DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- Drinking milk and engaging in regular weight-bearing exercise will help prevent brittle bones.

This was the advice of Dr. Matthew Rex Madayag, senior consultant at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

Madayag, a guest at the recent Kapihan sa PIA on October 20 at NCCC Mall VP, emphasized the importance of two health tips for maintaining strong bones. He noted that patients with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are common in their practice.

He said milk is rich in calcium, which is needed to have stronger bones, while weight- bearing exercise will stimulate the production of bones.

“That is why you will see people who are bedridden their bones are brittle,” Madayag said.

Also, exposure to sunlight will bring in vitamin D which helps in calcium absorption.

“When you say osteoporosis, it means brittle ang buto mo, sa Bisaya pa gabok imung bukog. ‘Pag meron ka osteoporosis madali ma-fracture ang buto,” he added.

Madayag said osteoporosis is a silent disease, as people do not know that they already have it.

“Very common siya sa mga babae na nag-menopause na. That is why makikita mo sa advertisements yung mga milk more on mga babae. ‘Pag mag me-menopause na mga babae after a few years dahan-dahan na maging brittle na ang bones nya,” Madayag said.

Another factor would be those taking steroids due to medical conditions such as asthma.

“Meron mga bata nagkaka osteoporosis, especially for those children who are using steroids. Meron mga bata na hubakon (asthmatic) nagapuff sila steroids or there are those who are into bodybuilding gusto nila magpalaki ng katawan and they are taking steroids; what will happen is eventually their bones will become brittle,” Madayag said.

He noticed that many youngsters nowadays prefer alcoholic beverages to milk.

“Milk is very important because of calcium and with vitamin D, like what we get in sunlight, so we can have stronger bones,” Madayag said.

“Papasok at lalabas (your message gets in and out), you really need to individualize para ma-encourage mo sila to have a healthy lifestyle and drink supplements to strengthen the bones,” Madayag said.

Meanwhile, he noticed a positive development in the number of young Filipinos engaging in exercises like joining fun runs, hiking trails, or being into sports.

“Marami ako nakikita nag fu-funrun, or playing basketball or volleyball, these are weight-bearing exercises that will stimulate osteoblasts in bone production,” Madayag said. (RGA/PIA Davao)