Osteoporosis and Menopause - so, so, so important to know this!

I really, really appreciated Dr. Mary Haver’s in-depth post on Substack about the bone loss (osteopenia and osteoporosis) that happens during perimenopause and menopause. You can read the whole thing here, and it is worth it! If you don’t have time right now, the highlights are these:

• HALF of ALL WOMEN will have an osteoporotic fracture at some point in their lifetime.

• The rate of bone loss is fastest during the 7-10 years before and after menopause.

• Most women are diagnosed with osteoporosis after a fracture. (This one in particular is infuriating. We know this is happening to women and yet medicine typically does NOTHING until the damage has already occurred….)

• Estrogen protects against bone loss (thus the importance of HRT.)

• The other most important things you can do to prevent or reverse bone less (see Dr. Haver’s post for the research to back up all these statements):

  • Heavy weight training and resistance exercise (YAY!) Exercise stimulates bone formation and improves bone density, decreases fall risk and decreases likelihood of fracture. It also improves your balance and strength!

  • Higher protein diets paired with adequate calcium intake is proven to decrease fracture risk.

  • Consider supplementing with calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K2.

Dr. Haver also recommends getting a DEXA scan much earlier than the typical timeline of age 65, when the vast majority of bone loss has already occurred. She offers so much great detail about prevention and how to discuss all this with your doctor. Definitely worth a read!