Today's kids are technologically smarter than we were at their



age, but in some homes technology seems to have taken control of

our children's lives. Many parents don't realize the underlying

effect it's having on their children's health.

Hardly a day goes by that we don't hear a news report on

childhood obesity. With our children coming home from school,

sitting in front of the computer or spending time playing

video games it's no wonder obesity is on the rise. This being

said, there is another problem that many parents may be

overlooking.

Each year, reports pertaining to the number of bone fractures in

children are made public. Each year, those numbers rise. Some

reports attribute the increase in broken bones to an overload of

sugar from too much soda. This may indeed be a contributing

factor, but I believe improper calcium balance may be the real

cause.

Calcium balance is particularly important in our childhood years

when we are growing. Over 98% of the calcium is found in our

bones and teeth. Our bodies rely on vitamin D and weight bearing

exercise to help keep calcium levels intact. Weight bearing exercise

includes any activity in which your feet and legs carry your own

weight. Some good examples include:

* Walking

* Running

* Jumping Rope

* Dancing

* Climbing Stairs

* Jogging

* Aerobic Dancing

* Hiking

* Inline Skating/ice skating

* Racquet sports

* Team Sports such as soccer, Basketball,

field hockey, volleyball and softball or baseball.



These are a few of the exercises that can help to build strong bones.

Staying in the house and playing video baseball, instead of

hitting a real Little League home run, is robbing our children of sunlight.

Remember that vitamin D is manufactured in the body as a result

of sunlight on the skin. It is the messenger molecule that is

responsible for getting calcium to the parts of the body where it

is most needed. Without proper weight bearing exercise and

Vitamin D, the calcium balance is seriously disrupted. You may

think that your children get plenty of vitamin D and calcium from

the milk they drink, but did you know that the human body absorbs

only 20-30% of the calcium in cow's milk. The American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition found that the body absorbs calcium from kale

easier than the calcium in cow's milk.

In addition, many studies have linked the consumption of cow's

milk to multiple health problems, but that's a story for a later

time.

Should you feed your child kale instead of milk? Maybe, but it's

time for us as parents to insist that our kids get outside and

play again. There simply is no better way to get the proper

amount of vitamin D than to be in sunlight.

If you are afraid to pull the video game plug and are considering

giving Junior a vitamin D supplement instead, you should know

that of all vitamins, vitamin D has the highest level of

potential toxicity. Some of the better D supplement choices would

be Cholecalciferol (Animal origin) and Ergocalciferol (yeast

origin.)

I'm not saying the kids should never be on the computer, but I am

strongly suggesting you consider limiting their time.

When children spend time outside, they get the chance to soak up

the sunlight thus enabling the skin to produce vitamin D -

naturally. More than likely, their outdoor activities will

include some good weight bearing exercise, which will allow even

more vitamin D to be produced. The increased activity may also

lead to weight loss and better overall health.

Vitamin-D:

Helpers- Sufficient exposure to sunlight

Robbers- Lack of sunshine and Fried foods.

Larry M. Glicken

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Larry Glicken is a Nutritional Consultant and owner of

Complete Life Nutrition.com. Dedicated to helping

people stay healthy. Visit www.completelifenutrition.com

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