Thursday, October 13, 2005

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.

3 comments:

maisnon said...

And let's not forget...it's also about the weight-bearing exercise.

I'd been bugging my mom (who has been faithfully taking her calcium pills, and grew up drinking quite a bit of milk) about the importance of exercise for YEARS. I wept in frustration when she called to say that her bone density was lower than it should have been, and the doctor suggested weight-bearing exercise.

K-Lyn said...

Also keep in mind that most pill versions of calcium do not actually break down in our bodies..we're better off taking Viactiv or Tums...I was shown a great X-ray where it looked like a woman had a growth on her spine when in actuallity it was a few of her daily calcium pills...

Anonymous said...

Its always better to have calcium in natural form.When you eat all fresh fruits & vegetables,Milk & Eggs,no pills or supplements is required.If no time for exercise is available then we can atleast walk for 20 mins daily which is more than enough....