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You might wonder why I typically refer to my aging grandmother in my articles. Well, first of all, in her 105th year of life, she has had her share of wellness issues over the past century, and we can usually get some genuine insight from those.
Also, her sense of humor and her no-frills attitude make for some good added fodder for these articles. I am not exploiting her. I am merely borrowing some of her insight and transposing it for the 21st century. Besides, she is 250 miles away from me…she’ll never know!
So, in keeping in tune with bone-related articles, I have to say that Grandma’s bones are in pretty good shape for her mature age. I assume she gets the necessary vitamins and minerals in her diet to keep her skeleton in fine form. I know for a fact that she shuns dairy, loves Cinnabon rolls, turns up her nose at any fruit product, eats salt like candy, and relies upon a steady diet of McDonald’s breakfast items and their free coffee. Did I just frighten you? If so, then consider Grandma a medical miracle. I am sure some scientists will want to examine her body post-mortem some day to find out how she ate like this for decades and thrived.
For the rest of us, however, we have to opt for different avenues of health to keep our bones in prime condition. As for me, I just came in from an hour spent by the pool, basking under the warmth of the glorious sun. (Oh, dear! I just admitted that I might have some slacker tendencies! Let me retract that admission. It was not an hour. It was ten minutes, and I was soaking up my daily quota of the sunshine vitamin – Mr. Vitamin D!)
According to www.dairycouncilofca.org, Vitamin D is frequently referred to as the “sunshine vitamin.” Our bodies can produce this vitamin when we expose our skin to just 10-15 minutes of sun exposure each day on our face, hands, and arms, sans sunscreen. This will meet our daily needs for this powerful vitamin. However, certain climates, weather conditions, and geographical locations do not allow for this sort of absorption, so we need to seek other sources of vitamin D. We can find these in items such as fortified milk, yogurt, salmon, tuna, and sardines. Some other food products, such as cereals and orange juice, do come fortified with this supplement.
So, why do we even need Vitamin D? According to www.ahealthyme.com, “vitamin D grabs calcium and phosphorus out of your intestines and dumps them into your bloodstream where they can be absorbed by your bones and keep your skeleton strong.” In children, a lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets, a bone-deforming condition that can contribute to bowlegs or knock-knees. For adults, a shortage of this supplement can lead to osteoporosis, the “brittle bone” disease that creates pain in the bones and in the joints.
Interestingly enough, vitamin D can help prevent certain types of cancer, most specifically colon and colorectal cancers. As recently as 2005, according to A Healthy Me, studies have shown that taking 1,000 IU daily of vitamin D3 cuts the risk of breast and ovarian cancer…by up to 50 percent! Please pass the tuna and yogurt now! I am going to eat it outside in the sun…for 10 minutes!
As a mom of three teenage boys, I am surprised to learn that they, too, might be lacking in vitamin D. With all of the time kids these days spend in front of the computer or the TV, they are seeing less of the great outdoors. They need vitamin D at this significant growth period during their lives. To be safe, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mutli-vitamin supplements containing 200 IU of vitamin D for teens who do not consume at least 16 ounces of vitamin-D fortified milk each day.
For adults, the daily recommendation of vitamin D is 200 IU per day until age 50. From ages 51-70, you need 400 IU. Past the age of 70, go for 600 IU daily. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends getting 800-1,000 IU daily for post-menopausal women and men over the age of 50.
Okay, this seriously puts my grandma in a dilemma. Not only is she WAY over 70, but, since she did get something similar to a period again at age 102….spotty at times, yet there (another topic for another day) is she post-menopausal or pre-menopausal for the second time?) Well, if she gets hot flashes again, I maybe onto another topic for the day!
Until then, be sure to keep your bones healthy and in check with our good friend, Mr. Vitamin D. Keep osteoporosis at bay and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. Just don’t jog to McDonald’s every day or ask for extra salt. I told you, however, Grandma is a medical enigma. She does keep things interesting.
Add a Comment12 Comments
It's a good article and sounds like my great grandma. She just turned 105 April 28 2012.
May 7, 2012 - 3:00pmThis Comment
Ann,
I just want to say that I LOVE hearing about your grandmother! I think that by the time someone has passed 100 with such a flourish, we should all pay attention to what we can learn from them!! Especially since so many of us are expected to live longer -- and I think the scariest thing is to think about having a long life without the quality of life your grandmother clearly has. And the next time I smell those #$&!!@ tempting Cinnabon rolls, I may think about them a little differently!!!
August 27, 2009 - 8:30amThis Comment
Go for it! Thanks for your comment! If Grandma Kora can eat those Cinnabon rolls every now and again, so can you! The funny thing is, when I met her at the airport last month when she had a three-hour layover to catch another flight, she had not only the Cinnabon roll, but a bowl of soup AND a brownie! Then, to walk it off, she pushed me around the airport in a wheelchair for a bit just to see other people's reactions! No one called the geriatric abuse hotline, but we did get some stares. We were laughing hysterically, however!
August 27, 2009 - 10:02amThis Comment
Thank YOU, Rosa!
August 26, 2009 - 6:28amThis Comment
Rosa, please do forget the sun block at least for the first half an hour out in the sun! Because a) a sun block with a protection factor 15 blocks the production of 99% of vitamin D in the skin! b) there's been several studies showing that the ingredients in sunscreens have estrogenic effects on cultured breast cancer cells (i.e. in lab experiments the breast cancer cells enjoyed the sunscreen). I would say if there are natural sun blocks out there it is a good idea to try finding them.
The amount of vitamin D that the skin metabolizes depends on a number of factors including the latitude, the time of the day, season, skin complexion, age, etc. For example, total body exposure (as in naked) out in the sun (at a 30-40 deg latitude, summer time) for about half an hour results in 10.000 IU (250 microgr) – and this seems to be a natural physiological limit, meaning that by longer exposures the skin won’t produce more vitamin D.
Regarding what should be an optimal daily intake of vitamin D - this is a tough question to answer. I've been looking at a LOT of scientific papers on the subject and the dosage was anywhere btw 1.000 IU/day and 10.000 IU/day. My interest with this vitamin peaked during the past few months in connection to its role in preventing colds, flu, diabetes and cancers. If you would like to read more about what is the current knowledge on vitamin D, I'm happy to share my blog post
http://ionelu.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/vitamin-d-plan-of-action/
I.A.
August 26, 2009 - 5:16amThis Comment
Nice info--thanks!
August 26, 2009 - 6:19amThis Comment
Although of course daily intake of high calcium foodsources such as fish, greens, nuts/seeds, cheese and yoghurt will provide ongoing support for your bone structure, we must not forget that it is during your early years, from conception through to adulthood, that the foundations are laid.
August 26, 2009 - 2:07amOnly when your 25(OH)D status is above 30ng/mL ~80nmol/l can you be sure your body is absorbing, from diet or supplements the full amount of calcium.
Grassrootshealth D Action are a charity promoting Vitamin D3 awareness and as part of a trial to identify the Vitamin D3 level associated with least illness they are offering regular 25(OH)D testing to enable you to monitor your level to ensure it stays around the 55ng/mL 135nmol/l currently associated with least chronic illness. It's a very simple $40 postal test and a link to the result is emailed to you in a few days.
Most people will find that 20~30minutes full body non-burning midday sun exposure keeps levels about right but those who cannot manage this will probably do well with 1000iu/daily for each 25lbs they weight.
Grassrootshealth have an excellent documentation library will many scientific papers to support their recommendations.
Anyone concerned about the amounts I have suggested should read the paper
"Vitamin D and Cancer Mini-Symposium: The Risk of Additional Vitamin D"
by Reinhold Vieth that can be dowloaded from the menu following the "Symposium in Print 2009" tab.
This Comment
And then, there are those of us who cannot drink milk, so we get a bit of sun (plus, I'm a distance runner - with the telltale sock and skort tan lines). I don't cook with salt; there's an amazing amount of sodium in our foods, already!
Your grandmother is truly amazing and I enjoy your stories about her.
August 25, 2009 - 7:16pmThis Comment
Thank you! Glad to hear you are a fellow runner! I get up at 4:30 each morning to hit the pavement, followed by a bike ride. My grandma used to ride her bike every morning before breakfast. Guess she figured the ride would cancel out the calories from McDonald's!
August 26, 2009 - 5:21amThis Comment
Oh, no - not the golden arches! lol
Well, I didn't get to eat dinner before our CPR class, last night, so my daughter and I stopped afterwards at a local burger place to pick up a couple of grilled chicken sandwiches. In themselves, they were okay; the onion rings, though, were another matter. I hardly ever have fried food, but I do love onion rings. It's going to take a few miles to burn them off, haha!
August 26, 2009 - 4:19pmThis Comment