6 Tips to Build Your Strongest Bones

Approximately 50 percent of American women will be afflicted with osteoporosis in their lives. One out of four women has osteopenia, a stage of bone loss before true osteoporosis sets in. Dr. Maoshing Ni, author of Second Spring, provides the following six ways to nurture your bones and ward off bone loss:

Got greens?

Most dairy products that come from cows, such as milk and cheese, have nutritional elements that you want: calcium and protein. But when you consume cow’s milk and its derivatives, there’s a catch. The high protein content in dairy items acidifies the blood, causing the body to draw calcium from the bones to balance it out. The net effect of this is to leach more calcium from the body than you gain.

Additionally, the protein molecules in milk are larger than the molecules a human digestive system is meant to handle, so the immune system may reject them as foreign, or allergenic. That’s why many people experience fatigue, lowered ability to concentrate, and overproduction of mucus when they eat dairy. Some people lack enzymes, such as lactase, to properly digest dairy sugar; for them, consumption of dairy causes stomach pain, gas and diarrhea. For the best protection against osteoporosis, take advantage of the absorbable calcium found in leafy greens, beans and seeds.

Orange juice does a body good

Calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health. While the calcium is necessary to build and maintain bone, vitamin D is needed because the body cannot absorb calcium without it. Cow’s milk has traditionally been credited as the best food for strong bones, but new studies show that your body is able to absorb both calcium and vitamin D from orange juice as readily as from milk, if not more so. (Because citrus juice’s acetic acid can erode teeth enamel, don’t brush your teeth for an hour after drinking juice.)

Another bonus: Orange juice is full of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that also helps facilitate calcium absorption into the body, a double benefit. So enjoy the fresh nectar of the citrus fruit while you bulk up your bones.

Sunbathe early and late—not in between

Throughout history, Chinese women have sunbathed indoors through thin rice paper screens that filter out damaging UV-A rays but admit beneficial UV-Bs. Outdoors, the women used parasols to shield their skin from the penetrating rays of the sun.

Chinese tradition has always understood that sunlight is a double-edged sword. Sun is necessary for your body to produce vitamin D, essential for bone health, proper immune function and resistance to cancer.

In the West, heliotherapy is used to speed recovery from illness and treat conditions ranging from rickets to tuberculosis. But it is crucial to avoid overexposure, which can lead to premature skin aging and even cancer.

To receive the benefits of sunlight, spend time outdoors before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. during the summer or before 10 a.m. and after 3 p.m. in winter, without sunscreen. However, if you are out in the sun in the midday hours, do use sunscreen, and if possible wear a hat and long sleeves.

Soft drinks are hard on your health

It may be satisfying to down a soft drink on a hot day—you may even feel “safe” because you’re drinking the diet kind, avoiding calories so you won’t put on weight. But calories aren’t the only drawback in colas and other carbonated beverages—they can deplete the calcium in your bones, because they contain phosphoric acid, which makes calcium pass out of your system in the urine.

Now more than ever, when you are at increased risk of osteoporosis, you want to avoid soft drinks. If you crave a bubbly refreshment, drink carbonated mineral water and add a slice of lemon!

Taking calcium supplements: how to do it right

To avoid the stooped posture and broken bones of osteoporosis, act while you are still in your prime. Get regular weight-bearing exercise—that’s smart for good health in general. But also, beginning at age 35, take proper calcium supplementation.

It’s not quite as easy as popping a pill, so follow these guidelines. Make sure you take calcium carbonate, the easiest type to absorb, because many forms are not really bio-available. It must also be formulated with magnesium, preferably 1,200 mg of calcium to 600 mg of magnesium, and you will need trace amounts of boron, copper, zinc and vitamin B3 (often included in your daily multivitamin/mineral pill). Liquid calcium in a citrate base is an excellent choice, easy to add to juice drinks or power shakes. Remember to take your calcium in several doses throughout the day, as the body cannot absorb it all at once.

The trace mineral connection to strong bones

Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D get all the credit for maintaining good bone health, while trace minerals essential to bone formation like boron, manganese, copper, zinc and vitamin K are often overlooked. These trace minerals act as cofactors in the bone-building process. For instance, the trace element boron positively affects the metabolism of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus and vitamin D in bone formation. Studies show that supplementation with boron reduced the loss of calcium in the urine. Boron is found in fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds. Vitamin K, on the other hand, found in leafy green vegetables, has been shown to be essential for specific proteins that are building blocks of bones. These are called trace minerals because very minute amounts of them are needed, so the supplemental dosage is very small.

Daily intake of the following amounts—along with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D—are optimal for maintaining good bone health: 10 mg boron, 5 mg manganese, 5 mg copper, 25 mg zinc and 150 mcg vitamin K. Make sure your daily multivitamin contains these trace minerals.

Three Steps to Strength and Stamina

Sets and reps get old. This routine from Jim Liston, C.S.C.S., founder of Catz Sports in Pasadena, Calif., builds muscle and endurance through pyramid repetitions.

After the warmup (No. 1), do one rep of exercise pair No. 2, then two reps, then three, then four, and then work back down to one rep. Repeat with exercise pair No. 3. Do as many rounds as you can in 15 minutes.

1. Boxer's Punch + Dumbbell Squat

With a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand, throw 32 punches, alternating lefts and rights. Then let your arms hang loosely at your sides and place your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Bend at the hips and knees to lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then press back up. Complete 16 squats. Repeat the sequence once.

2. Push-Up + Prone Row

Push-up: Place two six-sided dumbbells on the floor and grip them while you do a full push-up. (Lower in two seconds, push up in one.)

Prone row: In the up position of the push-up (still holding onto the dumbbells), bring your right-hand weight up to your armpit and squeeze your shoulder blade back. Lower the weight and repeat the move with your left arm. (Take one second to raise the weight and two seconds to lower it.)

3. Jump Squat + Curl

Jump squat: Assume a squat position as you hold dumbbells at your sides, your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Press through your heels to explode up quickly. Then land softly on the balls of your feet and sink back onto your heels.

Curl: After landing, let the dumbbells hang at your sides. Without moving your upper arms, curl the weights up. (Take one second to raise them and two seconds to lower.)

How Exercise Helps Boost Recovery

Working out can help you bounce back from illness.

Regular exercise has been shown to help prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, and various other ailments and conditions. Still, it can’t protect against everything.

And when problems do arise, the road to recovery can be long and hard.

New research, however, indicates that moderate physical activity in the wake of some health crises may enhance the healing process and help get you back on your feet—sometimes literally.

PARADE: 4 diseases you can fight with fitness

In a recent review of 24 studies involving 1,147 stroke victims, researchers analyzed how exercise programs affected rates of death, dependence, and disability. Fitness training included cardio (such as cycling), strength training (with free weights and resistance bands), or a combination of the two.

The team found that moderate cardiorespiratory training after a stroke helped improve patients’ walking ability, which fostered mobility and independence. Subjects who walked three or more days a week for at least 20 minutes at a time increased their speed and were able to do more on their own than study participants who didn’t exercise.

PARADE: 5 keys to lasting fitness

Other research, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, suggests that exercise may improve survival rates among people with chronic kidney disease. Patients who got the recommended amount of weekly physical activity after their diagnosis were up to 56% less likely to die during seven years of follow-up than those who did not exercise at all. And patients who exercised less than the recommended amount but were still active were 42% less likely to die during follow-up than the non-exercisers.

Fitness may also have an effect on prostate cancer. A study in the Journal of Urology by researchers at Duke Prostate Center found that among men undergoing prostate biopsy, those who got the equivalent of three or more hours of brisk walking every week had a 66% lower risk of the disease than their inactive peers. Furthermore, among men who had malignant biopsy results, those who walked at least an hour a week were less likely to have an aggressive or fast-growing form of the cancer.

PARADE: You can walk yourself healthy

Researchers say that in addition to strengthening the immune system, exercise may lower levels of hormones that help feed the growth of prostate cancer.

Ideally, of course, you’ll never have to face anything as serious as a stroke or cancer. But in the event that you do, it’s nice to know that something as simple as taking a walk can help facilitate your recovery.

Drinking cups of tea and coffee 'can prevent diabetes'

Tea and coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a large body of evidence shows.

And the protection may not be down to caffeine since decaf coffee has the greatest effect, say researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine.

They looked at 18 separate studies involving nearly 500,000 people.

This analysis revealed that people who drink three or four cups of coffee or tea a day cut their risk by a fifth or more, say researchers.

The same amount of decaffeinated coffee had an even bigger effect, lowering risk by a third.

Type 2 diabetes usually starts after the age of 40 and develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a healthy diet and increased physical activity. In addition to this, medication and/or insulin is often required.

If the findings prove true, doctors may well start advising people to put the kettle on as well as take more exercise and watch their weight, say the researchers.

When the authors combined and analysed the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day cut diabetes risk by 7%.

Lead researcher Dr Rachel Huxley, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said because of the finding with decaffeinated coffee, the link is unlikely to be solely related to caffeine.

Instead, other compounds in coffee and tea - including magnesium and antioxidants known as lignans or chlorogenic acids - may be involved.

Special brew

"The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus.

"If such beneficial effects were observed in interventional trials to be real, the implications for the millions of individuals who have diabetes mellitus, or who are at future risk of developing it, would be substantial."

Dr Victoria King, of Diabetes UK, said: "Without full information about what other factors may be influencing the type 2 diabetes risk of the studies' participants - such as their physical activity levels and diet - as well as what the active ingredient in tea or coffee appears to be, we cannot be sure what, if anything, this observed effect is down to.

"What we can be sure of is that the development of type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle, which means that many cases could be prevented by keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables."

Reference:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8411605.stm

7 maladies of the mouth and how to treat them—yourself

Sensitive teeth

Cause: Exposed nerve roots, often from receding gums.

Treatment: Lay off the whitening, tartar-control and baking-soda toothpastes—they're abrasive and can contain phosphates, which make teeth sensitive. Don't brush too hard, which can lead to recessed gums, says Sherri Worth, D.D.S., a celebrity cosmetic dentist. If pain persists, visit your dentist for a prescription fluoride treatment to toughen up your choppers. While you're at it, fortify your entire body against time.

Lost tooth

Cause: Dikembe Mutombo, inline skates, Jell-O shots or all three

Treatment: Rinse it off and push it back in right away, then bite down gently on a soft cloth or moistened tea bag to hold it in place. Knocking out a tooth tears the periodontal ligaments, but some might still cling to the tooth. If reconnected early enough, they can reattach to the gums. The tooth will feel strong in a few days and could be good as new in a month or two, says Dr. Worth. Want to make sure? See a dentist.

Burned palate

Cause: Hot pizza, impatience

Treatment: Burning the roof of your mouth softens the tissue, making it more prone to infection, says Pia Lieb, D.D.S., a cosmetic dentist in New York City. She recommends using Kenalog in Orabase, a corticosteroid paste that creates a protective coating on the burn and speeds healing. For more help, follow these tips from top medical experts to control the worst pains.

Burned tongue

Cause: Hot coffee, improper flame-breathing technique

Treatment: Rinse your mouth with a solution of 1 teaspoon of salt and a cup of warm water. "It's actually very soothing," says Dr. Worth. The salt can draw infection to the surface of the tissue, where the body eliminates it, and salt helps neutralize the acidic environment that fosters bacteria.

Jaw soreness

Cause: Possibly temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD, which can lead to splitting headaches marked by pain radiating down the front of your ears to your jaw. The improper alignment of your jaw leads to unconscious grinding of the teeth, often at night.

Treatment: "Your muscles are looking to find comfort, so you move your jaw around constantly," Dr. Lieb says. Try sleeping on your side or back with a supportive pillow, instead of facedown. If you still don't sleep soundly, try these strategies for a peaceful night's rest every night.

Canker sore

Cause: There are numerous possible causes but Cap'n Crunch, Doritos, salsa, and other sharp and spicy foods can further irritate the sore. Avoid mixing them.

Treatment: Apply vegetable oil to a cotton ball and hold it against the sore three or four times a day. "The oil helps coat the sore and protect it from irritation," says Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D., a Men's Health nutrition advisor.

Chipped or cracked teeth

Cause: Temperature disparity that occurs when you bite into hot food then swig an ice-cold drink. "Between the expansion and contraction, cracks will form on your enamel," says Richard Price, D.M.D., a consumer advisor for the American Dental Association.

Treatment: A chip can be the San Andreas Fault; your tooth can be California, sliding gently into the ocean. Or the chip or crack could simply leave you susceptible to infection and decay. A dentist can bond or seal the tooth, repairing chips while keeping your choppers safe from ending up a dental dead zone. And remember not to brush too hard—being a clean freak can be bad for you. Find out if your habits are actually breaking down your body.