Time to Consider Calcium Supplementation
January 5, 2007 by Kristen King
Filed under Women's Health
In addition to building strong bones and staving off osteoporosis, adequate calcium intake can also help you maintain muscle tone and function, activate enzymes that help your cells function normally, and reduce the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension. A more complete list of the benefits of calcium is available here.
According to the National Institutes of Health Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet,
Because bone loss, like bone growth, is a gradual process, the stronger your bones are at age 30, the more your bone loss will be delayed as you age. Therefore, it is particularly important to consume adequate calcium and vitamin D throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. It is also important to engage in weight-bearing exercise to maximize bone strength and bone density (amount of bone tissue in a certain volume of bone) to help prevent osteoporosis later in life.
So why is this on my mind?
Because this week I thought I broke a rib. No, I wasn’t in a car accident. Nor did I have a fall. I twisted funny in the car the other day and have been in excruciating pain ever since. In that moment, all the times I turned down milk in favor of iced tea came rushing back to me.
Fortunately, it turns out that my rib is merely bruised and surrounded by strained muscles, which is a good thing, but the thought that I could have actually broken my own rib at the age of 24 was and continues to be seriously disturbing. Guess who can’t stop drinking milk all of a sudden!
Have you ever had a minor health scare that could have meant something bigger?
Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King
We have calcium on the brain today – I just posted about it, too. Now go have some almonds!
We’re like MIND TWINS! :]
kk
I’m sorry to hear about your rib – I hope it heals quickly!
Thanks for drawing attention to osteoporosis – it is an important women’s health issue. I’ve added calcium to my vitamin regimen and started weight training. I’m afraid of osteoporosis because soda depletes the body’s calcium. Like many other people my age, I grew up drinking soda and still can’t quite kick the habit. People need to be aware of how important calcium is, especially when they are young and can really increase their bone strength.