Young women who repeatedly miss their periods, and are not pregnant, may be developing premature ovarian failure and should see their doctors sooner rather than later.
Premature ovarian failure occurs when a woman's ovaries stop producing hormones at an abnormally early age -- usually before age 40. Women with this condition stop menstruating and face increased bone loss over time, leading to a higher risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis and an increased risk of bone fractures.
Roughly 1% of US women experience ovarian failure by age 40, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Most women with the disease may overlook missed menstrual periods as being medically important, thus delaying the diagnosis of premature ovarian failure and treatment to prevent bone thinning.
The delay in evaluating and treating ovarian insufficiency may place young women at increased risk of developing osteoporosis in later years.
But about half of the women interviewed said they did not view missing their period as an important health issue and that they did not fully appreciate that the ovary is an important source of hormones.
More than half of the women reported having seen three or more different doctors before being diagnosed with premature ovarian failure, and one in four of the woman said it took longer than 5 years for them to be diagnosed with the condition.
In the statement, Nelson points out that it is relatively easy to detect ovarian failure with a blood test for FSH, a reproductive hormone that is usually elevated above 20.
Obstetrics & Gynecology May 2002;99:720-725
To hear this story on the news, you would probably think a bone density scan and perhaps an expensive prescription were necessary steps in "protecting your bones". The problem is these "poisons" don't work very well, and they don't address the cause.
The major key is to start early.
The earlier you start, the more time you have to build really strong bones. If more women began thinking about their bones during childhood, the likelihood of premature ovarian failure would be very low.
What is the best way to enhance bone density?
EAT MORE VEGETABLES!
Ideally, a person should eat one pound of vegetables for every fifty pounds of body weight. While this may seem overwhelming, my juicing plan is an excellent way to increase the amount of vegetables one consumes. Vegetables are critical for two reasons:
Vegetables likely help improve density for two main reasons.
First, they neutralize the acidity of our body. To much acid forces us to deplete minerals in our bones to create a balance. Over time, this loss of bone minerals can weaken bones to the point osteoporosis sets in. Vegetables provide the alkalinizing power to keep the minerals in your bone.
Second, vegetables contain vitamin K. This is the key to plugging calcium back into the bone. Vitamin K is probaly more important than calcium and vitamin D for improving bone density. Without it your body cannot absorb calcium into your bone matrix.
Vegetables provide vitamin K directly as phylloquinone. It promotes the growth of healthy intestinal flora which produces menaquinone - vitamin K produced by bacteria. Both forms of vitamin K are essential in building bone density.
I have compiled all the literature I need to publish my book on osteoporosis. The only thing missing is the time to translate from medical jargon to simple language everyone can understand. My goal is to complete it, but implementation of my new site has taking precedence.
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