Hormonal status

Sex hormones contribute to healthy bones in both men and women. It's especially important to have adequate levels for building bone during adolescence and early adulthood. Eating disorders and excessive strenuous exercise can result in irregular or absent menstruation in women, and that change in hormone status is bad news for bones. The Osteoporosis Society of Canada notes that women need a total of 35 to 40 years of reproductive hormone levels for optimum bone health³. That's why early menopause can also increase osteoporosis risk. Hormone replacement therapy helps maintain sufficient hormone levels after menopause, and is often used to prevent and treat postmenopausal osteoporosis.

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Our needs for bone building nutrients change as we move through life - each stage has special considerations, although most of these "red flag" lifestyle questions apply at any age.

Infants

• The risk of rickets, a softening of the bones caused by calcium loss and/or insufficient vitamin D, is highest during the first two years of life, notes the Canadian Pediatric Society⁴ (CPS).
• Potential vitamin D deficiencies in some infants led the CPS to recommend 400 IU/day for full-term babies who are breast-fed (formulas are supplemented) for their first year of life, and 800 IU/day for infants living in northern communities.

Is your baby breast-fed? Do you always protect your baby's skin from the sun? Is your baby dark-skinned, so that less vitamin D is produced with sun exposure?

Children

• Bones primarily increase in size during childhood through to early adolescence.
• Inactivity among children is a growing concern. The 1998 results of the Physical Activity Monitor for Ontario indicate that 63 percent of Ontarians are not active enough to benefit from optimal health benefits.
• Physical activity early in life contributes to higher peak bone mass, and to maintain it, exercise must be continued. Get your children hooked on an active lifestyle now, and they will benefit for life
• Daily adequate calcium intake: Boys and girls 1-3 years - 500 mg; 4-8 years - 800 mg.

Is your child a couch potato? Or devoted to the computer? Does he drink more than three carbonated or caffeinated beverages a day? Does she hate to drink milk?

Adolescents

• During early adolescence, bones stop increasing in length and begin to build density. One-third of bone mineral is laid down during adolescence, and we reach peak bone mass sometime during our 20s.
• National Institutes of Health survey (2000) estimates that three-quarters of boys and up to 90 percent of girls aged 9 to 17 are not consuming enough calcium.
• Research suggests many adolescents, especially girls, are not consuming sufficient magnesium, which is also important for bone development.
• Caltrate Plus can provide teens with 600 mg of calcium as well as 200 IU of vitamin D, and magnesium, zinc, copper, and manganese, minerals needed for optimal bone growth.
• Daily adequate calcium intake: Boys and girls 9-18 years - 1300 mg (the amount in 4 glasses of milk).

Is your teen a vegetarian? Does he tend to eat a poor diet that's low in dairy products and high in caffeinated and/or carbonated beverages and salty junk foods? Does she diet or exercise excessively? Is your adolescent daughter's menstruation regular? Has your teen taken up smoking?

Women

• During our 20s, bone mass stabilizes and then begins to decline at an average rate of about 1% per year for most adults.
• During the first 10 years following menopause, the rate of bone loss increases to 2-3% per year due to declining levels of estrogen. This effect may be more abrupt and occur at any age when menopause is surgically induced.
• A recent review of studies concluded that combining calcium supplementation with hormone or non-hormone therapies for osteoporosis enhanced treatment effects by helping to stop bone loss, increase bone mass, and reduce fracture risk.
• Caltrate supplements are not made from oyster shell, and contain no sugar, salt, lactose, gluten, or alcohol, so they're a good choice for people concerned about their bone health who may have food sensitivities.
• Daily adequate calcium intake: Men and women 19-50 years - 1000 mg; Men and women 51-70 years - 1200 mg pregnant or breast feeding women - 1000 mg.

Are you breast-feeding? Are you post-menopausal? Do you drink more than 3 cups of coffee or tea most days? Are you lactose-intolerant or under dietary restrictions? Do you smoke?

Men

• The male sex hormone, testosterone, is important to men's bone health, but because levels of this hormone tend to decline more gradually and later in life than is the case in women, its effect on bone density may be less marked.
• There are many lifestyle measures men can take to reduce their risk of bone loss.
• Supplementing with Caltrate 600 with Vitamin D helps ensure adequate calcium intake, with 600 mg calcium plus 200 IU of vitamin D per tablet to promote calcium absorption.

Do you regularly drink more than three alcoholic beverages daily? Do you have a desk job, and rarely exercise? Does your diet contain more than three small portions of protein daily? Do you smoke?