What does menopause have to do with my bones? 

Menopause affects your bones negatively because you no longer produce estrogen like you used to. The hormone estrogen, specifically estradiol, helps protect and maintain the strength of your bones. Women produce estradiol during their childbearing years. It also protects your cardiovascular system.   

Menopause is the time of your final menstrual cycle. 

Stages of menopause  

• Premenopause is the time of your first menstrual cycle in your teens until perimenopause appears. The body produces estradiol, the bone-protective estrogen.  

• Perimenopause surfaces up to several years before menopause and ends one year after the last menstrual cycle. This time is typically accompanied by symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes, and irregular periods. 

Fluctuating hormones (estrogen and others) cause a rise in the action of osteoclasts, resulting in bone breaking down faster. This may result in decreased bone mineral density. The lower estrogen also reduces calcium absorption from the foods you eat.  

Women could be in perimenopause and not have any noticeable symptoms at all, smoothly going through the transition. Estrogen levels begin to decline, and bone loss starts to occur as you move toward menopause.  

• Menopause is the cessation of your menstrual cycle, and it usually occurs between the ages of 45 to 55 years. You know that you have reached this stage if you have not had a period for 12 consecutive months after your last menstrual cycle.   

At this stage, the only estrogen produced by the body is estrone, a weaker form of estrogen that is less bone-protective. Lower estrogen levels cause a decrease in osteoblast activity, resulting in less bone building.  

• Postmenopause begins twelve months following menopause.  

The average age of menopause is 51 years.  

One of estrogen’s many roles as a hormone is to regulate the remodeling of our skeleton. It protects our bones from breaking down and losing bone mineral density.   

Researchers have learned that the loss of estrogen that occurs with menopause is a major cause of osteoporosis. Still, further research is ongoing to understand how estrogen impacts bones fully.   

Nutrition and exercise are both key factors in maintaining strong bones and promoting healing.   

Added to resistance exercise, bone-building nutrients give you the tools you need to prevent a broken bone. You can find them in animal and plant foods.  

Any movement helps you keep your bones strong. Resistance exercise (strength training) gives you the most benefit for bone building as it stresses your bones, making them denser to help you perform the moves.  

Weight-bearing cardio exercise can protect your bones. Walking, jogging, and hiking are excellent examples of these activities. Flexibility exercises, such as yoga, help your muscles become pliable and resilient.  Lastly, core exercises like Pilates help maintain your balance, allowing you to avoid falls.  

Several nutrients, not just calcium, are necessary for optimal bone mineral density.   

Some of the necessary nutrients and example foods are  

Protein  

• Lentils  

• Chicken  

• Eggs  

Vitamin D  

• Some fatty fish  

• Dairy and some plant milks  

• UV treated mushrooms  

Potassium  

• Potatoes  

• Oranges  

• Blackberries  

Magnesium  

• Nuts  

• Leafy Greens  

• Beans  

Calcium  

• Broccoli  

• Soymilk  

• Almonds  

Vitamin C  

• Strawberries  

• Peppers  

• Tomatoes  

If you have ever broken a bone, you wanted the pain to go away, the injury to heal quickly and correctly, and you never wanted it to happen again! Stephanie recalls being in her late thirties when she broke her big toe. She did not have osteoporosis.  

Wearing flip-flops and briskly climbing a few concrete steps to get to the neighborhood mailbox kiosk, she rammed her big toe into the top step. OUCH!   

Falling to the floor in severe pain, she instantly knew she had broken it. She was able to make it home. Throbbing in pain, her toe doubled in size. Now in the ER, her foot was x-rayed to confirm the fracture. She would be given a boot to wear.  

So, for the next six long weeks, Stephanie could not run, dragged around in a hot boot in muggy weather, and could only do non-weight-bearing exercises. The days were exhausting. She was miserable! 

Once healed, she returned to running, but it was like starting all over again. She could not run as long or as quickly as she had before her injury. She began alternating between walking and running for several weeks. Slowly, she was able to build back up to her usual five-mile runs. That was hard.   

This was one small broken bone in a young person. Imagine how a hip fracture would impact the life of an older person.  

A woman with low bone mass (osteopenia) or osteoporosis increases her risk for a fracture from a simple fall, and the breaks are often seen in the wrist, hip, or spine. A woman with strong bones would not be likely to break a bone from a fall.   

Broken bones in women with severe osteoporosis, a condition characterized by very porous bones, can result from even minor movements, such as twisting, bending, or coughing.  

Osteoporosis was predicted to cause roughly two million broken bones in 2005. It was estimated that this number will rise to more than three million each year by 2025. About one in four patients over the age of 50 die within the first year following a hip fracture.    

When Stephanie broke her toe, she wore a boot and continued with her daily activities, minus the running. The only long-term concern was the possibility of arthritis in her toe. But, when a postmenopausal woman breaks a hip, the healing process is daunting.  

The woman’s entire life is turned upside down. The person with the broken bone and her loved ones’ lives are impacted. Her life revolves around healing and recovery.  

Menopause impacts our bones because we lose the bone-protecting hormone estrogen. Many women also begin to move less than they did when they were younger, which can weaken their bones.  

Food habits may also change. All of these imbalances contribute to the development of osteoporosis. To ensure your bones are protected after menopause, be sure to include all the food groups to obtain vital nutrients and engage in various physical activity exercises.