Osteoporosis And The Calcium Tablets Conspiracy

Almost 80% of the urban population across the globe has at least heard about osteoporosis till now. A significant number of them have already passed through the 'bone mineral density' test to check the bone-age of their skeleton. Most of the ladies who have crossed their forties have started taking calcium tablets to improve their bone health, after menopause. Don’t you feel doubtful about the entire pattern? Had any of your grandmothers taken any calcium tablet after her menopause? Had your grandmother faced any major bony problems, despite being highly active even at later age? Then what is at fault? You or your doctor who is prescribing you tablets that you buy blindly?

It is a common sense that if you lack in a certain nutrient, you can supply it by two sources – natural food source or artificial tablets that are synthetic. Obviously natural source will be best absorbed by the body and will supply some other essential nutrients as well along with the desired one. For example, if one consumes ‘ragi’ as a source of calcium, one can also get good quality proteins, iron and fibre as bonus package. Instead of taking calcium tablet, if you eat ragi-flour everyday in breakfast, it will not only provide you much better nutrition but will also cost you almost half the price of the monthly supply of those nutrients in tablet form. Plus, you don’t have to spend anything for the breakfast separately. As said earlier, the natural source will get absorbed easily and your body doesn’t have to strain for it.

Second line common-sense is – just think about... after the menopause, do you feel the ladies stop eating calcium containing foods? No! They don’t. Then why to provide it from outside if the food already has calcium. The actual connection of the menopause and the calcium loss then after is related to the impaired absorption due to poor physical exercise or digestion, and lack of vitamin D which is the most essential element for the absorption of calcium from the food that we eat. Has any of the doctors discussed this? And if he has discussed this, has it concluded with prescription of yet another tablet to buy, containing vitamin D?

Vitamin D can be produced by your body when we get exposed to sunlight. If it is available free of charge, why do we have to buy it in a sachet? Spend quality time in sun, of course without applying the sun-screen creams which will block the vitamin D production.

Another factor is lack of exercise. The more we exercise, and with consistency, more will be the need for these building blocks. This need will stimulate and improve the natural absorption.

Thus next time your doctor prescribes something either for calcium or vitamin D, think about the natural sources – from your daily food, cereals or morning walk. The more you go close to nature, the better will be the health. Don’t make your pharmacist and doctor rich un-necessarily.