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Make sure your children get enough calcium.

Even before they come in, baby teeth and adult teeth need calcium to develop fully. And after the teeth are in, calcium may also help protect them against decay.

Calcium also makes jawbones strong and healthy.

Milk has calcium, a nutrient that helps your children’s body build strong teeth and bones.

There are a variety of ways to make sure your children ages 4 to 8 get enough calcium every day. Here is an example:

• 3 cups of milk a day

OR

• 1 cup of fat free yogurt and 2 cups of milk

OR

• 1 cup of orange juice with added calcium, 1 cup low fat fruit yogurt, and 1 cup milk

Daily Recommended Calcium Intake mg = milligrams

• Birth to 6 months 210 mg
• 7 to 12 months 270 mg
• 1 to 3 years 500 mg
• 4 to 8 years 800 mg
• 9 to 18 years 1,300 mg
• 19 to 50 years 1,000 mg
• 50+ years 1,200 mg

The peak “bone making years” are in childhood and teen years. If kids and teens don’t make enough bone as a kid, their risk for a bone disease called osteoporosis – pronounced ah-stee-oh-per-oh-sis – goes up. Osteoporosis is a condition that makes bones weak so they break more easily.

A poor diet and not enough physical activity can cause kids and teens to have weaker bones when they become adults. This not only makes it easier to get osteoporosis, it can hurt the body’s ability to heal right after an injury.

When kids and teens get enough calcium and vitamin D, and they do enough of the right types of physical activities called bone strengthening activities, they can help protect their bones.

Bones rely on calcium they store to stay strong throughout life. But, the “bone bank” for storing calcium is only open for a short time. Tweens (kids ages 9 to 12) and teens can help prevent osteoporosis by filling their bone banks with calcium when they are young, so that their bones can use it throughout life.

Daily Recommended Calcium Intake mg = milligrams

• Birth to 6 months – 210 mg
• 7 to 12 months – 270 mg
• 1 to 3 years – 500 mg
• 4 to 8 years – 800 mg
• 9 to 18 years – 1,300 mg
• 19 to 50 years – 1,000 mg
• 50+ years – 1,200 mg

Osteoporosis in the vertebrae can cause serious problems. A fracture in this area occurs from day to day activities like climbing stairs, lifting objects, or bending forward. Signs of osteoporosis:

• Sloping shoulders
• Curve in the back
• Height loss
• Back pain
• Hunched posture
• Protruding abdomen

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy!!

You don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from regular physical activity. Even modest amounts of physical activity can improve your health. Start with small, specific goals, such as walking 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week, and build up slowly from there.

What Does Regular Physical Activity Do???

• Increases your chances of living longer!!
• Helps you control your weight.
• Reduces your risks for cardiovascular disease.
• Reduces your risks for type 2 diabetes.
• Reduces your risks for metabolic syndrome – a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity.
• Reduces your risks for some cancers.
• Strengthens your bones and muscles.
• Improves your mental health and mood.
• Improves your ability to do daily activities.
• Prevent falls among older adults.

Try these activities to add more movement to your daily life:

• Take the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Make sure that the stairs are well lit.
• Get off the bus one stop early if you are in an area safe for walking.
• Park your car farther away from the entrances to stores, movie theaters, or your home.
• Take a short walk around the block with your family, friends, or coworkers.
• In bad weather, walk around in a mall.
• Rake the leaves or wash your car.
• Visit museums, the zoo, or an aquarium. You and your family can walk for hours and not realize it.
• Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.

As you become more fit, slowly increase your pace, the length of time you are active, and how often you are active.

Remember to:

Start slowly - Your body needs time to get used to your new activity.

Warm up - Warm-ups get your body ready for action.

• Shrug your shoulders,
• Tap your toes,
• Swing your arms,
  OR
• March in place

You should spend a few minutes warming up for any physical activity, even walking. Walk slowly for the first few minutes.

Cool down - Slow down little by little. If you have been walking fast, walk slowly or stretch for a few minutes to cool down. Cooling down may protect your heart, relax your muscles, and keep you from getting hurt.

Check with your doctor before starting a vigorous physical activity program if you are a man over the age of 40, a woman over the age of 50, or if you have any chronic health problems.

Why You Need Calcium
Everyone needs calcium every day to keep their bones strong and less likely to break, and this is especially important for girls and women. Most women do not get enough calcium daily. The body cannot produce calcium, it must be absorbed through food.

Calcium is a mineral needed by the body for:

• Strong bones
• Strong healthy teeth
• Proper function of the heart
• Muscle contraction
• Blood vessel expansion and contraction
• Secretion of hormones and enzymes
• Transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system
• Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis later in life (weak bones and bone loss)

Daily Recommended Calcium Intake mg = milligrams

• Birth to 6 months – 210 mg
• 7 to 12 months – 270 mg
• 1 to 3 years – 500 mg
• 4 to 8 years – 800 mg
• 9 to 18 years – 1,300 mg
• 19 to 50 years – 1,000 mg
• 50+ years – 1,200 mg

Calcium is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines, such as antacids for heartburn. Vitamin D also plays an important role in healthy bone development. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium – this is why milk is fortified with vitamin D.

Example:
3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk = 900 mg of calcium
Plus additional servings of calcium-rich foods = 400 mg of calcium
Total = 1,300 mg of calcium everyday

Good Sources of Calcium Include

• Rhubarb, frozen, cooked, 1 cup 348 mg
• Sardines, with bone, 3 oz. 325 mg
• Spinach, frozen, cooked, 1 cup 291 mg
• Salmon, canned, with bone, 3 oz. 181 mg
• Low fat or nonfat milk, cheese, and yogurt
• Dark green leafy vegetables such as bok choy and broccoli
• Calcium fortified foods such as orange juice, cereal, bread, soy beverages, and tofu products
• Nuts such as almonds

1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men over the age of 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.
Some people don’t even know they have osteoporosis until they break a bone.
Make sure you are getting enough calcium everyday!!

Calcium builds strong bones.

Calcium is especially important during the tween (kids ages 9 to 12) and teen years, when bones are growing their fastest.

Kids have calcium needs that they can’t make up for later in life. By the time teens finish their growth spurts around age 17, 90 percent of their adult bone mass is established.

Fewer than 1 in 10 girls and only 1 in 4 boys ages 9 to 13 are at or above their adequate intake of calcium. This lack of calcium has a big impact on their bones and teeth.

Starting around age nine, young people need almost twice as much calcium as younger kids, 1,300 mg of calcium a day.

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of Calcium mg = milligrams

• Birth to 6 months – 210 mg
• 6 to 12 months – 270 mg
• 1 to 3 years – 500 mg
• 4 to 8 years – 800 mg
• 9 to 18 years – 1,300 mg

Note:
Children 1 to 2 years old should drink whole milk. After age two, low fat or fat free milk should become their regular drink.

Tweens and teens can get most of their daily calcium from:

• 3 cups of low fat or fat free milk = 900 mg of calcium

PLUS

• Additional servings of calcium rich foods = 400 mg of calcium
  = 1,300 mg of calcium every day!

Some Calcium Rich Foods:

• Plain yogurt, fat free – 1 cup – 452 mg of calcium
• Orange juice with added calcium – 1 cup – 350 mg of calcium
• Fruit yogurt, low fat – 1 cup – 345 mg of calcium
• Ricotta cheese, part skim – 1/2 cup – 334 mg of calcium
• American cheese, low fat or fat free – about 3 slices – 312 mg of calcium
• Soybeans, cooked – 1 cup – 298 mg of calcium

Calcium supplements are also an alternative way to get calcium for children and adults who don’t or can’t have milk or milk products.