Day Eleven: Check your calcium: This is the week to hug a farmer: because the milk they squeeze from cows and the greens they pull from the earth are among the best sources of a nutrient that’s vital to staying healthy and active calcium.
Women, play special attention. You’re most susceptible to a disease called osteoporosis , thinning and weakening of the bones, a problem which some experts say is virtually an epidemic among older American females. Calcium may help prevent the disease. And even help prevent the disease. And even if you’ve already started to lose bone density, adequate amounts of calcium plus regular exercise can help stop the loss and strengthen the bones you have left.
But this milk’s for you too, Bud!. It’s not just women who should keep calcium intake up. Studies suggest that calcium may help prevent high blood pressure significantly in some hypertensives. Other studies report that calcium has been used successfully to treat gum disease and to lower blood fats. Some people even claim that taking extra calcium has relieved their muscle crams and spasms.
Just how much calcium do you need? The current Recommended Dietary Allowance is 800 milligrams(mg) per day for adults. But Experts generally agree that some people need more, possibly 1200 mg per day for teenagers,1,000mg for women aged 20 until the onset of menopause, and from 1,000 to 1,500 mg after menopause.
Calcium should add Are you getting enough calcium? A federal survey shows that up to 50 percent of men aged 18 to 34 don’t get enough calcium in their diet,and two-thirds of women between 18 and 74 are falling short!
So use the Superfoods chart to estimate your calcium intake for at least two days in Week 1. How did you do?
Getting enough calcium isn’t always easy. Unfortunately, many of the foods that are calcium-rich tend to contain a fair amount of fat and sodium too, like some cheeses and milk. Many Americans—like people of Eastern European, Asian and African descent—can’t digest lactose, the form of sugar in milk (although lactose-free milk is available in many stores). In addition, milk triggers food allergies for many people.
If you’re definitely down on dairy products, it is possible to get enough calcium from other sources. It gets into cow milk, after all, from the green they graze on. Infact, a study which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that the calcium intake of today’s hunter-gather tribes who eat no dairy products is more than 1,500 mg per day! Consult the Superfoods chart to see which foods to hunt and gather for your daily fare. Fish with soft bones that you can eat—like sardines and salmon—are good bets. So are green, leafy vegetables;chick-peas;figs;black-strpmolasses;oranges;broccoli;navybeans; soy products like to tofu:shellfish like scallops and shrimp; and nuts like brazil nuts, almonds and filberts.
Annemarie Colbin, director of the Natural Gourmet Cookery School, in New York City,and author of the The Book Of Whole Meals(Ballantine),recommends that people eat greens like kale, collards and mustard greens to maximize calcium intake. “People don’t eat them enough,because they cook them wrong and then these kinds of greens can taste too bitter.” Colbin maintains that steaming the “bitter “ greens for a few minutes ,isn’t enough. “I boil them for 10 minutes, uncovered so they don’t turn brown. Then I scoop them out, chop them up, sauté in olive oil with garlic, and dust with a tiny bit of nutmeg. Delicious!”
If you do love milk, the calcium requirement will be a snap. A glass of low-fat milk contains about 300 mg of calcium, several eight -ounce glasses would meet the
Recommended Dietary Allowance. An other plus: Milk is rich in other vitamins and
Minerals which may enhance calcium’s effectiveness.” Research indicates that milk may also protect against colon and rectal cancer, because the calcium with the assistance of vitamin D may form compounds that flush harmful fatty acids from the body. Low-fat yogurts and cheeses are fine ways to meet your calcium reqirement too, though thy don’t contain much vitamin D.
If your diet is irregular,or you can see that you’re not getting enough calcium
From food alone, you may wish to take a calcium supplement. Chapter 5 explains what to look for in a supplement.
If hypertension is a problem, think potassium when you think calcium. Together
These minerals may work even more effectively to pull down blood pressure. Foods
That are high in both potassium and calcium include yogurt,sardines, milk,buttermilk salmon,broccoli,almonds and soybeans. Otherpotassium-rich foods to indulge in: apricots,avocados,bananas, poatoes, cantaloupe and turkey.
And remember tokeep walking. Calcium will do its job best if you’re getting regular exercise.
Thanks for Patience
MR
