Test for Osteoporosis at home (one pinch)

Men and women over the age of 50 have an increased risk of osteoporosis, but many people with this condition don’t know that they have it until they break their first large bone.

According to recent research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm, you can check your osteoporosis by pinching your skin.

Body fat plays a complex role in bone health. This is mainly because it secretes hormones, some of which produce inflammation and thereby poor bone strength.

This made researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece wonder whether different types of fat could be linked to bone strength and quality.

To find out, they conducted a study involving 115 people, mostly women, with an average age of 62. These participants didn’t have osteoporosis, but they were all somewhat at risk because of their age.

After measuring the type of fat their participants carried, together with the strength of their spines, they discovered some interesting relationships.

1. People with more arm fat tended to have weaker spines.

2. The more fat people had deep inside their abdomen (called visceral fat), the poorer the quality of their spines’ trabecular bone – the spongy part of the bone. This bone quality is crucial because it can predict the risk of fractures.

3. These findings held even when their overall body mass index was normal.

This proves what they thought they might find. Body fat, even in people who qualify as normal-weight, poses a risk for bone health, probably because of the destructive effects of low-grade inflammation on bones.

This means that arm fat might be a practical and inexpensive way to gauge bone health. Using simple tools like skin-fold calipers, which are available for home use and likely accessible at your local gym, you can find out whether you are at risk of spinal fractures and osteoporosis.

This is much cheaper and more accessible than current techniques for diagnosing osteoporosis, such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.

So, what does this mean for you?

If you’re over 50, keep an eye on your arm and belly fat to make sure that it doesn’t get out of control.

Even better, an exercise program that targets both visceral and arm fat could be beneficial for your bone health. This should ideally include both resistance and aerobic training. And remember to include your arms, such as rowing, rope jumping, boxing, and swimming.

But, if you already suffer osteoporosis, cutting body fat is not going to help (and may even be harmful). Instead, you should take the few all-natural steps explained here. Thousands of readers have already done this to reverse their osteoporosis and build stronger bones…