Osteoporosis— can bone health clash with IBS?

Have you ever suffered back pain? Have you ever suffered from weak bones where you feel like you’re about to collapse? Well it is likely that you are experiencing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones becomes weak and fragile and having osteoporosis definitely affects our daily lives and it can results events such as falling out of your bed or chair and trip or fall over while you are walking due to bones are been broken which could leads to disability, loss of independence, chronic pains and potentially premature death.

How we can prevent of having osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis has a significant risk when we age and maintaining a strong bone as we age will help us minimise the risks of having osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can be prevented through diet and lifestyle as adequate nutrition and appropriate lifestyle are imperative in maintaining a strong and healthy bone throughout our lives. It is essential to take regularly exercise activities as it helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis by helping the bone to become stronger and prevents bone loss. Smoking and alcohol intake are also a major risk factor for osteoporosis.  Avoiding smoking and drinking alcohol in moderation are also important in minimising the risk of osteoporosis.

Diet for osteoporosis 

Diet plays an imperative part in preventing osteoporosis as good and adequate nutrition helps to improve your bone health. The key nutrients that are needed in order to strengthen bone health are calcium and vitamin D.

Calcium

Low calcium intake is a major problem for people who suffer with osteoporosis as constant lack of calcium in our everyday diet can promotes the development of osteoporosis which involves with decreased bone density and early bone loss which could leads to increased risk of fractures, and therefore incorporates adequate calcium in our diet is crucial to prevent the risk of osteoporosis.

Foods that are high in calcium include all dairy products, canned seafood such as canned salmon and canned sardines with bones, dark green leafy vegetables and soy products such as tofu. Calcium fortified foods is also very trendy on the market in the recent years and they are also a great source of calcium as well, and many of our breakfast foods can be found in calcium fortified version as well such as calcium fortified almond and soy milks, orange juices and cereals. If calcium is difficult to obtain in the diet then it is important to speak to your doctor or dietitian about implementing calcium supplements in the diet in order to meet the adequate amount of calcium intake throughout the day. However, try always prioritising fresh calcium rich foods first before considering calcium supplements.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D also plays an important part of minimise the risk of osteoporosis as vitamin D helps to improve bone health by helping the body to increase the amount of the calcium that your body can take, which it is known as the bone strengthening nutrient.

Ways to improve vitamin D intake and maintain an adequate amount of vitamin D in the body is to eat foods rich in vitamin D and frequent exposure to sunlight. Most people that have a vitamin D deficiency may be related to a lack of sunlight exposure and therefore having daily exposure to sunlight (safely with sunscreen) may increase the amount of vitamin D in your body and therefore minimise the risk of developing osteoporosis. There are also many vitamin D rich foods that can be incorporated into our diet such as oily fishes and eggs, and vitamin D supplements can also be implemented into the diet if it is difficult to incorporate through natural foods and sunlight exposures however it is recommended to use natural sources to increase vitamin D intake rather than supplements.

Relationship between osteoporosis and IBS

People that have diagnosed with IBS are recommended the low FODMAP diet, which includes a low lactose diet.  Regular dairy products may thus be limited due to the presence of lactose (the sugar found in dairy products). So you might be wondering if people with IBS have increased risk of developing osteoporosis? The answer is yes, because if individuals with IBS reduce their intake of dairy products, their calcium intake would significantly decrease.  A lack of calcium intake may lead to an increased risk of osteoporosis.

Tips and recommendations for IBS patients to prevent osteoporosis

Although it is important to get your daily calcium intake, it is also important to minimise the triggering symptoms for those with IBS. In order to minimise IBS symptoms triggered by lactose and the risk of osteoporosis in those with IBS, it is recommended to consume lactose free dairy products, calcium fortified or any calcium or vitamin D rich foods that are low FODMAP. For instance, lactose free milk and low FODMAP cheeses are a great way to get your calcium intake, reducing the worry about triggering IBS symptoms. For example, Liddells Lactose Free Milk provides 38% of calcium daily intake per serve and 1 standard serve is around 1 glass which is 250mL. Many of the plant based milk such as almond milk and rice milk also have the calcium fortified options.

Low FODMAP cheeses include cheddar and mozzarellas are great dairy products and they are rich in calcium.  Many dark green leafy vegetables are also low FODMAP and contain calcium. Apart from calcium, it is also important to consume the adequate amount of vitamin D in our diet. Examples are oily fishes and eggs, which are great sources of vitamin D that are also low FODMAP.

For low FODMAP foods download the FODMAP Friendly App, available for Apple /iPhones and Android.

FODMAP Friendly Certified Products

There are many products on the market these days that are FODMAP Friendly certified to help those with IBS and on the low FODMAP diet to Eat and shop with Confidence.

Liddells Lactose Free have a great milk, cheese and yoghurt range. Liddells tasty cheese slices and Liddells parmesan cheeses are also lactose free and rich in calcium as the 1 slice of Liddells tasty cheese slices provides 158g of calcium which is 20% of the recommended daily intake and 25g of Liddells parmesan cheese provides 242g of calcium which is 30% of the recommended daily intake. Therefore, these products are suitable for those with IBS to consume to get their recommended daily calcium intake to minimise the risk of developing osteoporosis in the future.

In Summary

Osteoporosis has become a concerning issue in our populations as it impacts many lives in many ways due to bones being weak and not functioning properly. Minimise the risks of osteoporosis by eating the right food through a well-balanced diet including calcium rich foods. Use the FODMAP Friendly App to help with serve sizes (Google Play for Android or Apple for iPhones). To find out how to appropriately manage osteoporosis and IBS, speak to your doctor and FODMAP-trained Dietitian as they are professionally trained and are able to help you appropriately manage those symptoms.

Written by: Steven Cui, Student Dietitian
Reviewed by: Kiarra Martindale, Accredited Practising Dietitian