In This issue:
November's Community Health Series
Is Calcium making your bones brittle?

Community Health Series Wednesdays at 7pm in November

Prevalent diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's are not the result of a single choice, but a life of choices.

Your actions, thoughts and diet create health or disease. Your health is your choice.

But what is health?

Health does not come in a pill or a book. Health is not simply the absence of disease or pain. Quite simply, health encompasses many areas that include your body, your relationships, and your mind. Proper alignment, nutrition, mental attitude, and body awareness are all components.

To help you make educated choices for your family's health, the Community Health Series explores a different topic each week. We'll discuss areas such as stress's role in a wide variety of lifestyle diseases, the connection between ADD/ADHD and Parkinson's, and what is better for you - exercise or diet.

Please join us for November's health discussions:

• November 4: Are you acidic? pH: Your potential for health
• November 11: Heart vs. Head thinking. Is it all in your Head?
• November 18: Stress - Is it affecting your health and relationships?

The Community Health Series takes place at the Bright Side office Wednesdays at 7 o'clock. Call 280-4559 or email thebrightsidehealth@gmail.com for more information.

back to top

Are you taking too much Calcium?

Calcium is often touted as the answer to osteoporosis with millions of people taking calcium supplements daily, but is it doing more harm than good?

If you're taking calcium for your bone density, you might be missing the mark. Amy Lanou, Associate Professor at UNC Asheville and author of Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis says that while calcium makes up the vast majority of bone, other vital minerals like magnesium, potassium, and zinc also need to be replenished.

Taking calcium without also supplementing these minerals is like building a wall out of bricks (calcium) without using mortar (other minerals). Analyzing studies of calcium supplementation, Dr. Lanou found that two-thirds showed no benefit from high calcium intake. Overall, clinical trials dealing with fracture prevention run two-to-one against calcium.

Why are you calcium deficient in the first place? This is a question that we will address in our Community Health Series talk Nov. 4th titled Are you acidic? pH: Your potential for health. One main cause of osteoporosis, according to Dr. Lanou, is an acidic diet.

Your body needs to be slightly alkaline to survive. When you eat foods that leave acidic remnants, it will create balance by leaching alkaline minerals from your bones. The result is osteoporosis.

Alkaline foods are packed with minerals that your body can use - instead of forcing it to strip your bones, muscles and tissues of their components. Alkaline foods include green leafy vegetables, goat's milk, and fruit while acidic foods include meats, beans, cow's milk and grains.

For more information concerning calcium over-supplementation, pick up Dr. Lanou's book: Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis. You are also invited to the Community Health Series Nov. 4 - Are you acidic? pH - Your potential for Health. Call 280-4559 for more information.

back to top