World Osteoporosis Day is a key date in the bone field. It’s an occasion when people around the globe unite to put the spotlight on the immense global burden caused by osteoporosis.
Prof. Cyrus Cooper, President IOF
October 20 is World Osteoporosis Day. WHO set this date in 1997 in order to raise public interest in the control of one of the most common diseases in the world ̶ osteoporosis. Today, every third woman and every fifth man on the planet at the age of 50 and older suffers from osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is destruction of bones in the whole body, when bones become weak and fragile, consequently breaking easily ̶ as a result of a slight fall or even just movement. Fractures caused by osteoporosis can be life-threatening or cause disability. But the disease is severe in itself, not only by its consequences: the destruction of joints and bones leads to constant pain, which is most strongly felt when moving, gradually depriving a person of the ability to move in a full way.
The causes of osteoporosis are different. Some take calcium supplements, suggesting that osteoporosis is caused by a lack of it. But one of the reasons for the development of osteoporosis may be the fact that we consume too little vitamin D. Of course, calcium is necessary in the presence of osteoporosis, as a building material for bones, but it may not be absorbed in the body if there is a lack of vitamin D.
If you want to reduce the possibility of developing osteoporosis, you should maintain a level of vitamin D in the blood of at least 30 ng/ml. Vitamin D supplementation in the form of cholecalciferol at the rate of 1500-4000 IU per day or 50,000 IU 1-2 times per month can help you.