...Then you should listen up!
It comes as no shock that a toxin such as alcohol would have a prolonged effect on the body, however, on the topic of Osteoporosis, heavy alcohol consumption as an adolescent or even young adult can radically affect the growth of your bones from an early age, increasing the risk of being diagnosed with the crippling condition. Because calcium is an essential nutrient for a healthy bone structure, we need to properly absorb it in order for our bones to gain full strength as a young adult. Introducing alcohol reduces the effectiveness of the body from utilizing calcium to create strong bones. In some cases depending on how much alcohol is consumed versus how much calcium is in your daily diet, drinking alcohol will leech calcium from your system. If you are a regular drinker, for example 2 to 3 ounces (as little as 100ml) the stomach can become overly acidic which will reduce the effectiveness of calcium absorption. Primal Kaur, Osteoporosis specialist with Temple Uni Health System in Philadelphia, USA says that alcohol interferes with the pancreas and its absorption of calcium and Vitamin D, which helps with encouraging the body to properly absorb calcium. Women in particular can suffer from lowered estrogen levels, which can lead to irregular periods. With lowering estrogen levels, the bodies natural “bone remodelling” slows down, and can lead to bone degradation. To go along with the hormone changes, your stress receptor levels raise the cortisol levels in the body, which can create a spiral effect on your body where stress leads to drinking, and drinking leads to more stressors. Men will suffer similar effects on the body, where testosterone levels are lowered, which leads to lowered libido levels and a myriad of other issues that can arise which are also cortisol (stress) boosting, which again will lead to a potential bad cycle of stress and drinking alcohol. In both men and women, excess alcohol consumption kills off osteoblasts, which are known as the bone making cells. To add to the issue, the nutritional deficiencies from heavy drinking may lead to peripheral neuropathy (Nerve damage to your hands and feet). Heavy drinkers should be very careful as constant alcohol abuse can lead to a compromised balance, which will eventually lead to falls with a lowered bone structure. Want to access your risk of bone fractures? You can find bone density scans at an affordable price here! If you are worried, simply put your drinking on hold and go see a health professional, get a personal trainer to help with your fitness and resistance training. Just those couple of steps above can see the density of your bones can be partially restored and possibly start to increase again. If you’re a smoker, then your problems with your bones could be compounded and be even worse. Quitting both habits immediately is the best form of seeing your bones become healthy again. What you can take away from this post? You will not see the fruits of your habits for many years, but that does not mean you will not suffer later in life for today's choices. Be proactive now, so that you can be active in the future. Further Reading
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