Are Low Carb Foods Making You Fatter?

(By: Kimberly A. Tessmer, RD LD)

The craze is here!  Low carbs foods are everywhere we look!  But do these foods really help you to lose weight?  The answer is NO!  No one single food is going to help you lose weight!  What is important is balancing your food groups and your calorie intake with how many calories you burn daily.  Just because a food is low in carbs does NOT mean you can eat as much as you want and still lose weight.  In fact, that mentality may cause you to gain weight!  Even if you have adopted a low carb eating style you are going to need to watch your calorie intake and balance it with how many calories you burn to actually lose weight.  So, don't get sucked in by all the marketing of low carb foods.  Low carb foods are not the magic key to weight loss.  It still goes back to eating a healthy diet, watching your portion sizes and exercise!!

Counting Up Your Calcium

(By: Kimberly A. Tessmer, RD LD)

Most of us don't get enough calcium. Most of the calcium in our body is stored in our bones.  Only one percent is carried in the blood. Calcium helps to keep our bones strong, but if we don't get what our body needs (1,000 mg daily for adult men aged 19 to 50 years and women up to age 50; 1,200 mg for both men and women older than 50), our body will dip into the bones' reserves, borrowing the calcium it needs to keep blood levels steady. It is up to you to restore what your bones are owed.

An ongoing calcium deficit in your bones can lead to a condition called osteoporosis, which primarily affects women.  Though it can also affect men.  The condition will progressively leave bones smaller, less dense and, eventually, more susceptible to breaks from minor stress.

Getting adequate amounts of calcium throughout your life, starting at a young age, can lower your risk for osteoporosis. Getting enough calcium in childhood and early adulthood is important to ensure your bones have plenty to spare for later years.  You can start to lose calcium from our bones as soon as your early 30's.  There's also some evidence that post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements with vitamin D suffer less bone loss in subsequent years.

Calcium also has other benefits.  It plays a key role in the prevention and control of high blood pressure. It may also help head off colon cancer, and there's some evidence that women who get enough calcium may reduce some PMS symptoms.  It is best to get calcium from food first and add a supplement to do just that, "supplement" your diet.  Addition of vitamin D is vital for the absorption of calcium into the bones.  Careful if taking supplements that you don't overdo it.  The Upper Tolerable Limit for calcium is 2,500 mg.  If  you are lactose intolerant or not a dairy person, which is the best source of calcium, look at other options.  These can include soy milk, yogurt, dark green leafy vegetables, calcium fortified orange juice, etc...  Ask your dietitian for more info!