Effective & Trusted Medications Guide » 2008 » April
Calcium is vital, calcium is crucial and calcium is extremely indispensable to the proper functioning of the very framework of your “physical membrane” – your muscles, your bones, joints and your nervous system. The lack of Calcium in your day-to-day diet and consequently –> in your body –> will automatically provoke washing-it-outta your bones with its further processing for the benefit of muscles, nerves and pH balance health. But the truth is we can only allow our bones to fearlessly share Calcium whenever there is abundance of it. And it’s our duty to provide them with the inexhaustible Calcium source.
Below is presented the List of the Main Easy-to-get and Easy-to-use Dietary Calcium Sources.
- Milk of the Cow and all of its derivative Dairy Products are the #1 widely- known and -consumed dietary source of calcium. To give an example – 1 glass of cow’s milk contains 276 mg calcium! Nutrition experts’ and healthcare professionals’ recommendations run up to at least 3 portions of dairy every day.
Now, what about people intolerant to lactose? What about them dairy-rejecting bodies, allergic to cow’s milk? Of course, there is no such option as compulsively stuffing them with potentially health-threatening substances…
Alternative sources of calcium are needed and alternative sources of calcium are available! Actually, a whole bunch of them!
Milk-drinker & dairy-consumer or not – you are offered a variety of calcium-rich foods to add to your diet:
- Sardines – 92 mg calcium in each single sardine.
- Baked Beans – 154 mg calcium in 1cup-size of baked beans.
- Collard Greens – 266 mg calcium in 1 cup-size of collard greens.
- Canned Salmon – 181 mg calcium in 3 ounces of canned salmon fish. Not to mention it is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Green Peas – 94 mg calcium in 1 cup-size of green peas.
- Oranges – 72 mg calcium in 1 cup-size of sweet and juicy orange sections.
- Goat Milk – those preferring goat’s milks’ easier-to-digest properties should know that there is 327 mg calcium in 1 glass of goat’s milk. And don’t forget to try out the delicious cheese made from goat’s milk!
- Kale – 92 mg calcium in 1 cup-size of chopped kale leaves.
However, if you don’t have access to or have love for all of the mentioned above enriched in calcium foods - you can always get all the calcium you need from Calcium Supplements! Accordingly to nutrition experts’ recommendations the dosage of calcium taken daily should neither drop under 1,000 mgs nor exceed 1,500 mgs.
A few ‘Keep your bones healthy’ tips
To a certain extent, maintaining good health simply means avoiding health-damaging activities and doings. Keeping up proper calcium levels is no exception to the rule… If you do not want them to drastically drop down:
- Don’t smoke!
- Don’t drink Cola-like beverages!
- Don’t stuff your stomach with junk foods!
- Don’t couch-potato! Some exercising would do your bones and joints and muscles only good!
Remember! Your body is not a garbage can…
Hurt it – and it will hurt you back!
‘The Science of Good Health’ has always been an issue of high interest from the early days of human existence. Remain healthy, develop a strong body and extend its life span – isn’t that everybody’s dream? The dilemma of “how to reach that ideal?” has puzzled millions of minds throughout history and still does today. New body-rejuvenating and body-reinforcing approaches/techniques keep popping up every day!
However, attaining and maintaining a perfectly shaped, healthy and long-living body is no easy task. Of course, the mix of genetics + good nutrition habits + regular physical work-out may represent the “it-must-be-it” miracle-recipe BUT! … that alone does not necessarily guarantee a successful outcome. Sometimes, no matter how hard we exercise, how dietically correct we eat and how good our genetic heritage is – that great body-shape we daydream of remains as unattainable as the horizon itself. Getting rid of extra pounds or gaining muscle mass will always amount to 2 words: “Hard Work!” There is just no way you can escape it… But! complementing it with a few reliable and time-tested helpers such as good night’s sleep and bodybuilding supplements will definitely soften the process.
What does bodybuilding supplements represent? - Essential nutrients to be taken internally (mostly) – just about everything you might need to enhance your athletic potential, ability and performance. Those can be vitamins, minerals, synthetic (man-made) drugs and hormones sold over-the-counter under the form of ingesting pills, capsules, powders or liquids.
Now, only to think that not so long ago it was taboo-like to even consider using nutritional bodybuilding supplements!! Why?? Because of the lack of information trainers as well as athletes disposed of at the time. The last couple of decades, however, brought bodybuilding supplements significant and totally due recognition. Advanced scientific and financial investment into the field of nutrition and dietary supplements lead to creation and further manufacturing of better and better products. Besides, a giant leap was made in the public awareness area. People are no longer undereducated and informationless. They are fully and widely acknowledged of all the benefits the newborn ‘nutritional supplementing’ tendency grants.
Diet-enhancing Supplements
Whenever you are on a strict diet – taking bodybuilding supplements will help you avoid unwanted muscle wasting. Pro-Anabolics, for instance, will happily accomplish this task.
Modern athletes, police officers, football players from all around the world are consuming protein shakes, omega 3 fatty acids and swallowing vitamin-, amino acid- tablets to enhance their body physical appearance and stamina + promote quick recovery and proper management of body’s energy resources.
Where else, in what circumstances and to what extent could bodybuilding supplements “fit it” and improve your game?
Let’s say you have to lose some weight for an important near-future match… Instead of condemning yourself to over-exhaustive night-&-day trainings – you can ask your nutritionist to start you on a couple of months long diet with the implementation of proper-to-your-case supplements. The results will at the least astonish you!
Attention! This is by no means an advocacy of a purely ‘bodybuilding supplements’-ingestion nutrition scheme. For that would be a direct path to disaster. Human body requires all kinds of foods to keep up the good work and get all of the “mechanisms” running smoothly.
Remember! All dietary and body-building nutritional supplements should only be used as an advantageous add-on to the previously and accurately elaborated diet-program. An individual approach is a must.
Two studies were recently undertaken by UK professionals in order to ascertain whether calcium and vitamin D supplementation is effective enough as a preventive measure against fractures in old people. The Lancet and The British Medical Journal gladly accepted to publish the results.
Both cases involved the participation of thousands of study subjects – elderly people over the age of 70 in the high bone fracture risk group.
• Each treatment group was fed calcium + vitamin D and given instructive advice on ‘how to avoid falling?’
• Each control group was solely given recommendations on reducing fall risks.
All groups showed a lesser overall occurrence of fractures among all participants than initially expected… However, the actual results of comparing the incidence rate of fractures in both the treatment and the control groups - were also contradicting all predictions, for they showed almost no difference at all.
Does this imply that calcium and vitamin D are not at all effective bone-hardeners? Not at all!
Now, let’s dig deeper and try to figure out ‘Why do study results tell us different?’
First of all, we should introduce the so-called “compliance correction” into our problem-solving. .. i.e., take into account that only 63% of the participants were fully complying with the rules… and the percentage number dropped even more significantly by the end of the 2-year study. This means supplements were not taken as recommended and prescribed by almost the half of the participants!!
As for the anti-falling instructions – they contributed quite a bit into lowering the overall number of fractures. These 2 confounding factors make the full correctness of the final verdict somewhat questionable.
But let’s concentrate on the essence… despite all the flaws, the two studies claim that calcium and vitamin D alone may not be self-sufficient in treating “brittle bones” and suggest that complementing these 2 supplements with prescription medications may have better efficacy.
Now, don’t get it wrong… This is not suggesting that calcium and vitamin D are not required for the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis… Moreover, this can’t happen ever – all osteoporosis nutritional treatments of all times always included these 2 components – calcium and vitamin D. Quite convincing, isn’t it? Besides, all related randomized trials that were ever published state unanimously that these supplements may actually decrease bone fragility but only if used on an everyday basis and in a complex with other bone-friendly and bone-reinforcing things and doings.
Vitamin B12, K and magnesium represent a few other important nutrients successfully used as osteoporosis fighters/preventers.
Also, a few cardinal lifestyle changes are required in elderly people wishing to have healthy bones despite their tender age:
• Quit smoking – an increased risk of bone fractures is among millions other reasons not to smoke! So if you are a smoker – be strong and quit! If you don’t smoke – be smart and don’t even start!
• Reduce alcohol and caffeine intake – alcohol- and caffeine- comprising beverages should be eliminated from your nutrition list once and for all! If you can’t eliminate – limit the consumption to the lowest possible levels. Otherwise, they may contribute their mite to the calcium loss from bones.
• Switch over to a 100% healthy diet – eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and fish - perfect body-nutrients and even calcium loss preventers.
• Work-out regularly - e.g., weight lifting is one perfect resistive, bone-densening exercise. It will keep your bones strong and unbreakable!
• Take calcium!!! – you will need at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium every day! There are a bunch of easy-to-do ways to get calcium inside you – with dairy products (which is the most absorbable form of dietary calcium) anchovies, salmon (bones included) and even grinded eggshell!! … Among other foods rich in calcium… However, if you don’t get enough calcium from you breakfasts, lunches and dinners – make sure to take a calcium supplement!
• Get enough vitamin D – calcium will not be properly absorbed without enough vitamin D! Where and how to get it?? The answer is – the Sun! Exposing yourself to this lovely luminary will automatically make your body produce vitamin D. You don’t need to go sunbathing on the beach – spending a few minutes outside every day is likely to be enough. If not… you can always take 800 IU vitamin D as a supplement.
You will most probably agree that most of the mentioned above tips are important overall good health keepers… and not only forerunners of healthy bones.