Day 1 Message For Parents
Triple Play For Healthy Bones Helping children build healthy bones is an important job that all parents should know how to do. Children build half of their bone mass during adolescence and reach their peak bone mass by age twenty. The three most important factors for building healthy, strong bones in your children are calcium, vitamin D from exposure to sunlight and exercise.
Poor nutrition, lack of outdoor activities and lack of exercise have health experts very concerned as cases of Rickets in are rising fast in American children. Rickets is a childhood bone disease that is typically seen only
in third world developing countries. It causes the bones to ache and to become deformed starting at a young age.
According to Dr. James Beaty, President of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, "There's some early data showing that even a 10 percent deficit in your bone mass when you finish your adolescent years
can increase your potential risk of having osteoporosis and fractures as much as 50 percent".
When it comes to American children, the experts believe that poor
nutrition combined with too much TV, internet and computer game time
is an issue that parents need to address immediately. "This potentially is
a time-bomb," says Dr. Laura Tosi, bone health chief at Children's
National Medical Center in Washington D.C.
What's the solution? Good nutrition, sunshine and exercise.
Calcium is the building block of healthy bones. Foods which are good sources of calcium include fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, canned fish with bones, nuts, fruits, vegetables, dried beans, rice beverages, molasses and some leafy greens. The best source of vitamin D is natural sunlight, that's why getting outdoors is so important for your children. When the kids are playing outdoors they are getting both exercise and vitamin D.
Concerned about sunlight? The latest scientific research may really
surprise you - click these links for the latest research:
http://smj.wholefoodfarmacy.com/2005/wwa051607.asp
http://smj.wholefoodfarmacy.com/2005/wwa040506.asp
Let The Wholefood Farmacy help you with some good nutrition! | 
