Calcify yourself

This public service announcement goes out to all the ladies.

My mother recently learned that the pain she's experiencing in her left heel is a result of bone density loss and spurring. Pain relievers will do for now, and she may eventually get a steroid shot for long-term ease. She also exhibits some early signs of osteoporosis in her lower spine. Her physician has advised her to take Fosamax.

As the family's unofficial pharmacist -- I'm in charge of refilling and distributing each family member's supply of various vitamins, minerals, and medications -- I know that she's been getting her calcium in recent years. But I couldn't do anything for her when she was growing up in India, where her intake of milk and leafy greens was sketchy at best. Unfortunately, this was the time that dictates her lifelong bone strength.

Aside from surprisingly regular mentions in From Fear to Maternity, calcium doesn't get a lot of play in blogs. And so I ask our readers, particularly the females, to calcify yourselves. It's sort of a prime example of the adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," except that here a cure isn't the best solution, even if it's given by the pound. Modern science has a while to go before it develops Skele-Gro.