Sinking your teeth…into osteoporosis
Time to beef up protection of your bones now….before osteoporosis leaves you with fewer teeth. Disturbing study findings from the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology suggest that osteoporosis won’t just leave you a few inches shorter and hunched over, but you may lose a few teeth while you’re at it.
Researchers examined 651 menopausal women between the ages of 45 and 70, measuring bone density in the hip, spine and the pelvis. Among the women examined, 140 had osteoporosis.
- Despite adjusting for factors that might increase osteoporosis risk, such as age and smoking, a significant association was found between osteoporosis and having fewer teeth.
- On average, women with osteoporosis had at one to three fewer teeth than those without.
Osteoporosis can affect the jaw, leading to bone loss and a decline in bone density needed to support teeth. Although the numbers of teeth lost are fairly low compared to healthy women, it’s important to keep in mind that studies show that tooth loss can have a significant impact on both quality of life and oral comfort.
I’ve written several posts about osteoporosis, bone loss and prevention so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. But I do encourage you to peruse the archives and start taking steps to prevent, slow or halt bone loss before you lose a few bones, and a few teeth.
Just something to sink your teeth into….
Read MoreCougar 101: pimp your hide
[Photo Credit: Daniel C. Britt, with permission]
Need a class on how to be a better ‘Cougar?’ Want to learn how to teach young men about desire and how to please a woman? It’s as simple as…the Single Cougars Convention!
The Bay Area hosted the First Annual Single Cougars Convention last month, an extravaganza of botoxed, boob-jobbed, eyebrow-shaped 40+ somethings (and their younger ‘Puma’ peers) who attended presentations, mingled at a bass-booming cougar ball and celebrated the crowning of the first Miss Cougar America.
Yikes! Horny or not, if I were a young male thang, I’d go running for cover… fast.
This Convention and all that it represents absolutely makes me ill. There is no logical reason why the Cougar narrative needs to be rubberstamped; in fact, endorsing the image of an older woman so desperate to attract attention that she virtually “pimps her hide” only serves to perpetuate the Cougar myth.
These ladies may be in it for a good time and believe that they have every right to behave in this fashion. They do; it’s a free country. But think about it; as women, we are consistently complaining about how we are portrayed in the media and within society, especially as we age. If this is the case, why are we spending thousands of dollars to literally sculpt ourselves into charactertures of our better selves?
Want to attract a partner? Be real, be interesting and be interested. Have self-respect and feel good about yourself. Take care of yourself and your soul.
At any and every age, that’s more attractive than inches of foundation, a lip plumper and a few nips and tucks.
And, if you’ve got to flaunt ‘it,” well, then you probably don’t have ‘it.” You may get laid but that young stud is out for one thing and it ain’t respecting you.
Truly… before you start pimping your hides, take a long look in the mirror and an even deeper look into your souls. There’s nothing wrong with dating a younger man (or woman); just keep the predator at bay where she belongs.
[Want to see more Convention Cougars? Check out photog Daniel C. Britt’s photo and video streams on Flickr.]
Read MoreWednesday Bubble – a little inspiration: Big dietary changes one small step at a time. A guest post by Miz Fit
I’ve been wanting to share a few inspirational thoughts about fitness and healthy eating for some time now. So I thought that there was no better person to do that than my Twitter friend MizFit.
Miz Who?!! MizFit, creator of MizFit Online, whose philosophy reads as follows:
To embrace and love whom you already are.
To be wholly comfortable in your own skin.
To realize that, by virtue of BEING, you are enough.
To be unapologetically yourselves.
I truly admire this woman and know that you will enjoy her post. Show her some love!
This post is all about you.
The collective you.
The greater you who fill my in-box (which I adore) with your questions about health, fitness, tattoos and more.
Recently I’ve been receiving variations on this question a *bunch*:
I’m ready to change my eating habits and don’t want to do a diet (I’ve done WW before and Jenny Craig and South Beach). I want to try and eat intuitively which I know you do. What can I do starting now? Please don’t tell me to read a book 🙂 I’m so busy. What’s the first step in your opinion?
I chose this email because it said “in your opinion.” My apologies to the rest of the emailers but it saved me the dizclaimer yammer. Another reason I chose this email is because of the ‘what can I do starting now’piece.
We all know how easy it is to do the “starting Monday I shall” or “on the first of the month I will…” & yet we all know (in our hearts. where it counts.) that it really is all about starting right.this.moment.
So I give you what I did.
When I finally decided the time had come to shed my freshwoman forty I followed about six steps & they’re the same kind of thing I still do on a daily basis. When I finally decided the time had come to shed my freshwoman forty I had no acronym with which to remember it all.
I give you an acronym to use. STARTING TODAY:
Mini-meals. I’m a believer in spreading the calories through out the day. For the most part none of my meals are bigger than any other (I do often eat more at breakfast out of hunger. Intuitively.) Beyond the fact I think this helps me stay lean—-it definitely helps my blood sugar levels stay even & I have far more energy.
Intuitive eating. Start this one today – slowly Listen to what your body is saying. Pay attention to how you feel after eating certain foods. JOURNAL. For me this isn’t journaling *caloric intake* but feelings. Noting how, when I crave sweets, it’s mainly AFTER I’ve had a high processed carbohydrate meal. That sort of thing. Perhaps you begin by not even CHANGING your foods—just logging your body’s reaction to them.
Zero HARD & FAST RULES. Again, this is just what has always work for me. I’m a rebel. Make a rule that I can not have or do something & it is immediately the ONLY THING I THINK ABOUT.
Fiber, Fiber, Fiber. At this point I think we all know why (want more info? still unclear? desire a list of fiberfoods? please to let me know in the comments.)—be sure you both KNOW and are acting on it.
Invest in YOU. For me this takes the form of spending lots of money on quality foods & less money on (quality) clothing. I love me some sushi grade tuna. I’m happy with clothing from Goodwill-type places. For some this may be an investment in a personal trainer. For others, in a gym membership. I have more than a few non-wealthy friends who invested in cooking lessons in their homes so that they could learn a handful of easy healthy meals.
Which leads me to…
Tried & trues. Always have a few meals which you know you enjoy, which are healthy, & which are easily prepared in your arsenal. I tend to have the T & T’s already prepared and waiting in the fridge for those moments I’m too tired to cook. Other people prefer just to have ingredients on hand. Whatever *you* decide, I’m a firm believer in the fact that these T & T’s help to set us up for food success.
That’s me, People.
What I did starting out (sadly sans-acronym. I love me some acronyms) and, what I do today.
When I’m feeling completely scattered, out of my element and CRAZED I figure if I can stick to these six things Ill re-find my groove in no time.
Now you.
What would you tell the emailers who ask:
What’s the one thing I can do, starting today, to clean up/change my eating habits?
Hit us all up in the comments.
About Miz Fit (AKA Carla Birnberg)...Carla Birnberg is an award-winning author and fitness expert. A onetime personal trainer, she owned a boutique training studio, Head2Heel, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Carla also competes in both bodybuilding and fitness including a third place finish in the 2001 NPC House of Pain bodybuilding show. Her writing can be seen on Yahoo!Shine, in the Atkins Nutritional monthly newsletter, Experience Life Magazine, Austin Monthly Magazine and as a monthly health column in Good Life Magazine.
Carla is also the author of the book, The Whole Megillah: Miztvahs, Matzo Balls & Everything in Between (Bluegrass Publishing, May 2007) Carla’s blog, MizFitOnline, has been selected to serve as part of Oprah’s Virtual Digital Blogging Network and is ranked by Austin Monthly Magazine as one of the top 3 health blogs in the city.
Read MoreThe roundup: August news and tidbits
[Credit: Special thanks to artist Darryl Willison of whimsicalwest.com. Please visit his site and support his work!]
One of my dad’s favorite sayings (in response to the question, “what’s going on,”) is “there’s a lot going on.” And in August, there was!
For your perusal, the highlights:
- Solitude – It takes courage to allow oneself to be deeply loved….a brief (and highly personal) exploration of the difference between solitude and isolation.
- Reaching the gentler sex: why marketing to women requires a holistic approach. Guest post by Andrea Learned – A glimpse into why we need to act holistically in our lives and our careers; as women, it’s an essential part of our fabric.
- Better living through chemistry – your aging skin – Dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology weigh in on why HRT is not your best bet for improving your appearance.
- Buyer beware: on snake oil, menopause and Michael Jackson – What a trifecta! A treatise on snake oil treatments for menopause and why you might want to avoid the big tent at all costs.
- Midlife metamorphosis – Midlife is not a four-letter word, even when it comes to men….a glimpse into the male psyche, and the challenges our partners face as they age.
- Cheers! (Please don’t let me burst this one!) – One of my favorite Wednesday Bubbles – can red wine increase sexual desire?
- Giving voice – Damn those hormones! Data suggest that our voices may be subject to change, along with the rest of us.
- Transition without tears – Once again, advertisers show why Big Pharma doesn’t get it!
- Maca What? – Peruvian Maca looks promising for menopausal symptoms, or does it?
- Beer boosts bones – An alliterative glance at beer and how it might provide support of bones, in moderation of course.
- What’s your chill factor? – No more fighting over that remote, at least when it comes to hot flashes. Wirelessly chill your sleep.
- Cool like dat – Drink your menopause away…once daily! Seriously?
- Battle of the bulge – Researchers reveal the culprit behind the extra 5 lbs you’re carrying.
Battle of the bulge
You know that donut that’s forming around your midsection? The one that doesn’t seem to budge even though you’ve boosted your exercise regimen and take a restrained approach to eating whenever possible? The one that some experts say has nothing to do with hormones and others say it does?
New data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, which I’ve referenced previously in many posts, suggest that testosterone might be the culprit here. In this particular analysis, researchers examined the potential relationship between testosterone and visceral (belly) fat in 359 middle-aged women who were in various stages of the menopause. Visceral fat was measured via CT scans, and blood was drawn to assess sex hormone (i.e. estrogen and testosterone) levels.
Study findings, which were published in the online edition of Obesity, showed that levels of active testosterone were the strongest predictors of the development of the middle-aged bulge, even more so than estrogen. What’s more, this association remained even after the researchers made adjustments for total body fat, age, race and other risk factors.
Besides appearance, abdominal fat is linked with an increased risk for the metabolic syndrome, a collection of risk factors that in concert, promote coronary heart disease. What’s more, circulating levels of testosterone may increase one’s risk for developing the metabolic syndrome.
It’s challenging. We’re told to exercise more, restrain our eating, limit alcohol intake and yet, there’s still no magic bullet to kill the middle -age bulge, especially since the battle may ultimately lie with hormonal balance. But don’t lose hope; I suspect that before many of us are through the worst of it, researchers may finally identify a viable, effective strategy.
In the meantime, don’t give up. I’m not sure that all is lost. At least, I hope not!
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