Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is an increased thinning of the bones that occurs when a person starts to lose a lot more bone cells than they replace. Although most commonly affecting post-menopausal women, it can occur in anyone over the age of 35 and currently affects about 3 million people in the UK. There are usually no symptoms, so it's not until a person suffers a fractured bone after a seemingly minor bump or fall that they actually realise they have the condition.
While inevitable that a person's bones will begin to weaken once they reach their mid-30's, there are two important things we can do to avoid osteoporosis: exercise (e.g. go for a brisk 30-minute stroll 3 or 4 times a week) and watch your diet!
The key with diet is to maintain healthy levels of calcium. Ten years ago we'd have all said simply 'drink lots of milk!' However, there's growing evidence that cow's milk (while very good for baby cows!) can cause a number of problems in humans. For a more in depth look at these concerns, you can access an article called 'White Lies' via vegetarian.org.uk or you can read an interesting article called 'Dairy Monsters' that appeared in The Guardian in December 2003.
The good news is there are plenty of healthy sources of calcium, namely green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, kale, parsley, watercress and broccoli.
As for what to avoid, alcohol, coffee and soft drinks should all be greatly limited because they all lead to loss of calcium in the body. What should you drink instead? There are no three better drinks on the planet than water, green tea and mangosteen fruit juice!
Why not try my high-calcium recipe for Creamy Broccoli Soup...
Ingredients:
2 cups of vegetable stock or water
3-4 cups of broccoli (chopped)
1 avocado
2 onions (chopped)
1 cup of kale
1/2 cup of parsley
1 red pepper (chopped)
cumin & ginger to taste
Gently warm the stock or water in a pan and then add the broccoli. Heat through for approximately 5 minutes. In a blender, puree the warmed broccoli with the pepper, onion, avocado, kale and parsley. If you find this a little thick, just add a little hot water for the consistency you require. Add a little cumin and ginger to taste and serve with a slice of lemon to garnish. Serves 4-6.
While inevitable that a person's bones will begin to weaken once they reach their mid-30's, there are two important things we can do to avoid osteoporosis: exercise (e.g. go for a brisk 30-minute stroll 3 or 4 times a week) and watch your diet!Read also:
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Ulcers
While we were living in Japan, David (my husband) started getting very uncomfortable pains in his lower stomach. He mentioned this the next time he visited one of his students, Dr Koike, whom he taught English. Quite matter-of-factly the doctor said, “You either have gastroenteritis, an ulcer, or cancer. Let's go next door to my operating theatre and I'll tell you in 10 minutes.” -
Menopause Problems
Hot flushes, palpitations, mood swings, insomnia, depression - just some of the treats in store for women approaching menopause! But this inevitable time in the lives of half the population of the planet needn't be as bad as all that - there are many things we can do to delay and alleviate symptoms of menopause... -
An A to Z of Healthy Eating - I, J & K
There aren't many foods beginning with 'I' and 'J' (iceburg lettuce and juniper berries are about all I could come up with), so we're going to skip to 'K' today. You've probably eaten kidney beans and kiwi fruit, but my guess is you might not have tried kale or kohlrabi. Let's take a look at each of these in turn and find out why they're good for us and how they can be used.
