Everything you need to know about bone health

I felt sick. "This is why you had this scan now and not in 10 years," Saini reassured me. "You are still young. If you change some things now, you can slow the progression quite a bit."

Her advice was clear: I had to increase my daily intake of calcium to 1,500 milligrams a day and vitamin D to 1,000 mg daily, add omega-3 fatty acids, and eat more cereals, low-fat dairy and fish (to get more of the omega-3s), while avoiding deep-fried foods, salt and alcohol.

She also suggested load-bearing exercises such as running and weights, to strengthen my bones. It sounded doable, but not radical enough. After all, I have two small children, a mortgage and every intention of waging spitball wars with my grandkids when the time comes. My research showed that red meat, saturated fats, sugar and refined carbohydrates encourage chronic inflammation, an insidious condition linked to everything from cancer to inflammatory bowel disease and, yes, osteoporosis.

I eat well, but there was room for improvement, so I added tofu, more fish, low-fat yogurt, soy milk and the Greens+ Bone Builder formula, which contains three highly absorbable forms of calcium, magnesium and phytonutrients, to my diet.

Next stop, the sports store. I bought a pair of runners and headed out the door. It was a disaster. Like most former couch potatoes roused from stupor by impending health disasters, I thought running involved…well, just up and running. After two kilometres, I staggered home to flop on the couch and pout about sports injuries. But I was determined. I got my buddy Scott (a triathlete) to advise me about distance, speed and heart rate, then borrowed his copy of John Stanton's The Running Room's Book on Running (RR Publishing Inc., 2006). (Memo to self: Return Scott's book!)

By my third run, I was hooked. True, I was still logging just five kilometres a few times a week, but I started to think about myself differently. I set personal course times. I joined a gym, did weights and noticed my posture, muscle tone and skin all improve. On days I couldn't run, I felt a twinge of envy when others jogged past me. To keep myself motivated and challenged, I entered charity races.

Now, several hundred kilometres and a few pairs of runners later, I have discovered something else about myself. Listening to the steady thud, thud, thud of my shoes as I run along quiet country roads near my home, I no longer feel the threat of osteoporosis. Yes, it's still there. But if anyone asks, I don't run because I have low bone density. I just tell them I'm a runner.

Editor’s note:
Osteoporosis and osteopenia can develop at any age as a result of celiac disease, whereby nutrients such as calcium cannot be absorbed by the body.  Even in the absence of typical celiac symptoms – such as vomiting or diarrhea - you should ask your doctor for the blood screening test for celiac disease because calcium supplements and regular exercise will not solve the malabsorption problem if you have celiac disease.
- Source: Janet Dalziel, Canadian Celiac Association

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Read more:
• Recipes that are rich in Vitamin D
• How to start your own walking or running regimen
• How to prevent osteoporosis and get stronger bones