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Page 37
| Calcium Alert |
| Getting enough calcium is essential, both for maintaining a healthy body now and for reducing the future risk of osteoporosis; older women are particularly vulnerable to this brittle-bone disease, which can make your bones break as easily as twigs. |
| Although calcium is found in a wide variety of foods, it can be tricky to get enough because your body can't utilize it unless it has enough of other nutrients, such as phosphorus and magnesium, and hormones, such as estrogen. And any of the following can interfere with its absorption: |
| consuming caffeine (more than two cups of coffee a day), soda, or alcohol (more than two glasses of wine or one mixed drink a day) |
| smoking |
| eating large amounts of protein |
| eating lots of salty foods |
| The RDA for people over twenty-five is 800 milligrams, but the National Institutes of Health advocates an optimal intake of 1,000 milligrams for both men and women, and 1,500 for women who are pregnant or postmenopausal (and not on hormone replacement therapy). |
| The best bet is to eat a diet high in calcium-rich foods and take a calcium supplement to be sure you're getting all you need. There are many low-fat, high-nutrition choices: |
| vegetables such as kale and broccoli |
| low-fat yogurt and skim milk |
| mineral water, which contains calcium |
| Another important factor is exercise: weight-bearing exercise such as walking, running, biking, and weight-training help keep your bones strong. And be sure to get out in the sunlight whenever you canexposure to the sun makes your body produce vitamin D, which helps you absorb calcium. |
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