For many years I didn’t practice what I preached when it came to bone health. I knew an adequate calcium intake was important to prevent osteoporosis, but I didn’t make an effort to increase my intake of calcium rich food. I didn’t like milk or yogurt. Did not drink calcium fortified orange juice. I rarely remembered to take my calcium supplements. As a typical city girl in her 20’s, I enjoyed a few cocktails on occasion. At the time, I wasn’t aware that alcohol could slow bone remodeling and increase your calcium loss. Drank too much diet coke (which I have since stopped drinking years ago…I feel like I am in confession). I rationalized that because I exercised on a regular basis, my bones would stay strong. 

Last year, I decided to be proactive and get a bone density test. To my surprise, the results came back that I had osteopenia. Osteopenia is when your bones start to thin out and become weaker. It can lead to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis means that your bones are dangerously weak and there is an increasing possibility of fracture. It was pretty much a warning bell to me to get my act together. Luckily I found a yogurt I love - Total Greek Yogurt 2% fat (actually I am obsessed with it!) and eat 1-2  a day. In addition, taking calcium supplements is easy for me now that they come in a chewable chocolate form (I love chocolate).  Check out my post on Chew Your Way to Bone Health.

One out of two women will get osteoporosis. My message here is to make sure you are meeting your calcium needs, whether it be through food or supplements, or a combination of both. You build your peak bone mass up to the age of 25-30. After that you start to lose bone mass. If you are in your teens or twenties, take advantage of this time to build as much bone mass as you can through consuming adequate calcium and weight bearing exercise (as well as other factors that I will post soon).  If you are past the peak bone building age, you can slow the loss of bone by adequate calcium consumption and exercise.  

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