worst of these is Clostridium difficile, a major scourge in hospitals, where it’s estimated that between 5 and 25 percent of people who receive antibiotics develop diarrhea. About 20 percent of those cases are caused by C. difficile, and the cost of treating one case of C. difficile diarrhea is estimated to be about $3,700.
Many dietitians—and, recently, some doctors—think that one way to fix this problem is by eating probiotics, or good bacteria, which helps to reset the natural balance in the intestines and thereby prevent a run on toilet paper. Yogurt contains active cultures that are thought to be probiotics, but we still have only a basic understanding of which bacteria actually are probiotics and exactly what they do.
In a recent study in the British Medical Journal, investigators divided up patients receiving antibiotics into two groups. One group received a commercially available probiotic yogurt drink called Actimel. The other group got a similar-tasting but sterile placebo. Only 12 percent of the patients who received Actimel developed diarrhea compared with 34 percent of the patients who got the placebo. None of the Actimel patients developed the more dangerous C. difficile diarrhea, compared with 17 percent of the placebo group. When you consider that the cost of treating a patient with Actimel was about $100, this seems like a pretty good deal.
As studies go, this one was well done. The investigators corrected for many factors that might have skewed their data, such as what antibiotics patients received, how long they took them, and what kind of infections they had. The researchers also did their statistical analysis using a rigorous standard called intention to treat, in which the results from all subjects involved in the study are counted, even if they fail to follow directions. The number of patients in the trial was relatively small (135), and we have no way of knowing which of the three bacteria in Actimel was responsible for the benefit, but these are small quibbles with a potentially important study.
Now, claims of the remarkable healing powers of dietary supplements generally among evidence-based, textbook-toting physicians who are all about the raise an eyebrow or twoscience of medicine. (I might even be labeled as one of those stodgy eyebrow raisers.) But when there is evidence to back up the claim, medicine does tend to embrace unusual treatments, and antibiotic-related diarrhea is a big problem just waiting for an effective remedy. There’s obviously still a lot we don’t know about probiotics, but this study provides us with the kind of credible information that could inspire doctors to prescribe little white tubs instead of little white pills.

Osteoporosis

More than 2 million American men have osteoporosis, and an additional 12 million are at risk, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Male osteoporosis seems to be a disease ahead of its time: under-diagnosed, under-treated, and under-researched. Data from NIH’s ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicate that the number of men affected will roughly double to nearly 5 million men by 2020. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms the lack of awareness regarding male osteoporosis, with fewer than three percent of men, compared with 42 percent of women, receiving treatment.

Despite the large number of men affected, male osteoporosis is often a back-burner issue, as physicians and patients concentrate on hypertension, diabetes, and prostate problems. Thus, osteoporosis may remain clinically unnoticed until fractures occur, which may be too late for some patients, as the mortality rate for men with hip fractures (31 percent) is double that of women (17 percent). (These numbers are age-dependent: far lower for a 30-year-old who falls skiing, and a bit higher for a 95-year-old man who falls in the bathroom.)
Men have more dense bone, which is why fewer men than women are affected by osteoporosis, and why they usually present ten years later.

Risk factors for osteoporosis in men include heredity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, low calcium intake, inadequate physical exercise, prolonged exposure to certain medications (such as steroids to treat asthma or arthritis), and disorders that decrease testosterone levels. Like women, men should be thinking about osteoporosis if they notice a loss of height, change in posture, or the sudden onset of severe back pain. Fractures that occur in the absence of a fall or trauma should also raise suspicions.

The good news is that bone loss and fracture risk can both be reduced by taking up healthy habits—an improved diet and weight-bearing exercise.
Most American men have an inadequate daily calcium intake, so be sure to have a daily elemental calcium intake of about 1200 milligrams.
Vitamin D is also important for strong bones, and men should have between 10 and 20 micrograms (400 and 800 international units) each day.
 

Treatment with bisphosphonates, which has been shown to increase bone density, should be discussed with a physician. Male osteoporosis is on the rise, but there are steps you can take to keep you and your bones healthy. If you think you’re at risk, make sure you talk about it with your doctor. It’s the "manly" thing to do.