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Osteoporosis
The Silent Disease
By Donna Verry Dee
Depending upon how much calcium you get each day from food, you may need to take a calcium supplement.
To learn how much calcium is in a food, you can read the food label's Nutrition Facts panel. Look for the "Percent Daily Value" (%DV) set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for calcium. The calcium DV is 1,000 milligrams. If you are in an age group requiring more than 1,000 milligrams a day, you should adjust your figures accordingly. For example, if you are older than 50 and need 1,200 milligrams a day, each day's calcium percent Daily Value in the foods you eat should add up to 120 percent.
To identify foods with at least 10 percent of the Daily Value of calcium per serving, the FDA allows these terms on their labels:
- 20 percent DV or more: "High in Calcium," "Rich in Calcium," "Excellent Source of Calcium"
- 10 to 19 percent DV: "Contains Calcium," "Provides Calcium," "Good Source of Calcium"
- 10 percent DV calcium or more added: "Calcium-Enriched," "Calcium-Fortified," "More Calcium"
Why Do I Need Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is calcium's indispensable sidekick. Bone needs vitamin D to move calcium from the intestine to the bloodstream and into bone. Because the only sources of vitamin D are normal day-to-day exposure to sun and from foods like milk, which are fortified with the vitamin, you may need a supplement to get the 400 to 800 International Units needed each day. Studies show that vitamin D production decreases in the elderly, in people who are housebound and during the winter when the sun is not as strong. Will Physical Activity Help My Bones?
Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to execise by becoming stronger. Mona Calvo, Ph.D., a calcium expert for the FDA, says impact activity, such as jumping up and down, appears to be the best workout for bones. Other activities that force you to work against gravity include climbing stairs, jumping rope, dancing, hiking, football and gymnastics. While swimming and cycling are excellent aerobic exercises, they tend to put less pressure on the bones and therefore do less to increase skeletal mass.
