Bone Loss in Space
For as long as humans have been in space, bone loss studies have been done. Astronauts spending months in space lose significant bone strength. This was evident with studies done on thirteen astronauts who spent five months on the International Space Station. It was analyzed that the astronaut’s hipbone strength decreased by about fourteen percent; some even faced loses of twenty to thirty percent! It is estimated that for every month of service on the ISS there is a three percent decrease in bone strength.
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Recent studies show that being in space weakens bones, draining its density one to two percent per month. This study also shows that because the body does not need to support its weight the dismantling of bone tissues is at a faster pace than on earth.
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Recently because of these mass research findings in space, NASA has developed osteoporosis medicine and implemented the idea of space exercise. These implementations were quite effective as recent studies showed, because astronauts who were exercising and taking medicines showed a bone loss that was negligible.
Along with these implementations researchers also found that accelerated bone loss in space is tied directly to the astronaut’s consumption of salt. Studies looking closely at the concentration of an astronaut’s blood and urine were able to determine their sodium levels. This data was later analyzed along with the bone loss of the astronauts.
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It turns out that sodium can change the body’s acid balance and change the bone’s metabolism. This change was found to be damaging to the bone as the more salt in one’s body the quicker one’s bones deteriorated. This finding is seen as a big deal because now scientists know how to better deal with the world’s osteoporosis problems and how to improve the dietary habits of space goers.
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