Osteoporosis: pathophysiology and non-pharmacological management

Osteoporosis is the disease of progressive bone loss that is most often associated with ageing and the post-menopausal state in women. All people, men and women, lose bone mass with advancing age, but in some the loss is so great that the skeleton is unable to maintain optimal structural integrity and the result is susceptibility to fractures, particularly of the hip and spine. The condition is increasing dramatically in prevalence as the numbers of elderly in the population increase. In this chapter, the epidemiology, clinical features and current modes of non-pharmacological management of osteoporosis are reviewed, with discussion of the potential of nutraceuticals and functional foods to influence the course of the disease.