Don't turn your back on calcium continue…

You may even be at greater risk if you consider the other factors that contribute to osteoporosis:

• The decline in oestrogen. Up to half of women over the age of 45 have some degree of type 1 osteoporosis (bone loss is most profound during the first decade after menopause).
• Smoking. It suppresses the activity of the osteoblasts (the bone-building cells) and also causes changes in oestrogen metabolism in women, resulting in an earlier menopause.
• Being thin and/or fine-boned.
• Excessive use of alcohol. This reduces calcium absorption and damages liver and bone cells.
• Avery high intake of protein increases the amount of calcium lost by the body. Veganism. Avoiding all animal products means avoiding some of the richest sources of calcium.
• Lack of exercise. Physical inactivity or prolonged bed rest are associated with the loss of bone density. Astronauts experience noticeable bone loss when in space, due to the effects of weightlessness.
• Excessive, long-term use of salt, in addition to being bad for your health in general, leads to increased calcium loss from your bones.
• Pregnancy and lactation. If there is insufficient calcium in your diet while you are pregnant or breasffeeding, calcium will be drawn from your bones and teeth to provide for the growth of the baby.
• Little or no exposure to the sun. Housebound people, elderly folk and office workers often don't enjoy enough sunlight to assist their skins in the manufacture of vitamin D, which is needed for the absorption of calcium from the gastro-intestinal tract.
• Unbalanced diets. Not only quick-fix slimming diets are low in nutrients. Our average, modern-day diets often lead to an insufficient intake of nutrients. Although you might be taking in sufficient calcium-rich foods (like cheese!), you might be taking in too little of the other bone-fortifying nutrients such as vitamin D, magnesium (soy, dried beans, nuts), zinc (chicken heart and liver, beef liver, lamb), copper, manganese and boron, found in a large variety of other foods.
• Genetic inheritance accounts for 80% of the variance in peak bone mass. Blacks have a higher bone mass than whites and Asians, and men have a higher bone density than women. A strong family history is a risk factor for osteoporosis - daughters of women with osteoporosis have been shown to have lower-than-expected bone density.
• Certain health conditions such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Cushing's syndrome, amenorrhoea resulting from anorexia nervosa and/or excessive exercise, gastrectomy, immobilising diseases, male hypogonadism (low testosterone levels), chronic liver disease or malabsorption.
• Consumption of large amounts of black coffee over a long period of time.
• Hyperthyroidism and over-treatment with thyroxin.
• The prolonged use of drugs such as corticosteroids (cortisone).

What is the role of calcium in theJody?

Everyone knows that calcium is required for healthy bones and teeth, but most people believe that calcium is only important in childhood. Wrong! There is a need for calcium throughout one's life in order to build and maintain calcium levels in bone.

Calcium acts as a metabolic regulator. Changes in the level of calcium within the cell result in the switching on and off of the processes of muscle contraction and nerve excitation.

Calcium is also involved as a co-factor in many enzyme processes. It is needed in cell division, the immune system and is also required in order for blood to clot.

More recently there has been some evidence to suggest that calcium has a positive role to play in maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

Clearly, calcium is an essential nutrient and a major role player in our general wellbeing; good health being an essential prerequisite for shedding weight successfully and permanently.

Dietary sources of calcium

The major foods in the diet that contain calcium, include milk, cheese, yoghurt, white bread, white flour, and green vegetables. The absorption of calcium by the body is dependent on many factors, including the form of calcium in the food. The best sources of available calcium are dairy foods. Green vegetables and whole grain cereals contain phytates that bind calcium and prevent absorption.

A balanced diet is important for the provision of calcium and other bone fortifying nutrients throughout your life.

Don't turn your back on calcium

One of the most dangerous elements of the many low-kilojoule diets is thatthey restrict the intake of fats, and in so doing they restrict the intake of the essential nutrients we find in foods such as sesame seeds, oily fish and cheese. The main danger lies in the elimination of one of the major forces in the nutritional and health stakes, namely calcium. This mineral is a key player in the nutritional symphony and of specific interest to dieters is its ability to act as a metabolic regulator. An insufficient intake of calcium could lead to a number of nutrient imbalances, which could very well also be what has been hampering your weight loss efforts.

But by far the most serious disease resulting from a calcium deficiency is osteoporosis. The origin of this disease usually lies in a continual low intake of calcium. Because the body requires calcium for a number of important functions, it eventually starts helping itself to your calcium reserves, namely the calcium in your bones and teeth. Over a period of time bone mass is lost and the bones deteriorate and become soft and brittle.

Along with coronary heart disease, osteoporosis ranks as one of the most debilitating diseases of our time. The statistics in the UK speak for themselves: with 1 in every 3 women and 1 in 12 men affected, this is a major health problem. And indications are that these statistics apply throughout the western world.

It is often referred to as the silent epidemic, because of the way in which it strikes without warning - you don't know that you have it until you have a wake-up call in the form of a serious fracture.

This disease is on the increase at an alarming rate. In the UK for instance, hip fractures have increased from around 10 000 per year in the 1960s to 60 000 in the 1990s, resulting in 40 premature deaths per day. Spinal fractures and injuries are also on the increase. It is estimated that 50% of people over the age of 85 suffer from the disease.

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones lose calcium and other minerals. There are two forms of this disease: type 1, the most common, which occurs in postmenopausal women or younger women whose ovaries have been removed; and type 2 - or senile osteoporosis - which develops in both men and women, usually after the age of 75.

Osteoporosis is a most debilitating, painful disease with symptoms that start rather insidiously with mild back pain, which worsens dramatically as the vertebrae become more and more compressed. This is caused by tiny crush fractures. Compression of the spinal column also leads to height loss and an ungainly deformity commonly known as the 'dowager's hump'. Because of this deformity, chronic muscle pains are often experienced. Wrist and hip fractures are common. Serious sufferers could literally fracture a rib from a simple action such as coughing! Most often the frequent multiple fractures are extremely painful. Standard x-rays may only detect the disease after 25 - 40% of the calcium in the bones have been lost.

Osteoporosis has been defined as low bone mass and a deterioration in the honeycomb structure of the bone, resulting in increased fragility and a greater risk of bone fracture. Any bone could fracture, but the forearms, hips, spine and ribs are most likely to.

You may ask what on earth this has to do with you. Well, if you are a dieter, it has a lot to do with you. Dieters tend to avoid calcium-rich foods - those very foods needed for the prevention of this disease, And believe me, if you knew how much calcium you may be losing without even realising it, and if you knew how painful osteoporosis is, you would immediately address this area of your nutritional balance.