Hello everyone

A good food for good health is calcium and it’s great for your bones and staying slim after 50. As you probably all know, I’m closer to fifty now than I am forty, although I still feel like I did when I was twenty. (some friends may add I still act like this sometimes).

I recently realized that if I still want to feel this good for the next twenty years, I really should take action now so that I can maintain the good health that I am enjoying right now.

I have been looking at the general health of women my age and how to maintain good health for the next twenty years.

Middle-aged women, as I assume, have been told for years to take calcium and vitamin D tablets to protect their bones against osteoporosis, which is why I recently increased my calcium intake.

I always eat a well-balanced diet, and as you know, my theory is “good food, good health,” so when I checked the amount of dairy Ted and I consumed to calculate our daily intake, I was a bit surprised that it was me. not Ted that he was not always getting the required amount.

Our two daughters easily reach the required amount from their normal diet, since one of the cereals they eat is fortified with vitamins, and they also have a couple of milk shakes a day.

Osteoporosis is a disease due to loss of bone density with a breakdown of the bone structure. Diseased bones become brittle, porous, and thin, making bones easier to break, especially those in the legs, hips, and arms.

Women are much more prone to osteoporosis, in fact, 80 percent of all sufferers are women. So it is essential to make sure we maintain a healthy and balanced diet rich in dairy, and check that our intake levels of calcium and vitamin D are correct.

Although 99 percent of the calcium in the body is found in the teeth and bones, the other 1 percent plays an important role in our health and is found in the muscles, blood, soft tissues, organs, and nerves. .

Meeting your calcium needs is fairly easy if you like milk and milk products. In general, 8 ounces of milk provide about 300 mg of calcium, and the general daily requirements are:

Children 1 – 8 years 500 – 800 mg

9 – 18 years 1300mg

19 – 50 years 1000mg

Women over 51 on HRT and men over 51 1200 mg

Women 51+ without TRH 1500mg

Lactation and pregnant women 1200mg

The best sources of calcium and vitamin D are milk, cheese and yogurt, and also foods made with milk, such as custard, rice pudding, ice cream, etc.

Fish and shellfish are an excellent source of vitamin D: salmon, tuna, herring, halibut, shrimp, and oysters, as well as eggs, milk, and cod liver oil.

Low-fat foods also contain good amounts of calcium, including low-fat yogurt, low-fat and skim fluid milk, and buttermilk. Cheese contains varying amounts of calcium, and in general, the firmer the cheese, the more calcium it contains. Soft cheese has a low amount present and cream cheese is not a good source at all.

Maintaining good bone health is essential for all of us at any age and therefore our calcium intake is beneficial. Calcium moves in and out of our bones throughout our lives.

The need for a good supply of calcium during childhood and adolescence is crucial, as bones grow in size and density during this period.

Calcium combines with phosphorous to form teeth and bones, making them hard and resistant to decay and breakage, too:-

It is vital in the blood to help it clot normally.

Helps muscles to contract normally. A deficiency can cause spasms and cramps.

It is essential in the nervous system for messages to pass from the brain to other parts of the body and vice versa.

Helps regulate blood pressure. A deficiency or low intake of calcium has been associated with high blood pressure.

Calcium can help with the prevention of colon cancer. This is thought to work in two ways, one by binding to fat and bile acids in the large intestine to prevent them from causing damage, the other by preventing the overgrowth of cells in the intestines that could otherwise lead to cancer.

In addition, new research has found that another incentive to take calcium is that
It can help you stay slim, and this interested me a lot. The study found that women who were over 50 and took regular calcium and vitamin D supplements were less likely to gain weight than those who did not, and what was surprising was that women who were previously deficient in the vitamin D and calcium had the greatest benefits.

It is believed that the slimming effect is due to the fact that there is a better breakdown of fat cells and also an increase in the production of leptin, a chemical that curbs appetite.
Also the experts said that metabolism stimulation is likely to increase with a better balance of nutrients in our diet, so I cannot overemphasize the importance of the benefits of “good nutrition, good health”, and equally if you can Getting Necessary Nutrients The amount of calcium in a balanced diet can only be an advantage, as it helps your body fight many diseases and the aging process.

I have mentioned vitamin D several times and this is very important as calcium is not easily absorbed or used without this fat soluble vitamin.

Vitamin D is often referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” since the action of the sun’s ultraviolet rays forms vitamin D in the skin.

Specialists say that we need 15 minutes of sunlight to produce enough vitamin D in fair-skinned people, which should last a couple of days, however darker-skinned people need up to 3 hours.

Using a sunscreen 8 SPF or higher will form a barrier and prevent the vitamin D formulation, so just wait 15 minutes before applying, but not during the hottest hours. Clouds and window panes also prevent the penetration of ultraviolet rays.

So for good bone health, which means having the densest, strongest bones possible as you reach adulthood, a good regular intake of calcium is needed and is continuously required after this age to help eliminate the possibility of osteoporosis. in later years.

If too little calcium has been stored in the bones before the age of thirty, or if too much calcium is removed later in life, then osteoporosis is at greater risk.

All of our bodies after the age of forty lose calcium from the bones faster than it comes back into it, and because of this, we all need to be aware of the importance of calcium in the diet.

Many people have been discouraged from consuming dairy products over the last twenty years, and because of this, health specialists are concerned about the future female population and the risk of osteoporosis. Specialists are also attentive to the worrying trend of adolescents and fad diets that will bring complications to the well-being of future generations.

So to all of us the message is don’t skimp on your dairy intake, skimmed milk is just as rich in calcium, check that you are getting the right amount in your diet. If you can’t get the required amounts in your daily diet, consider supplements. Always check with your doctor or medical practice before taking supplements as a sensible precaution, as with any medication.

Remember good nutrition is good health

ted and sandra