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Osteoporosis can be intimidating and inhibiting. The prospect that a simple fall could break your hip or wrist can make you watch every step you take. Fear can replace the freedom to do all the things you love.

The two major risk factors for osteoporosis are being a woman and having passed through menopause. In the years after menopause, women can lose up to one-fifth of their bone mass. But men aren't immune to the disease. Two million American men have osteoporosis and one in four over age 50 will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture.

In Osteoporosis: A guide to prevention and treatment, Harvard Medical School doctors will show you the positive, proactive, and practical steps you can take to protect your bones now and in the years ahead. You will be alerted to red flags that signal you're at greater risk for a broken bone. You'll be warned about medications that hasten bone loss. And you'll find out if you should have your bone density checked -- and which tests are the best.

The report will show you the importance of getting calcium from food and vitamin D from sunlight.
You'll learn about other bone-protective strategies, too, including specific exercise routines, and discover some surprising foods that help weaken bones.

Osteoporosis is not inevitable. The good news is there's a lot you can do to shield your bones from this disease. And the sooner you act, the better off you -- and your bones -- will be.