What You Can do to Prevent Yourself From Shrinking

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http://mercola.com/2004/feb/18/height_loss.htm

 

 

What You Can do to Prevent Yourself From Shrinking

 

 

 

Height loss is a normal fact of aging, unfortunately people don’t notice it

when the decrements are small, and not all height loss is normal.

 

 

 

Studies show Americans lose between one and two inches between the ages of 30

and 70. However, people in their 30s tend to not notice the decrease in height.

In their 50s and 60s is when it becomes obvious, researchers say. One study,

conducted on men and women between the ages of 30 and 70, found that men lost an

average of 1 1/4 inches and women lost two inches in their height. When the

participants reached 80 years old, the loss had increased to two inches for the

men and three inches for the women.

 

There are two main reasons why people get shorter as they get older, our bones

and our disks. Most orthopedic surgeons and rheumatologists will say after a

person turns 30 years old, their bones get thinner, less dense and more porous.

The spine will become susceptible to microfractures, which are tiny breaks that

may go unnoticed.

 

These breaks happen in the vertebrae, and when this happens a person’s spine

becomes shorter. And as for the disks, which are also located in the vertebrae,

they start wearing out and they tend to flatten over the years.

 

If a person is experiencing painful and sudden height loss, this is not normal,

researchers say. In this case a person is most likely encountering an acute

compression fracture caused by osteoporosis--the thinning of the bones or loss

of bone density. This disease is the biggest cause of height loss and leads to

the microfractures that gradually shrink the spine and cause bad posture. The

contributors to osteoporosis are: a diet lacking in calcium or vitamin D,

smoking, too much alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, being underweight or having an

eating disorder, having a fair complexion and a family history of osteoporosis.

Fortunately, most of these negatives are things an individual can work on.

 

Researchers say losing less than an inch over a length of time is normal for

height loss but a loss of more than an inch over a length of time is indicative

of a medical problem.

 

Washington Post February 3, 2004

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Interestingly, I recently heard that the biggest fear men have about aging is

the possibility of getting shorter! Well, I believe that there are preventative

measures that can be taken that should help to alleviate this fear.

 

The article above says that height loss can happen as early as the 30s, but

people tend not to notice it when the decrements are small. Even though losing

an inch may be considered normalthere are some things you can do to prevent

yourself from shrinking:

 

 

Eat plenty of vegetables. They are full of pH-normalizing biochemical’s

designed to improve the health of your bones.

 

 

Take cod liver oil]. Not only is this full of vitamin D that will help you

absorb plenty of calcium, but the omega-3 fats will improve your omega 6:3 ratio

and that is a very powerful influence on bone health.

 

 

Eat plenty of vegetables high in vitamin K or take a good vitamin K supplement.

Vitamin K acts as the glue that puts the calcium into your bones.

 

 

Avoid drugs like steroids and Fosamax, which actually worsen your bone strength

over time

 

 

Related Articles:

 

Male Osteoporosis: A Silent Threat

 

Osteoporosis Linked to Alzheimer's

 

Eating Meat Does Not Cause Osteoporosis

 

Vitamin K May Help Build Strong Bones

 

Breakthrough Updates You Need to Know on Vitamin D

 

Fosamax Type Osteoporosis Drugs Noted to Cause Serious Eye Problems

 

Stroke Increases Your Risk of Osteoporosis and Death