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Bone health is a top priority for me because of my family history of osteoporosis. I’ve read that salt increases the risk. Should I cut it from my diet?
Great question. Somewhere along the line, salt got a bad rap because it was thought to prompt calcium loss, which can reduce the amount of calcium available for building strong bones. But recent research from the Women’s Health Initiative suggests that’s not the case. In a six-year study of more than 60,000 women, participants who consumed the Recommended Dietary Allowance of sodium (2,300 to 2,900 mg. a day from healthy sources like shellfish, beef, beets, carrots and celery) along with the Recommended Dietary Allowance of calcium (1,000 to 1,200 mg. a day from healthy sources like leafy greens, milk and yogurt) showed no changes in bone-mass density. As long as you are within the daily guidelines for both sodium and calcium, there isn’t cause for concern.
That said, I do suggest upping your intake of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium from food. I recommend patients supplement with at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 daily between October and April, when the sun’s rays aren’t angled properly to activate the body’s natural production of bone-boosting vitamin D. During the rest of the year, you can get adequate vitamin D from regular sun exposure or by eating seafood, mushrooms and whole eggs.
Finally, because you’re concerned about bone health in general, I suggest keeping a close eye on your sugar intake—a high-sugar diet has been shown to dampen calcium absorption. Aim for no more that 25 grams of added sugars per day, and keep an eye out for sugars in surprising places, like bottled salad dressing, jarred pasta sauce and packaged bread. Your long, stressful to-do list may be to blame. Surges of the stress hormone cortisol lead to headachecausing tension and heighten pain sensitivity. What can help: enjoying a cup of ginger tea. In a Danish study, the spicy sip eased pain for 63% of subjects within 25 minutes. That’s because compounds in the herbal root support the production of pain-numbing endorphins and relax tight scalp muscles.
You can also try relaxation techniques that lower cortisol production. In an Italian study, subjects who practiced this simple 10-minute relaxation technique had half as many tension headaches as those who didn’t: Sit in a quiet room, close your eyes and let your jaw go slack. In addition to calming the mind, this easy exercise relaxes the jaw to ease the tension in the face and neck that contributes to headaches.
My headaches always get worse
around the holidays. I have so much to do; yet I feel terrible. What’s going on?