| There are a lot of great things about being a woman | | | | One Last Thing . . . |
| over 50. For most of us, the kids are grown and | | | | I've said it before, but it bears repeating. If you are |
| gone - allowing us to explore roads not traveled in | | | | worried about bone loss - get moving! In a review of |
| our younger years. For some, that means a change in | | | | 24 studies examining aerobic exercise and bone |
| careers or learning a new skill. Others learn to be | | | | mineral density in women, researchers at the |
| self-sufficient. Still other women discover a latent | | | | Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health |
| creativity that brings joy and meaning to life. | | | | Professions in Boston found that subjects who |
| Of course, not everything is rosy after you hit your | | | | walked an average of 30 minutes, three times a |
| fifties. One of the rude realities of being | | | | week for at least 16 weeks experienced significant |
| post-menopausal - changes in your health. And one of | | | | bone-mass gain. In comparison, non-exercisers |
| the first things to start slip-sliding away? Your bones. | | | | experienced a bone-mass decrease of nearly 2 |
| In fact, during the first five to ten years after | | | | percent in that time period. |
| menopause, women can suffer two to four percent | | | | Exactly what kind of exercise is best for the bones? |
| loss of bone density per year! This can result in a | | | | Any kind of weight-bearing exercise, during which |
| total loss of up to 25 to 30 percent of their bone | | | | you're moving and supporting the weight of your |
| density. | | | | own body, helps boost the mineralization (buildup) of |
| Fortunately, this loss isn't cast in stone. Italian | | | | calcium and increases bloodstream levels of the |
| researchers recently found that taking calcium, | | | | growth hormones that are major players in bone |
| vitamin D and supplements containing a soy | | | | formation. Weight lifting, running, step aerobics, |
| compound called genistein not only protects the bone | | | | dancing, stair climbing, skiing, skating, karate, bowling, |
| you've got, it may help increase bone mass after | | | | racquet sports and hiking are all excellent |
| menopause. | | | | osteoporosis-preventing workouts, as are team |
| Soy Healthy | | | | sports such as basketball, volleyball, softball, hockey |
| During the study by investigators at the University of | | | | and soccer. |
| Messina in Italy, women who took the soy | | | | If you prefer a less strenuous approach to bone |
| compound showed a modest increase in bone | | | | fitness, easy walking is a great way to stave off |
| density over two years, compared with a small | | | | bone-related disabilities. It places regular, light impact |
| decrease among women who used only calcium and | | | | on the bones and joints, decreasing your risk of |
| vitamin D. Genistein is a type of isoflavone, plant | | | | fracture by 30 percent. More strenuous power |
| chemicals that have effects similar to the female | | | | walking decreases your risk of falling and suffering a |
| hormone estrogen. The estrogen decline that follows | | | | bone fracture by almost 50 percent. Yoga and Pilates |
| menopause contributes to bone density loss, and | | | | are also effective choices, since certain poses, such |
| some research has linked high soy intake from food | | | | as bridge and prone cobra, support abdominal stability |
| to a lower risk of the bone-thinning disease | | | | and protect the spine. |
| osteoporosis. | | | | This Just In . . . |
| So should you start loading up on tofu and soymilk? | | | | Good news - and just in time for that summer cold. |
| Well, yes and no. While these foods are good for | | | | Echinacea, the herb recently dismissed by the New |
| you, the problem with getting your soy solely from | | | | England Journal of Medicine as "worthless," seems to |
| food is the sheer volume you would have to | | | | work after all. In fact, it's so effective; it can slash |
| consume to get the same results you'd get with | | | | the odds of catching a cold in half! That's what |
| supplements. For example, a woman would need to | | | | researchers at the University of Connecticut School |
| drink two gallons of soy milk or eight pounds of tofu | | | | of Pharmacy found when they reviewed the results |
| per day to get the same benefit. This new research, | | | | of 14 studies that looked at the effectiveness of |
| on the other hand, used a nearly pure chemical from | | | | echinacea to protect against colds. |
| soy that you can't obtain in sufficient quantities by | | | | The studies reviewed by the UConn team involved |
| simply eating more soy products. | | | | 1,600 people who used various brands of echinacea |
| Boning Up | | | | supplements. After analyzing all of the data, they |
| The study involved 389 postmenopausal women with | | | | found that echinacea reduced the risk of catching a |
| lower than normal bone mass that hadn't yet | | | | cold naturally by an impressive 58 percent. Even |
| progressed to osteoporosis - a condition known as | | | | when patients were directly inoculated with rhinovirus |
| ostopenia. The women were randomly assigned to | | | | - the most common cold-causing virus - echinacea |
| take either 54 mg. of genistein or a placebo every | | | | reduced the risk of colds developing by 35 percent. |
| day for two years. Both the genistein and placebo | | | | And if you do come down with a cold, taking |
| pills also contained 500 mg. of calcium and 400 IU of | | | | echinacea can decrease the number of days you'll be |
| vitamin D. | | | | under the weather by around 1.5 days. |
| After two years, bone scans showed that, on | | | | To keep colds at bay, you can take 125 mg. of |
| average, the women who took genistein had gained | | | | echinacea twice a day on an ongoing basis. For best |
| bone density in the hip and lower spine, while those in | | | | results, take echinacea for six to eight weeks |
| the placebo group had lost bone mass. And the | | | | followed by a two week break before restarting use. |
| supplemental soy compound was exceptionally safe. | | | | And make sure you get a supplement that has been |
| During this study, the women on genistein showed | | | | standardized to contain four percent echinacoside to |
| no thickening in the lining of the uterus, a sign of | | | | support the immune system. |
| adverse hormonal effects. Instead, the main side | | | | What if you catch a cold anyway? The minute you |
| effects were minor gastrointestinal problems like | | | | feel the sniffles coming on, boost your intake to 300 |
| indigestion and constipation. | | | | mg. every two hours for the first day of illness, then |
| But, even though side effects were minor, the dose | | | | three times per day for a total of seven to 10 days. |
| used in this study was extremely large. If you'd like | | | | Combine that with plenty of rest, fluids and, of |
| to try a supplement containing high amounts of | | | | course, chicken soup, and you'll be back on your feet |
| genistein, check with your doctor first - especially if | | | | in no time at all! |
| you are at high risk for breast or uterine cancer. | | | | |