On a Saturday evening in August 2004, I returned home from a long trip to hear some shocking news; a close family member had fallen on the sidewalk and broke his leg. Later I found out that he had sustained a break in his leg from a simple fall because he had osteoporosis. Several months later I received more news that another family member was also diagnosed with osteoporosis. What was this disease that had inflicted my family? I was told it was weak bones and at the time I had no inclination to learn more about it and went on with my life.

With time I became interested in volunteering opportunities and working with different non-profit organizations within my community. I discovered that Osteoporosis Canada was looking for volunteers and was offering health knowledge training. I became interested and signed up for the workshop where I had the opportunity to learn quite a lot about the disease.Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease characterized by weak bones predisposing a person to an increased risk of fractures. It gradually forms as we grow older due to low bone density and deterioration of bone tissue. So why should this topic concern us as Muslim youth? While most people around us may think that we own our bodies, the truth is that Allah (swt) has given us our bodies as a trust, in which we are responsible to strengthen and take care of to the best of our abilities. Health is a great bounty from Allah that we need to be thankful for and strive to maintain. It is of utmost importance that we take care of our health and do what is necessary to have strong bodies that can withstand the pressures and strain of life.

Osteoporosis is a type of disease that can happen very fast but if we take certain precautions and follow very simple daily routines we could turn that around and build a healthier and longer-lasting skeleton. While the list of things that can be done to prevent the disease is enormous, I would like to leave you with one instruction that will serve you well: drink milk. Milk and other dairy products such as yogurt and cheese are the best sources of calcium and calcium is a mineral that builds, develops and maintains strong bones. During childhood, adolescence and early adult years our body is constantly building bone but at a certain age this building eventually stops (usually at age 16 for females and 20 for males). After this point our bone mass begins to decrease and continues to do so until our eventual death. What we need to aim for is to reach a high level of bone mass before it starts diminishing and then maintain that level throughout our lives. This is why it is crucial for us to meet our recommended daily calcium requirement. Below is a table taken from Osteoporosis Canada’s website that shows how much calcium intake we need per day:

 

Age	Daily calcium requirement
4 to 8	800 mg
9 to 18	1300 mg
19 to 50	1000 mg
50+	1500 mg

 

One cup of milk (regardless of what type you drink) contains 300 mg of calcium. Our beloved Prophet (pbuh) used to love milk. It was related that he said, “When one of you eats food, he should say: ‘O Allah bless us in it, and give us food (or nourishment) better than it.’ When he is given milk to drink he should say: ‘O Allah bless us in it and give us more of it, for no food or drink satisfies like milk’.”[1] Consuming adequate quantities of milk is easy if we use a little creativity. There are many calcium-rich recipes that include milk in breakfast, lunch and dinner items. Unfortunately, many people replace milk with coffee and other caffeinated drinks.

I will leave you with a valuable trick. If you don't like to drink milk on its own, drink a cup of milk with something sweet, like a muffin, toast with jam or your favorite cake. Next time you stop at Tim Horton’s, try ordering a muffin (low fat of course) with an order of white milk instead of coffee and see how delicious and refreshing milk can be. If after all this, milk is just not your thing, try soy milk or calcium supplements. As I learnt the hard way, osteoporosis can have a very negative impact on our lives, so let us heed the call of Islam and ensure our bodies are healthy and strong.

For more information on Osteoporosis, please visit Osteoporosis Canada’s official website www.osteoporosis.ca

O Allah! Grant health to my body. O Allah! Grant health to my hearing. O Allah! Grant health to my sight.