THERE ARE many supplements on the market that promise to take care of one’s liver, heart, brain; improve blood flow; make skin look poreless. but how about bone health?

Read also9 myths of osteoporosis debunked

A recent study presented in Singapore by the International Osteoporosis Society and Fonterra, makers of Anlene Milk, showed that Filipinos — men and women — have the lowest bone health in Asia.

Judy Stenmark, IOF chief operating officer, listed some alarming facts in “The Asian Audit & Spinal fractures Report”: “Diminishing bone health can be detected as early as 25 years old; by 35, one in three people will be classified as ‘at risk of developing osteoporosis’; one in three women over 50 will experience fractures; and by 2050, 50 percent of all osteoporotic fractures will occur in Asia.”

Osteoporosis “is a disease in which bone become brittle and fragile from loss of minerals like calcium. Bone loss occurs ‘silently’ and progressively. there are no symptoms until the first fracture occurs, usually in the hip, spine and wrist,” said Joanne Todd, senior health platform manager for Fonterra Asia and Middle East.

Dr. Stuart Silverman, in his research “Protecting the Vitality of Asian Seniors,” called it “bone stroke.” The problem gets worse because most Asians think only Westerners get the disease.

“There are no symptoms, so it is not diagnosed until there is a fracture,” Stenmark said, adding that the number of hip fracture reports have gone up threefold in most Asian countries in the last 30 years. These cases have resulted in hospitalization, with 20 percent ending in fatalities and 50 percent in permanent disability.

One out of five people who get hip fracture dies within six months. and if prevention isn’t practiced, one out of three women, and one out of five men over 50, would have a fracture. For women, a fracture means more days spent in the hospitals than if they had diabetes or breast cancer.

Why Asians?

Filipino adults take less than half of the required daily calcium need — that’s 440 mg instead of the 1,000-1.3000 mg a day recommended allowance of the World Health Organization. Asians are not milk drinkers, either, which is a primary source of calcium needed to maintain good bones.

Lastly, they don’t get as much vitamin D, too, which is necessary for calcium absorption.

Stenmark attributes this to two things: “There are hardly dairy farms in the region, and Asians are mostly lactose-intolerant.”

Filipinos, especially, are wary of the costs of milk, and later on hospitalization when hip fracture occurs, leaving it untreated or dismissing it as a normal sign of aging.

Factors that cause osteoporosis include age, body build, medication, smoking and excessive alcohol intake, hormonal imbalance and premature menopause.

Free bone scans

Todd presents in another study, “A picture of bone health in Asia,” how Anlene has helped educate Asians about osteoporosis. Anlene, through its program “Anlene Bone Health Check,” has given over four million scans since 2009, serving 2.1 million people.

It is done using the GE Healthcare Lunar Achilles machine, which is approved by the US. The procedure is as easy as putting one’s foot down on the machine, which then squeezes the heel in between two small “balloons.” The results are printed within seconds.

From the bone scans done in three years, it was found out that bone health in women rapidly declines by age 50-55.

Filipino and Indonesian women and Indonesian and Vietnamese men have the lowest bone health.

The decline is fastest among Vietnamese women. Taiwanese and Singaporean women, meanwhile, have the best bone health.

New Zealand-based Fonterra launched Anlene in 1991, a milk clinically proven to prevent bone loss. Amanda Lyons, Fonterra communications head, said it invested $50 million on research to understand and improve bone health, and has also partnered with the International Osteoporosis Foundation, which has branches in 14 Asian countries.

How to prevent osteoporosis

There is no single cure for osteoporosis, so it is best to practice prevention by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Calcium is key. make sure you have enough of it by consuming milk and milk products, green vegetables, soft-boned fish and fruits.

A boost of vitamin D can be had with exposure to early sunlight, fortified milk products, oily fish, egg yolks.

Get enough protein, zinc and magnesium from lean red meat, green veggies, milk, soy and whole-grain products.

Get active and exercise; maintain ideal body weight.

Have regular bone scans.

Avoid too much coffee, soda and vitamin A.