Strong to the Bone

I would be remiss not to mention the fantastic weekend I had with my parents visiting from Michigan. We spent 3+ days together doing a lot and catching up. My Dad's bike ride was a huge success, my Mom and I perused neighborhoods, did a little shopping, did a lot of walking, and had a delicious lunch at Cafe Mogadaor (you must get the Greek salad and add a side of chicken)! We walked Summer Streets, The Highline, took a stroll through Central Park, saw Memphis! the musical, explored the New Amsterdam Market, the Skyscraper Museum, and the Battery Park City Promenade. It was a great visit and I look forward to seeing them in October when we go home to Michigan. Our apartment seems very quiet this morning.


Now, as I start training for the half marathon, I'm very cognizant of the fact that not only do I need to train smartly, but I also need to eat smartly. And with osteopenia, it's essential that I make sure I get enough calcium. My last bone scan, done in the Spring, showed improvement since last year, and I plan on continuing that trend, hopefully resulting in less (or no) injuries to get in the way of my running. While calcium keeps bones and teeth strong, it is also found in nerve cells, body tissues, blood, and other body fluids making it essential that we get enough. 


What is enough? For kids 9 - 18 years old, the RDA (recommended daily allowance) is 1,300mg. The RDA decreases for adults 19 - 50 years old to 1,000mg but for adults 50 - 70, it's 1,000mg for men and 1,200mg for women.


Like most vitamins and minerals (vitamin D being an exception), the best sources of calcium are from food. Rich sources include dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese) but also sardines, dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard), soybeans, broccoli, almonds, flax seeds, oranges, and fortified foods like cereals, tofu and other processed items.


For some people, like me, taking a dietary supplement in addition to eating calcium rich foods is essential. I've taken the gigantic pills, which are okay, but I'm not always the best at taking pills which can get in the way. I've taken the calcium chews, but once I realized how many added ingredients there are in those, I decided to stop taking them. Recently though, I bought a bag of dark chocolate Adora calcium disks. Chocolate? Why not give it a try? 


Each disk supplies 500mg of calcium (only 500mg can be fully digested at one time), 250mg of vitamin D, 40mg of magnesium and natural antioxidants from the chocolate. What there isn't is gluten, artificial sweeteners and lactose (dark chocolate only). 


You always have to hope that you're actually getting from supplement companies what they say they're selling you, since you can't tell immediately by taste or sense if it's working or not. So, hopefully these don't just taste good, but are good for me. The FAQ section on the Adora website says the supplements are produced according to FDA standards and have been tested by a 3rd party which confirmed the disks contain the calcium and vitamin D they claim it does, so I'll take it.


I've only tried the dark chocolate (47% cocoa) and I like the taste and texture. I actually look at them as a little dessert after a meal. A treat. Who calls a supplement a treat? You definitely don't find that every day!

Give them a try and let me know what you think! (By the way, Adora has not supplied me with product to review or asked me to write this. They have no idea that I even take Adora calcium supplements)

• Do you take dietary supplements?
• How do you make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each day?

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Saturday's workout -
3mile run
2x18 upright row
100 ab exercises
stretching


Sunday's workout -
40min elliptical
monster walks
2x20 weighted side bends
stretching


Monday's workout -
40min elliptical
2x20 bicep curl
2x18 lateral arm raise
125 ab exercises
2x40sec plank
stretching


Today's workout -

None. Last minute rest day.