July 2008 Mayo Clinic Health Letter Highlights Bone Health, Causes of Swelling and Slimmed-Dow...( ROCHESTER Minn. July 14 -- Here ...),Health

ROCHESTER, Minn., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Here are highlights from the July issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. You may cite this publication as often as you wish. Reprinting is allowed for a fee. Mayo Clinic Health Letter attribution is required. Include the following subscription information as your editorial policies permit: Visit http://www.HealthLetter.MayoClinic.com or call toll-free for subscription information, 1-800-333-9037, extension 9PR1.

Test Your Knowledge of Bone Health

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Knowing key facts about bone health can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become weak, brittle and prone to fracture. Bone loss that leads to osteoporosis often can be slowed by:

-- Getting adequate calcium and vitamin D

-- Doing weight-bearing exercise and strength training

-- Limiting alcohol consumption

-- Stopping smoking

The July issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter includes this short true-or-false quiz on bone health:

Being overweight reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

True: Weight has a powerful impact on bone mass. Because weight increases the load on your skeleton, bones compensate by growing stronger to support the weight. But the benefit isn't an excuse to gain weight or not to lose weight, for those who are overweight. Instead, thinner or smaller adults -- who have weighed less than 127 pounds for much of their lives -- tend to have lower bone density and may want to emphasize weight-bearing exercise such as walking or jogging to increase their skeletal load.

Taking testosterone isn't effective at warding off osteoporosis in older men.

False: Men with very low testosterone levels are at increased risk of osteoporosis and can perhaps improve their bone density with testosterone replacement. This therapy also may help men with low testosterone strengthen muscles an
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