General Nutrition Centers take initiative on Osteoporosis awareness
Urge women to get enough calcium.
09/05/05 Osteoporosis affects an estimated 44 million people in the United States, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF). In honor of National Osteoporosis Awareness Month, General Nutrition Centers are offering advice on how to get enough calcium in your diet, which has been identified as a key component in reducing the risk of the disease.
Nearly 50 percent of women and 25 percent of men over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their remaining lifetime, according to the NOF. Along with weight-bearing exercise, NOF recommends a diet rich in vitamin D and calcium to help prevent this bone-weakening disease.
If your calcium intake is too low to meet metabolic demands, your body's control mechanisms will pull calcium out of your bones to maintain a healthy supply and to keep your cells functioning normally.
The National Academy of Sciences recommends that Americans consume between 500mg and 1,300mg of calcium daily. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), all age groups fall short on getting the calcium they need each day. For example, anyone over the age of 50 should ingest 1,200 milligrams of calcium each day.
Equally critical to the amount of calcium intake is the absorption rate of that calcium into the bones. Not all calcium sources are created equal in terms of absorption.
GNC, based in Pittsburgh, PA, is the largest global specialty retailer of nutritional supplements, which includes vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements, sports nutrition products, diet and energy products, specialty supplements and products and supplements for low carb lifestyles. GNC operates more than 5,000 retail locations throughout the United States, including over 1,300 domestic franchise locations, and locations in 35 foreign markets including Canada and Mexico.
