How to Build Strong Bones

Don’t wait for that dreaded bone-weakening disease to strike. The good news: you can reverse bone losses with diet, exercise and medication

I woke up one morning with a nagging pain in my upper back. When a few weeks of rubbing balm didn’t help, I consulted an orthopaedic doctor.

He learnt after asking me a few questions—and so did I—that I had all along been getting too little calcium in my diet. A bone mineral density test soon afterwards shocked me: I had osteopenia, or early-stage osteoporosis that can lead to full blown osteoporosis if left untreated. I’d always believed osteoporosis—a disease where bones weaken and become porous and brittle—afflicted only the elderly. Read the rest of this entry »