A few tips to prevent osteoporosis and keep your bones strong

After about age 30, the body breaks down old bone faster than it can build new bone. That's why prevention of osteoporosis is so important. Get crackin' before your bones do!

Since the hormone estrogen works to keep bones strong, women have even more rapid bone loss after about age 50 or when they reach menopause. While about 60 percent of your bone density is determined by genetics, that still leaves 40 percent within your control.

• Bone is constantly being built up by cells called osteoblasts and broken down by cells called osteoclasts, until about your 30s, when you reach "peak bone mass."
• From about age 50 onwards, as levels of estrogen in women and testosterone in men drop, you begin to lose bone.

None. Osteoporosis is typically identified with a bone density scan or when you fracture a bone — but you shouldn't wait for that to happen.

• Everyone should have a bone scan at least once by age 65, or earlier if your doctor recommends it.

If you're a postmenopausal woman with a high risk of osteoporosis — because it runs in your family, you're underweight, Caucasian, you smoke or used to smoke, you don't get much weight-bearing exercise, or you have been using corticosteroids for diseases like asthma or arthritis — talk to your doctor about available medications.

• These drugs do have side effects, so know their risks and benefits.

Bone up on calcium:

• If you're not getting enough calcium in your diet, your body steals what it needs from your bones, putting you at risk for osteoporosis. Some ways to get calcium from diet include: cereal with milk; plain low-fat yogurt; greens such as kale, soybeans; sardines; fortified orange juice; low-fat soft cheese like ricotta; cornbread; smoothies.
• Four dairy servings will get you to 1,200 milligrams. Getting calcium from food is best, but you may also consider calcium supplements. You should take two daily doses of 600 milligrams, which is about all the body can absorb at one time. Calcium citrate is the form which is absorbed better.

Get your vitamin D:

• It helps the body use calcium. Sunlight is the best source but because we use sunblock these days, we can run low.
• In addition, as you age, your body's ability to synthesize the vitamin from sunlight fades, so consider taking a daily supplement of 400 IU of vitamin D, especially if you live in a northern climate.

Do weight-bearing exercise:

• It's the kind of exercise that taxes your muscles (and your bones), such as lifting weights or jogging. Even walking also helps.
• Postmenopausal women who walked for four or more hours a week had a 40 percent lower risk of hip fracture than those who walked an hour or less a week.

Beware depression:

• If you have even mild depression your bones may suffer. Premenopausal women with mild depression have less bone mass than women of the same age who aren't depressed. Some experts suggest that depression should be an early symptom of osteoporosis.

Stop smoking:

• You're probably sick of hearing this advice, but if you want to save your bones, it's time to stamp out the butts. Smoking increases the risk of a spinal fracture by 13 percent in women and 32 percent in men.
• Once you quit, that risk begins to drop almost immediately.

Eat spinach:

• Spinach is packed with vitamin K, an often-forgotten vitamin important for preventing fractures. You can get about one milligram of calcium from a 250 milligrams (one cup) of greens, including kale, collards, turnip and beet greens.

Most people don't think about osteoporosis until after they have had an accident and broken a bone. As you get older, this is much more dangerous than when you were younger. Integrate these simple tips into your everyday lifestyle and help prevent bone-breaks later on in life.