Health Tips

Bone tests aren't just for women anymore. New guidelines are calling for older men to get a routine check for bone-thinning osteoporosis.

There's news for women, too: A new computerized tool uses more than bone-density tests to predict who is at highest risk of breaking a bone in coming years — by adding in such important risk factors as whether a parent ever broke a hip.

It's an effort to better target who really needs treatment and who can safely skip it, even before someone's bones become thin enough to be officially labeled an osteoporosis patient.

And it promises a major shift in bone care.

"You treat the people who have high risk, and you would reassure the women at low risk and ask them to come back for a re-check in a few years," explains Dr. Ethel Siris of Columbia University and president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, which issued the new guidelines last week.

Moreover, the new work stresses that a disease long associated with little old white ladies actually can strike anyone as they age. The biggest change: The NOF guidelines recommend a bone-mineral density X-ray test for all men 70 and older, just like women 65 and older have long been urged to get. (Men and women may need the tests sooner if other factors put them at high risk.)

"There's a recognition more so now than in the past that men are at risk," says Dr. Jay Magaziner of the University of Maryland medical school, who has long researched hip fractures — osteoporosis' most-feared break.

Don't misunderstand. Postmenopausal women are still at greatest risk of osteoporosis, when bone-strengthening estrogen plummets. But a quarter of hip fractures occur in men, and as men live longer, the number who break a hip is steadily rising, Magaziner told a recent meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Screening men "as we do with women can have some real payoffs in terms of prevention," he says.

Another conundrum: More than half of fractures due to bone loss occur in people whose bones are thinning but aren't quite thin enough to be labeled osteoporosis. They're in a gray zone known as osteopenia.

In the U.S. alone, some 10 million people have osteoporosis but 34 million are estimated to have osteopenia. With the population rapidly aging, the government estimates half of Americans over 50 will be at risk of fractures from too-thin bones by 2020.

Diet, exercise, sun counts
The World Health Organization funded a Web-based tool called FRAX, unveiled last week, that helps calculate the odds of a hip, wrist, shoulder or spine fracture within the next 10 years for anyone 40 or older in nine different countries — regardless of whether they have full-fledged osteoporosis or just low bone mass.

Both geography and ancestry matter for bone health. Consider differences such as diet, exercise and exposure to Vitamin D-making sunlight, and odds of a break differ dramatically from China and Japan, to France and Spain, and on to the highest-risk U.S. and Sweden. Here, white women have the highest risk and black women the lowest. FRAX lets users take all that into account.

How? Researchers at Britain's University of Sheffield used data from 60,000 people in developed countries _ where life expectancy is long enough for osteoporosis to be an issue _ to determine factors that play the biggest role in an individual's odds of thinning bones as they age.

Breaking a bone during adulthood that's not the result of, say, a bad car crash is one risk factor. A parent who broke a hip suggests a genetic risk. Smoking also thins bones, as does heavy alcohol consumption and long-term use of steroid-containing medicines.

Plug in a patient's score from a bone-density measurement of the hip for the final calculation.

That number alone doesn't say whether someone needs bone-building treatment. So in the U.S., the National Osteoporosis Foundation went a step further. It used the FRAX predictions to update guidelines on who needs bone-density testing, and to calculate when fracture risk becomes high enough that bone-building drugs would be cost-effective.

In addition to a routine bone check for older men, the guidelines recommend:

• Treat postmenopausal women and men 50 and older who have thinning bones, but not osteoporosis yet, if they have at least a 20 percent risk of any major fracture in the next decade, or at least a 3 percent risk of a hip fracture.
• Check for osteoporosis risk factors in postmenopausal women and men 50 and over, to see who needs a bone test before their senior years.
• A bone test for anyone who has any type of fracture after age 50, or who has conditions associated with bone loss, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
• For adults over 50, 1,200 milligrams a day of calcium and 800 to 1,000 international units a day of Vitamin D, more D than the government recommends.
• Do regular weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercise

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a well-established therapeutic area for Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Our products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and complaints have a prominent leading worldwide position.

The ongoing debate about the appropriate use of HRT urges for shorter courses of therapy (less than 5 years) at lower doses, which is very much in line with our philosophy. We recommend patients taking our HRT products to continue, as long as the benefit of alleviation of severe symptoms outweighs the risk. HRT remains attractive for many women.

The control over menopausal symptoms like hot flushes allows them to function normally in their professional and private lives. Ongoing work will continue to define the best uses for HRT and its benefits.

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Fitness and health tips including information on men's and women's health and wellness including advanced nutritional products for the immune system, joint health, weight loss and general health. All five components of fitness and health: strength training, weight management, cardiovascular exercise, nutrition, and flexibility training are discussed in the Muscle Fitness section of the site.

Here are nine specific Fitness and Health Tips:
Don’t Smoke - One of the main reasons why people decide not to give up smoking, and sadly, the reason why some people take it up is the effect smoking supposedly has on weight gain or loss. It is true that smoking has been associated with an increase in metabolism it is a drug!! However it is a dangerous, addictive drug and surely the tiny effect it has on your metabolism is outweighed by the huge risk of dying from lung cancer.

Drink More Water - You can live three weeks without food, However you can only live for three days without fluid, just think 3 days and its all over, one could suggest that water is fairly important! Your body is anywhere between 60 and 70 percent fluid. The fluid in your body is responsible for helping to keep every system of your body in good working order, including all of your metabolic processes. De-hydrate and everything slows down. The fluid in your body will also ensure that you can move well and be active. If you start to dehydrate, your body’s ability to do basic activities will slow down and your ability to exercise effectively or even enjoy exercise will be reduced. You will feel tired, lethargic and will probably get a headache.

Eat A Variety Of Foods - For protection from the majority of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer you need a variety of foods that deliver that mix of nutrients and minerals. Aim to eat different colored fruits and vegetables. Try to eat a different food each month. Eat an apple a day as the apple pectin cleanses the body’s digestive system by removing toxins and therefore preventing degenerative health problems such as cancer.

Relax For 20 Minutes a Day - Relaxing for at least 20 minutes a day will go a long way to reduce blood pressure and your reactions to stress. Sit or lie somewhere comfortable, Breathe slowly in and out of the nostrils breathing deeply into your abdomen. Say HAM as you inhale and SA as you exhale. These suggestions are charged with positive energy and will help you control your emotions. Try once a day for fantastic results.

Floss Every Day - Flossing your teeth every day is the best way to prevent gum disease and protect your heart. Gum disease, which is left untreated, can lead to inflammatory reactions in the body that can trigger heart disease and stroke.


Drink More Tea - Try drinking more tea instead of coffee to help protect your body from damaging effects of free radicals. Tea is a rich source of antioxidants that play a big role in protecting against some cancers and cardiovascular disease.

Get Active - Aerobic activity not only burns calories but also increases your metabolism and can keep it elevated for several hours after a workout. You don’t need to spend hours each day on the treadmill or bike to reap the benefits. Exercising aerobically for as little as 20 minutes, three to five days a week will make a big difference. Extra movement throughout the day is also essential, take the stairs instead of the lift, lose the remote and move at every opportunity you can.

Get More Sleep - Lack of sleep changes your hormone levels and capacity to metabolize carbohydrates so less sleep = slower metabolism. Studies have revealed that deep sleep causes cell repair and cell growth, which will speed up the metabolism and burn calories. So aim to get at least eight hours sleep a night.

Eat More Protein - Protein stimulates the major brain chemical dopamine which keeps us alert, try chicken or tuna salads for lunch. Go for complex carbohydrates rather than white flour and sugar, as they will provide a sustained energy source as opposed to a quick hit. Another reason to leave simple carbohydrate out of the diet is that they have a negative effect on your skin and how it ages. The more sugar that is in the body the more you force a chemical reaction causing sugars to attach to proteins and this is very detrimental to your skin.

20) I'm constantly testing you. I observe, analyze, and judge every action, word, gesture, e-mail, and facial expression. When I ask you if you want to have a threesome, I don't mean it. If you want me to speak to you again, let alone sleep with you after this conversation, the answer should always be, "Why would I want to sleep with another woman when I have you?"



21) I check out your butt every time you leave the room.



22) I need constant indications that you want me around. That's why it's better, for example, to say, "I want you to come away with me for the weekend. Could you come with me?" than to ask, "What are you up to this weekend?"



23) I love it when you get a little jealous. So if you ever see me flirting in front of you with the waiter, the bus driver, or another guy at a party, know I'm actually flirting with you -- through him.



24) Even though I may complain that I don't see you enough (or that you work too hard), I find nothing sexier than watching you put on a suit in the morning and rush off to work.



25) I start fights with you because I'm feeling ignored. I'm trying to force emotion out of you. Don't retreat into your cave; just give me what I want: some attention. And never tell me to "calm down," unless you want to guarantee that I absolutely won't.



26) Even if I insist on paying or splitting the bill on our first date, I'll think you're cheap if you let me.



27) I may find your best friend repulsive, but I've fantasized about sleeping with him. Not because I want him, but because I want a piece of a guy who is so close to you.



28) If I'm going to break up with you, all of my friends know way before you do. I've been talking about it for 2 weeks.



29) When we do break up, I put all photographs of you and mementos of our relationship in a shoe box and store it in my closet. Just in case I get nostalgic. Just in case you come back.



30) I want you to take control in bed. Yes, I have a successful career, I'm financially independent, I live on my own, and I don't need a man to make me happy (in theory). I still want you to pick me up, carry me to the bedroom, and take without asking.

6) I still think about my ex-boyfriends and compare them to you. Mostly you win. Sometimes not.



7) I have Googled your exes.



8) When I'm falling in love with you, I completely lose my appetite.



9) My body really isn't naturally this hairless and smooth all over. But I will never allow you to see any indication whatsoever of all the shaving, tweezing, waxing, exfoliating, and moisturizing that gets it this way.



10) I only appear to have it all together. My true organization (or lack thereof) is revealed in my closet, my makeup bag, my desk files.



11) I have discovered your porn stash and your frequently visited porn Web sites and think the things that turn you on are hilarious.



12) When I say, "I'm ready," I'll need exactly 7 more minutes to get ready. Don't try to cheat the system by showing up 7 minutes later; I will still need an extra 7 minutes.



13) When I say, "I'll meet you in 15 minutes," I mean I will leave in 15 minutes, and thus won't actually arrive for at least 30 (but probably more like 40).



14) You've made me cry more times than you'll ever know.



15) I obsess about when you're going to call me again. The period of time between our first date and your "Thanks for a great night; when can I see you again?" always seems stretched into slow motion. So don't worry about looking too eager. Call. Even if you only wait until noon the day after, it will feel like a lifetime to me. And don't send me an e-mail unless you want me to put you in the figurative trash can along with your message.



16) I want you to talk a little dirty.



17) At the beginning of our relationship, I save all of your voice mails and listen to them (and make my friends listen, too), repeatedly.



18) I might wear granny underwear and purposely not shave my legs because I like you. As crazy as it sounds, the more I like you, the less likely I am to sleep with you on an early date, because I don't want to sabotage having a "proper" relationship with you. So I just might purposely hunt out the ugliest underwear in my drawer and not shave my legs -- all to prevent myself from getting naked with you too soon. Sometimes I might get a little tipsy or carried away, and this plan will backfire.



19) I split the cost of my fashion purchases over two or more credit cards, so you don't notice the gargantuan deficit.

The woman you sleep with gazes into your eyes and tells you she loves you. And you believe her. You can tell by the way she looks at you, the way she holds you, the way she seems to always know what you want before you do. There are a couple of things in life you just know, and love and this naked woman are two of them.

But there are a lot of things you don't know.



A woman may give you her body and her heart, but there are parts that she'll never give up. Pieces woven into the very fiber of her being. Mysteries only hinted at in a passing sly smile, an inscrutable laugh. These are the secrets of lovers past, hidden fantasies, and unshared longings. A woman's deepest secrets that don't -- and never will -- include you.



You're about to sample this hidden knowledge. But like any man who seeks, you'd better be prepared for what you're about to find.



1) My best friend knows everything. She knows all of your vitals -- from the size of your bank account to the size of your other, um, holdings -- and she knows how both compare with those of every other man I've ever dated. I have done a hand-comparison measurement so I can divulge size and girth with a high level of accuracy. When my friend smirks at you knowingly, you are not imagining it. She knows. So just know that she knows, and deal with it. (It's not going to change.)



Ask her about me, or chat with her about our relationship, at your own risk. She will tell me. Even -- in fact, especially -- if she promises not to. This is not always a bad thing (e.g., if you happen to be telling her how much you love me). But, in general, remember that she is my confidante first, and yours never.



2) Just looking at your hands can turn me on.



3) When you go away, even for a day, I sleep in your favorite old T-shirt because it smells like you.



4) I'll never tell you exactly how many men I've slept with. No matter how sincere I appeared when I answered your question, chances are I wasn't. As an unscientific guideline, when a woman says she's slept with four men, the real number is actually closer to seven. Her fib is partly intentional (she doesn't want to appear a floozy), but mostly it's sexual amnesia. When a woman wants to pretend an encounter never occurred, she simply scraps the man from her official score sheet. Common excuses that lead to such an omission: The actual sex lasted only a few thrusts; or she was drunk or on the rebound.



5) I fantasized about being with you at least a dozen times before we actually first got naked.