Calcium is the most abundant mineral that is in the human body. Almost all of the calcium in our body, over ninety nine percent, is stored in two places, your teeth and bones. There are several important functions of calcium, and some of these are muscle contractions, like your heart, the expansion and contraction of your blood vessels, sending messages through your nervous system, and secreting enzymes and hormones.
By maintaining a constant level of calcium in your body fluids and tissues, the vital processes of your body can function efficiently without stopping. Your bones are in a constant state of remodeling, with bone being broken down and then reformed each night while you sleep. During this process, calcium is deposited in the new bone.
When we are young, more bone is formed each night than what is broken down. In our middle adult years, the process is about even, with the same amount of bone broken down that is formed.. As older adults, the process reverses, and more bone is torn down that what is built. This leads to a loss of bone density, and this is the reason that older adults are prone to Osteoporosis and other brittle bone disorders. Calcium is found in a wide variety of foods, but the most common are milk, cheese, and yogurt. These three sources have the most calcium per serving, and are very high in this nutrient.
The recommendations of the FDA vary, according to age. In small infants and children, this amount can be anywhere from two hundred and ten milligrams per day up to eight hundred milligrams. Children from age nine until age eighteen should have thirteen hundred milligrams of calcium per day.
An adult from age nineteen until age fifty should have around one thousand milligrams of calcium in their diet each day. Once an adult reaches the age of fifty one, they should boost their calcium intake to twelve hundred milligrams daily, because this is the age that bone loss is more than bone formation, and the extra calcium will help keep your bones and teeth strong and healthy.
It is recommended that every person should consume at least two servings of dairy each day, and preferably three or more servings. A typical serving would be one eight ounce cup of milk, one and a half ounces of natural cheese, like Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, an eight ounce serving of yogurt, or two ounces of cheese that has been processed, like American or Velveeta.
Congratulations! You are starting off the New Year by increasing your activity! You are walking, or jogging, or you joined a class at the local Y. Whatever it is, you have taken the first step to improving your fitness. You now want to learn about becoming more flexible. Somewhere you read that "total fitness" involves exercise (which you're now doing), along with strength and flexibility.
Good luck. I'm almost 53 years old, and I am not sure I'll ever get all three parts down. But I am a walker and my goal is to walk 4-5 times a week for 45 minutes. Many times I take several short walks, but the total is 45 minutes, so most times I meet my goal. I have also been working on my flexibility for many years by doing yoga. Many yoga poses involve holding this 144-pound body in a headstand, or handstand, and that takes strength. So maybe I won't need to buy weights to keep my bones strong!
Let me tell you a bit about doing yoga, because, as a big fan, I wish everyone could take time to do it. What I love the most about yoga is that you find yourself more comfortable in your body, regardless of the shape you may think you are in. Whether I feel too fat from overeating, or I'm feeling energetic because it's...a good day, ten minutes of yoga makes me feel even better. Maybe it's the idea that I have made time to take care of myself, I don't know. Whether you have ten minutes or an hour, you can always find some type of pose (or series of poses) to fit the way you are feeling. You will always feel better, physically and psychologically.
There are many styles of yoga, including Ashtanga yoga, a fast moving, intense practice; power yoga, a Westernized form of Asthanga; and then there's "hot yoga"-you practice in a heated room (over 100 degrees F). Make sure you take LOTS of fluids with you to this class.
The style I practice is called Iyengar yoga, based on the teachings of B.K.S Iyengar. It has been referred to as ?props? yoga, because it involves the use of blocks, belts and other objects to aid in learning the poses (also called ?asanas?). Once I went to another yoga-style class. After the class, I had a conversation with the instructor about Iyengar yoga. I have a distinct memory of him saying "yes, that is the yoga for people who have hurt themselves and need to start over again, slowly".? I was so angry I would have kicked him! (Since I'd injured my back, though, I couldn't.)
I complained to my instructor about this comment, and she smiled. It's important that you simply start doing yoga, she said, not what style you choose. Very Zen, don't you think? But she's right. The important thing is for people to just get started.
There is one essential piece of advice I'd like to offer anyone interested in learning yoga, regardless of the style you choose. You must make sure you have a qualified instructor. While there are many people out there who may be considered qualified, not all of them should be teaching classes.
Here is one way to tell: at the beginning of your class, if the instructor does not ask ?Is there anyone here with a particular health issue I should know about??-get up and leave. A misconception about yoga is that you simply sit, breathe deeply, and learn small stretches. Learning how to breathe correctly is essential, it aids in concentration and movement through the asanas. However, many yoga poses involve deep stretching and lots of strength (to stay in those poses). Suppose you walk into class with an injury (perhaps you strained your neck in the middle of the night, or pulled a back muscle getting out of bed). If your instructor isn't aware of this at the beginning of class, by the end of class you may be in more pain than when you started.
By all means, pick a yoga class you like-that's the most important part in getting started. Just remember to make sure your instructor knows what going on in your body (and your mind) before you start the class.
Leeann Simons has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Marketing and Fitness. For free tips to becoming At Peace With Food, articles, and links to nutritional resource websites, visit=>