Maintain Proper Bone Density With Calcium And,More

   Bone consists predominantly of collagen and calcium phosphate. The collagen provides the connective framework for bone that is hardened by the calcium phosphate, and without healthy bones, your quality of life would be significantly reduced due to bone breakage. That is why it is essential to supplement this framework with the vitamins and minerals needed to maintain a good bone density at those periods in your life when bone density is liable to deteriorate.    This begins to happen between the ages of 30 and 35 and in women and accelerates during the menopause, when your ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen that is necessary for the maintenance of healthy bones. Through time, your bone mass drops creating first a condition known as osteopenia, or reduced bone mass, and then osteoporosis, when your bones become brittle, porous and very prone to fractures.    Before we look at what can be done to reduce your chances of developing osteoporosis, lets have a close look at how bone develop so that it will be easier to understand the remedial action that can be taken.    Calcium is the most common mineral in the body, and the vast majority is in the bones and teeth. Phosphorus is also essential for healthy bones because as stated earlier, the bone consists of collagen that is hardened by calcium phosphate. The two main uses of phosphorus are in bone structure and animal metabolism, since phosphates are also essential for the vast majority of the energy-production chemical reactions within your body.    Calcium has other functions within the body other than bone, however, including exchange of fluids within and between cells, the maintenance of your heartbeat and in blood clotting. Vitamin D is necessary to help calcium be absorbed from your diet, through the membranes of the duodenum. More calcium is absorbed there than in the small intestine, and the calcium is also most available to the body when it is in a water-soluble form.    In fact, the reason that stones form in your kidney for example, is that the calcium is rendered insoluble through the formation of calcium oxalate from the oxalic acid in foods such as rhubarb and soy. High fat diets can also slow down the absorption of calcium.    Estrogen plays a significant part in bone physiology, and is an important factor in the maintenance of bone density in women. Bone is living tissue, and is constantly being absorbed and remodeled throughout life. The part played by estrogen is to maintain a proper balance between the osteoclasts, the cells that reabsorb bone tissue, and osteoblasts, the cells that form new bone tissue.    When estrogen is deficient, this balance is lost and rather than bone formation and resorption occurring constantly, they take place in spurts so that first an area of new bone will be formed, then resorption will occur some weeks later, resulting in a structure where there are cavities between areas of bone. With time, these cavities will increase and weaken the integrity of the bone structure.    However, that is not the whole story. The effect of estrogen is to limit the active period of osteoclasts so that the areas of bone resorbed into the body are relatively small so that the removed bone cavity can easily fill up with new bone by the osteoblasts, which are invigorated by estrogen. When estrogen is deficient, not only is the activity of the bone-forming osteoblasts reduced, but the bone-absorbing osteoclasts activity is not regulated, and they form deeper holes in the bone structure than the osteoblasts are able to fill.    The net result is bone loss, with more bone being reabsorbed than is being formed. The end result of all this is spongy bone tissue with many tiny hole and also with larger areas of missing bone. Eventually this passes a critical point and the bone fractures during normal use. A simple jump from one step to another can fracture a bone at its weakest point, such as at the hip joint where the neck of bone is thinner.    Not everybody is at the same risk, and there are certain risk factors that you should be aware of, each of which could increase the chances of you developing weak bones. The condition particular affects white or Asian women, and those who have a small frame. If you smoke and drink an excessive amount of alcohol, you will also be more prone to osteoporosis, although exercise can help you to avoid it. An inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D will also contribute, and magnesium is an essential part of strong bone development.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has carried out surveys that indicate American women to be taking only 50% of the calcium recommended to maintain a healthy bone density. However, it is not only dietary calcium that is needed for the formation of bone, but also magnesium and boron, and vitamin D also helps with the absorption of calcium in the gut.    If you are on steroids then they can render you more prone to brittle bone disease. Unfortunately the symptoms of osteoporosis do not become evident until there has been a significant amount of bone loss, which is why post menopausal women, and those over 65, should have a bone density scan (DXA test). It is important to understand that osteoporosis is not a disease as such: you cannot `catch' it, but it develops as the result of a gradual reduction in the minerals that maintain the density of your bone structure.    Your diet is important in helping you prevent bone loss and osteoporosis later in life, and your lifestyle is also important. Reducing your daily alcohol intake will certainly help, and cigarette smoking further retards the activity of the bone-creating cells. Calcium and vitamin D supplements will help, but do not restrict yourself only to these.    If you want to maintain proper bone density through and beyond the menopause stage of life, you should take a balanced supplement that contains a combination of vitamins and minerals needed to maintain a healthy balance between natural bone loss and regeneration. There is more to it that only calcium and vitamin D, and a balanced supplement takes this out of your hands. You can rest in the knowledge that you are doing the best for your body and its bone density.   About The Author: More information on Bone Building supplements like bone power from natures plus is available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Store. http://vitanetonline.com/ 

Staying Free Of Sun Burn On Holiday

   Staying Free Of Sun Burn On Holiday When you go on holiday to someplace tropical and exotic you want to take all necessary precautions when you go out to sunbathe and to avoid getting sunburned. In preparing for a holiday you want to check the location and if the sun is pretty intense there you want to pack a high grade SPF (sun protector factor) sunscreen. The problem with many people is that some folks look forward to lounging out in the sun throughout their holiday.  The issue is that prolonged time in the sun for long extended periods without fully protecting yourself with sunscreen every time one goes to lay out in the sun can put you at risk for skin damage and skin cancer. It would be ideal for proper research to be done on locations you travel to that has intense sun during the peak hours of the day.  There are things one can do to stay free of sunburns besides slapping on a layer of sunscreen. You can wear a wide brim hat to shade most of your face and shoulders of the sun. Putting on lip balm with sunscreen also protects your lips from the sun as well and using a sunscreen that's PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) free because many sunscreens had this stuff in it which caused major skin allergies and stained clothing when someone had sweated the sunscreen off. Consider a water-resistant or waterproof sunscreen when you plan on going swimming.  Apply sunscreen at least thirty minutes before going outdoors because it takes about 20 minutes for sunscreen to absorb into the skin. Apply the sunscreen everywhere and don't miss any important places and apply light amounts to the soles of your feet so that it doesn't make them slippery when you're walking around. Always use fresh sunscreen because over time sunscreen loses its potency and anything after 3 years old is to be tossed out.  The potency of the lotion won't be effective so replace your sunscreen every so often so you can be sunburn free on many more holidays to come. Covering yourself up can keep the chances of sunburn down usually light clothing works best. Wearing sunglasses helps protect your eyelids from burns because you can't put creams and lotions near your eyes if your face is burned and select a pair that protects your eyes from UV rays and cataracts.   About the Author:  http://www.directline-holidays.co.uk provides you with the latest holiday offers, cheap flights, essential information & reviews on destinations worldwide