According to my mom, there is a saying in the old country that most women lose one tooth per baby. Babies are nursed in the country side and formula is rarely used.  It is too expensive or there is limited access. Since I gave birth to now, I’ve developed 4 cavities. And yes, I believe breast feeding is the culprit. You lose some of your bone density with each child.

Amazing breast milk and bone density

Breast milk is amazing and indiscriminate of the mother’s health. The breast milk of a malnourished mother will provide just as much minerals and vitamins as a well nourished mother. The only difference may be the fat content might be higher for a well nourished mother.

If breast milk is providing all this good stuff, what happens to the mother if she is malnourished or undernourished? Since a woman’s body is made for reproduction, your treasonous body will compromise the mother’s body to feed the baby. Hence, the cavities for women not getting enough calcium in their diet.

If you are in your 20s, you can still increase your long-term bone density because the rate of bone density loss is slower than the rate you can increase your bone density. However, for someone in their 30s like me, my rate of bone density loss is equal to or greater than the rate I am building up my bone density.

Why women more prone to develop osteoporosis

My bones are much more vulnerable to developing osteoporosis than my husband’s even without the issue of carrying and nourishing our baby. Women stop building bone density between 30-35 years old. I am at a stage where my body is building and losing bone density at the same rate (without the baby factor).

Now add in yo-yo dieting without exercise and you have both fat loss and muscle loss each time you go on a diet. You naturally start to lose about 4% of your muscle mass per decade. Menopause accelerates the muscle mass loss to 10% per decade. Studies have shown that women who participate in a regular strength training exercise routine are less likely to develop osteoporosis. Men are less likely to develop osteoporosis because they do not experience the hormone changes we do over their lifetime and start out with more muscle mass to begin with.

You might think your bones are hard and a fixed lifeless structure. But bone density is constantly changing, growing, diminishing, or re-building, depending on your current circumstances. Taking calcium supplement is not the only preventative measure to curtail bone density loss.

Amazingly, you cannot tell whether someone has great bone density by their appearances. I used to belong to a bowling league where half the members have been collecting social security longer than I’ve been working since graduation. Two women fell while bowling one year. They are both the same age — 82 at the time. One is heavyset and the other is thin. You would think the thin senior would end up with the broken hip, but it is her heavyset friend who ended up sitting out two seasons.  Vi, the thin senior, ended up with a bruise and promptly brought a new pair of bowling shoes to prevent future falls.

Exercises to increase bone density

Regular weight bearing exercises increase your bone density. Swimming and biking has its place in your exercise routine, but not if you want to increase your bone density. These low impact exercises improves your endurance, but its low impact nature would not stress your bones enough to cause your bones to strengthen itself when it repairs or replace the cells damaged from the weight bearing exercise.

The most important factor in finding exercises you can do for the rest of your life is to find weight bearing exercises that is gentle on your joints, provides an aerobic element, and strengthens your bone density. I know this is a tall order.

Do you know what is Vi’s secret for strong bones? Vi never learned to drive. Vi walked everywhere in her youth, catching rides with her husband and friends for errands too far for her to walk. Every day she was adding an extra layer of spackle to her bone density when she walked in her youth. And now you have a sassy LOL (little old lady) that is an active member of our bowling league.

Why do people often ignore walking as an exercise option? Because people exercise for weight loss. However, you can lose weight from walking. Walking is gentle on your joints, provides an aerobic element, strengthens your bone density, and is an exercise you can do for the rest of your life no matter what age you are. Plus, you can walk anywhere, even in your own home with these free walking exercise videos.

Even with all the prenatal vitamins I am taking while nursing, you can clearly see from my cavities that I am not getting enough calcium in my diet. You cannot tell from looking at the exterior that my bone density is probably weaker after giving birth. I wish I’d paid more attention to building up my bone density in my 20s instead of believing that my body will always be strong and youthful. I need to get back into my regular walking routine. 

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health. If you like what you are reading, please share it with your friends.

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For a limited time, there appears to be some good weight loss and recipes free Kindle ebooks available. Please note that I have not read these free Kindle books, but I’ve downloaded them for future reading. After all, you can’t beat free.

You can read about how I get free Kindle books here.

Free Kindle Books Available for Limited Time

Perfect 10 Diet: 10 Key Hormones That Hold the Secret to Losing Weight and Feeling Great-Fast! – This free Kindle book looks interesting. It talks about hormones and how it impacts your weight.

Superfoods List: The 11 Best Nutrient Rich Foods For Increased Immunity, Energy and Longevity – This free Kindle book talks about the superfoods that all of us should be eating such as blueberries to maximize our health.

Fat: The Weight Loss Secret – Simple Advice To Lose Weight And Change Your Life – This free Kindle ebook talks about why fat is good for you. I wonder if this is like Atkins.

The 10/60 Diet: How to lose 10% of your body weight in 60 days – 20 pages about how the author lost 22 pounds last year. Let’s hope this one is worth the download.

Naturally Skinny: 100 Organic Recipes Under 350 Calories – This Free Kindle cookbook talks about how to prepare organic 350 calories meals. I doubt if I would able to afford organic food in the near future with my $1000 a month daycare cost.

4 Hour Body Diet: Quick & Delicious 4 Hour Body Recipes You Are Sure To Love! – No this free Kindle cookbook  is not by Tim Ferris. I wonder if it is copycat or a supplement to the Four Hour Body book.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health. If you like what you are reading, please share it with your friends.

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This is a sponsored guest post. This post is in association with Holland and Barrett.

Glucosamine is a great health supplement to invest in if you suffer from unhealthy connective tissue and cartilage. Glucosamine is in fact produced by the body naturally, but there are certain times in our lives when we are unable to produce it as effectively as before. Reason being, as we get older our body starts to produce less and less glucosamine.

This is when the use of a health supplements such as glucosamine comes to play. There are a number of situations that may arise and in turn cause our bodies to lack in both glucosamine and the benefits it brings. These include the likes of an injury, age, chronic degeneration, burns and inflammatory diseases. All of the above sadly happen, but thankfully there is a way to restore our glucosamine levels.

Glucosamine is available as a health food supplement in three different forms. These include capsule, liquid and tablet and which form you choose will depend on your preference.

All of the above are available from health food stores. Simply pop into your local health food venue today and purchase any one of the above at ease.

Glucosamine should always be taken with precaution and only as prescribed. Overdosing could result in unwanted side effects. This is why it is always advised to read the label prior to taking any product. The side effects are unknown as of yet but too much of anything is never good thing.

Talk to your doctor or health food assistant prior to taking the product if you are a little unsure whether it is the one for you. This way you will be able to see if it is suited to your needs.

Glucosamine has been proven by many to really aid in both joint pain and various forms of joint discomfort. The supplement also is said to improve joint structure, which in turn helps promote a happy and healthy lifestyle.

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I am starting to experience some back pain from poor posture as a result of nursing a progressively growing baby. I don’t have the round, concave bad posture some of my peers exhibit from decades of working for hours in front of a computer. However, I occasionally catch myself letting my head hang forward and slumping.

With regular posture exercises, I can slowly strengthen my neck and back muscles to correct my poor posture and hopefully prevent further posture problems. This post discusses stretches you can to work home to correct your poor posture.

Why is Good Posture Important?

A forward hanging head is the most common posture problem. A human head weighs about 10 to 14 pounds. When it hangs forward, it is no longer in the center of gravity, therefore the neck and upper back muscles have to work extra hard just to hold your head up.

Every inch that your head hangs forward puts an additional 15 pounds of strain on your neck and upper back muscles. Over time, the trapezius muscle that runs from the base of the skull out to the shoulder and down the mid-back becomes thick and tight from the constant tension of holding your misaligned head. The nerves that run between the neck bones to the arms and upper body also get squeezed.

Good posture is important. A forward hanging head from bad posture can result in neck pain, tension headaches, and numbness or tingling in the arms and hands. In addition, the over-develop trapezius muscle causes pain in the upper and middle back from the muscle imbalance. The next time you have a tension headache, check the alignment of your head. Are you practicing good posture?

Stretches that improve your posture

• Trapezius stretch

The trapezius stretch is a simple posture exercise you can do anywhere. This posture exercise stretches the sides of your neck and upper trapezius muscle. You can do this while standing or sitting on a chair.

To stretch the left side of your neck, drop your right ear towards your right shoulder. Press your left shoulder down by extending your left arm. Hold for 10 seconds and then change side.

• Chin to chest stretch

This posture exercise stretches the back and sides of your neck. You can do this while standing or sitting on a chair.

To stretch the right side, turn your chin towards your left shoulder. Drop your chin to your chest. Place your right hand on top of your head and gently ease your chin towards your chest. Hold for 10 seconds and then change side.

You won’t actually touch your chin to your chest. Don’t force or yank on your head.

• Elbow press

This posture exercise strengthens the muscles of the middle, upper, and lower back and shoulders. You can do this posture exercise standing or sitting on a chair.

Claps your hands behind your head. Relax your shoulders and pressed them down. If you feel the muscles on the back of your neck tightening while doing this posture exercise, you are holding your shoulders to high. If you can’t get your shoulders to relax, then you should skip this posture exercise.

Gently press the back of your head into your hands. You should feel the muscles along your spine tightening. Hold for 5 seconds.

Next, press your elbows back 10 times. You won’t be able to move your elbows very far (maybe half an inch to an inch). You should feel the stretch in the muscles between your shoulder blades.

• Door frame stretch

This posture exercise stretches the front of the shoulders and chest. When I was pregnant, this stretch was a lifesaver for me. You have to do this posture exercise standing in front of a doorway.

Stretch out your arms at shoulder level. Bend your elbows at a 90° angle. Your fingers should point toward the ceiling. Place your palms on the door frame.

Lean your body forward until you feel a stretch in front of your shoulders and chest. Hold for 10 seconds.

Then slide your elbows several inches higher. Lean your body forward until you feel a stretch in front of the shoulders. Hold for 10 seconds.

Final thoughts on stretching posture exercises

These stretching exercises will reduce the muscle tension and discomfort you experience from poor posture. Do these posture exercises gently and adjust it to your level of flexibility. Stretch until you feel mild tension, but never discomfort.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health. If you like what you are reading, please share it with your friends.

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This post is in association with Alexander Harris.

The battle with breast cancer can be a tough one for women to fight. The emotional impact of a breast cancer diagnosis can be even more stressful than the medical issue itself. Early detection of breast cancer leads to a more favorable prognosis for women. In fact, statistics show the rate of death due to breast cancer has actually decreased.

Part of early detection requires medical care from medical professionals. This care is sometimes not carried out correctly and errors can be made. Sometimes a woman may actually have cancerous cells in one or both of her breasts. These health care professionals may report no concerns when actually there are. As a result, the window of opportunity to take advantage of early detection is closed. In some situations, when the cancer is finally discovered, it is simply too late.

In order for breast cancer to be detected, the patient would have a lump located somewhere in her breast. Once the presence of a lump is detected, then standard medical protocol calls for testing the lump to determine whether the lump is in fact cancerous. Not every lump is in fact cancerous, many can be malignant. In order to determine this, a test such as a biopsy or mammogram would be done.

If the results show that cancer is suspected then the medical professional will often refer the patient to an oncologist. Another indicator that cancer could be present is the sight of discharge. Sometimes medical professionals fail to recognize these signs which lead them and their patients to believe that nothing is wrong. This can actually be a nail in their coffin because they weren’t given adequate warning. Also, these mistakes could lead to radical mastectomies down the road. If a patient finds themselves in this predicament, they would be eligible to file a medical negligence compensation claim.

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