Archive for the Recommendations
As women we’ve been told to take varying amounts of calcium per day depending on where we are on the continuum. Dairy products help, leafy greens are full of it, and some nuts and legumes also contain calcium so eating a broad spectrum of whole foods is important.
When it comes to the supplements there is no shortage of confusion and options. Citrate, carbonate, lactate, gluconate, with K, with D? What’s the best ratio of magnesium to calcium? It’s enough to exhaust even this fan of research. When I’ve had enough of trying to sort it all out I find an expert to help. In this case, the Doc I rely on for all things bone related and keeping them healthy is Dr. Susan Brown, MD. She’s one of the experts for Women to Women International which is a site you should bookmark if you are not familiar with it. The information is all geared towards us, is reliable, safe, and mostly alternative vs pharmaceutical.
Dr. Brown has simple to follow recommendations at her website and in her books. If you aren’t inclined to read or don’t have time be sure to listen in to our interview on September 28th, at 3pm EST. She’s one of the 14 experts I’m bringing together to give you the latest info on being healthy, aging in good health and looking and feeling your best at midlife.
The most important thing to know is that food, supplements and even adding weight bearing exercise are important but not the whole picture. Learning about the acid/alkaline balance is critical to keeping calcium where it belongs–in the bones. Our lives are full of stress which creates acid as do high protein diets, consuming caffeine, alcohol, and soda.
Osteopenia, the dreaded diagnosis for women ages 35 and up, is a non–disease. When the mean by which all older bones are measured for density is a healthy, white, female in her 20′s, who stands a chance? Our bones will undergo structural changes and thin as we age. That’s not the problem. Flexible bones are what we are striving for regardless of how they may look in a dexa scan. The drugs so readily prescribed by docs around the country to “prevent fractures” create brittle bones–let’s not even talk about the side effects–the very thing we don’t want in a bone.
I invite you to take a look at Dr. Brown’s excellent pages of information–tons of it free–and see how your healthy bones program measures up. I don’t know about you but I’ve seen too many elderly women fall, break a hip, and basically kiss their independence goodbye. I will do all I can to avoid that happening.
If you haven’t heard, September is Midlife with a Vengeance month and I’ve got 14 amazing health and life professionals who have agreed to be interviewed live and spill the beans on midlife health and happiness.
Take a look to find out who the speakers are and what they’ll be talking about. Don’t forget to sign up, it’s free, and I know it is going to be life changing for many of us.
Here’s to your healthy bones.
PS here is what the good doc has to say about which type of calcium to take:
“As to which forms optimize both absorption and bioavailability, alkalizing calcium salts are the best calcium compounds known to date. These forms include calcium citrate, calcium citrate–malate, calcium ascorbate, and calcium carbonate. Calcium citrate and its relative, calcium citrate–malate (CCM), are sources that do not require hydrochloric acid (HCl) from the stomach for absorption, so the calcium in them is very bioavailable to the body and a good choice for people with low stomach acid. Calcium in the form of calcium citrate also appears to play a protective role against the formation of kidney stones, and does not appear to interfere with iron absorption from food. Calcium carbonate is often found not to be as well absorbed as citrate, but does alkalize well in the body if taken with food. (Calcium absorption from all forms is generally better when taken with a meal.)”
You can read more here:http://www.betterbones.com/bonenutrition/calcium.aspx
My friends over at The Three Tomatoes–if you don’t know them take a look, their website and weekly newsletters are full of lifestyle info, products, and resources for us girls who aren’t kids anymore–are holding a fabulous contest that you don’t want to miss.
No purchase is necessary you simply sign up for their newsletter. Trust me whether you live in NYC or not you’ll love this newsletter for the great writing, the online sales they’ve got the private invitations to, and so much more.
Now let me tell you what’s up for grabs. New York City needs no introduction and that’s the setting for this pampered experience. The hotel you’ll be staying at is called The Surrey. It was built in the 1920′s as a residence and when they remodeled recently they hired someone who would honor the elegant history but include modern touches like a roof top bar and a full service spa. Two of you will enjoy one night in a King Deluxe room and you’ll receive two 60 minute spa services.
The contest ends September 22nd at noon and I’d jump on it if you have been wanting to enjoy some time in the city, maybe eat at a fabulous restaurant, see a show, visit a museum.
I recently had drinks in the bar downstairs and let me tell you the place is cool. The service was great and a better cosmo is not to be found.
I entered and wish you all the best of luck with your entry. Hey, if you can’t get to NYC it would be a great gift!
Check it out and do spend some time on the Tomatoes website. They have a radio show called Tomatoes in the Trenches and recently featured my friend Eileen Williams of Feisty Side of Fifty on finding work after 50. She’s the expert on this subject so if you are a job seeker, have a listen.
Book reviews used to be a regular part of my newsletter until last year. I never knew if people read them, wanted to read them, found them useful. I still read works of fiction, non-fiction, self-help type, lifestyle programs, and books that feature midlife or boomer as the target or subject and I miss sharing my favorites. So today I’m officially bringing back the book review. I may do an excerpt in the newsletter with a link to come here for the whole review.
The Season of Second Chances came to be by chance. I was contacted by a PR person who included the press release in an email. I read it through, it didn’t grab me. Another email arrived offering a copy of the book. I reconsidered as I was out of reading material on the beside table. The book arrived and the design of the jacket, continued in style on the inner cover pages promised something lovely to come. I knew little about this story save what the press release told me: “is a tale of one woman’s unexpected encounter with her true self and proof that second chances are waiting to be discovered within all of us. Meier’s debut helps readers understand that when one lets change into his or her life, it has the power to set them free.”
So, is this a coach’s dream story or what? I also knew there was an old house to be remodeled and that Joy, the main character was a New Yorker about to take leave of her life there. The books opening words, spoken by Joy, “It takes a keen eye to tell a false start from a dead end. I wanted out. I wanted somewhere else, anywhere else.” hooked me.
For the next couple of weeks I read each night fighting between wanting to read more and not wanting the story to end. Ms. Meier’s writing is as real as sitting across the table from a friend.
This is not a sappy Lifetime Channel soap opera where every aspect of Joy’s new life is easy to navigate, nor are any of the characters without traits you’d like to cull, for their sake. In other words, it’s a set of real people faced with real sometimes harrowing situations. In order to grow we must be stretched and sometimes we find we’ve created that stretching situation comfort zone be damned.
Diane Meier has also written a nonfiction book titled The New American Wedding: Ritual and Style in a Changing Culture. It’s a book about creating something meaningful, stylish and appropriate for adults, many of whom will be doing this for the second time. Most of what a first time, often young person’s wedding represents does not apply later on in life. Let me quote Diane from an email she sent:
“I set out to find couples who had tackled that very issue, designing meaningful and integrated rituals, based expressing on their own authentic values. It was one of the most wonderful and enriching experiences of my life. And I think it really reinforced or focused the idea that developing a way of personally expressing ourselves — in style — is about as important a mission as we have here. Not money. Not fashion. Style.”
What a great gift for midlife couples looking to create something the fits, that speaks to their style and their place in a newly joined community. You can find signed copies from the Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington, CT.
Tomorrow Diane will be my guest in this space to talk about midlife–her version of living with a vengeance was to marry “at a certain age” and publish not one but two books. I think you’ll enjoy her thoughts on style, writing, and being willing to be open.
Meanwhile if you want a great read I recommend you pick up a copy of The Season of Second Chances.
PS I have no idea why I couldn’t increase the above font size back to the original I use and not have it turn brown with links that don’t look live. Anyone who wants to enlighten me is welcome.
Are there radio shows you’d love to be a guest on? Are you unsure of just how to contact them? Well help is here. I was recently introduced to a woman named Francine Silverman aka The Talk Show Advocate. Her expertise lies in knowing how to get invited to be a guest on talk radio shows all over the world.
Francine has two new digital products to help you get that invitation if your area of expertise falls into the categories of health or self-help. Here is her summary.
Self-Help and Health Ebooks Contain Everything a Potential Radio Guest Needs to Know
You’d like to promote your book, business or expertise on the radio but researching radio shows is a hassle and traditional radio directories are mere listings. Good news!! Ebooks are now available for potential radio guests. Francine based the ebooks on her book, Talk Radio Wants You: An Intimate Guide to 700 Shows and How to Get Invited (McFarland & Co. 2009), a National “Best Books 2009″ award winner which contains everything a potential guest needs to know before contacting a host.
The ebooks feature the most vital information for guests: show title and theme, guest criteria, name of host, email, phone (optional), website, best method of contact, and where aired. Call them short cut versions of the book specifically for those working in the heath and self help arenas.
The Self-Help ebook, 61 shows, price is $15, covers personal and professional goals, growth and empowerment, emotional freedom techniques, motivation, creativity, living one’s calling, making for a better world, transforming your life and self-realization. To sample the Directory of Self-Help Talk Radio Shows, please click https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6194
The Health Ebook (41 shows priced at $12) covers healthy living and lifestyles, fitness, health as a business advantage, natural healing, alternative medicine, medical travel, issues, education and treatment, addictions, abuse, and overcoming adversities. To sample the Directory of Health Talk Radio Shows, please click:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6273
Through April 22, 2010 – The first two subscribers of this newsletter to send Fran an email at franalive@optonline.net will receive the ebook at half price!! Be sure to let her know the title of the newsletter where you saw this Special Offer.
If you are looking for more exposure I’d take Francine up on her offer. She’s an expert in getting people onto radio shows. She also has a great newsletter and website for those of you who have a book in need of publicity called The Book Promotion Newsletter.
This is not an affiliate promotion, I just think Francine’s products give direction and save time for those of us looking for more airtime.
Don’t forget, if you do want either of the ebooks send her an email saying so and she’ll discount the already low price by half. Heck if that’s the case, buy both, it’s like getting one for free.
