Strong In Spirit And Strong To The Bone (NAPSA)—With a strong mental and spiritual framework, African-American women must also support their bodies’ framework:their bones. Active, healthy lives depend on beautiful, healthy bones and healthy bones depend on calcium. While calcium and vitamin D together are needed in the body to help maintain strong, healthy bones, 70 percent of all women ages 51 to 70 and nearly 90 percent of women older than 70 aren’t getting enough vitamin D. And African-American women are at higher risk. African Americans consume the lowest amounts of vitamin D from food alone among different ethnicities, and as many as 75 percent of African Ameri- cans are lactose intolerant, possibly further limiting the consumption of calcium and vitamin D-fortified dairy products. Yet nearly two-thirds of African Americans mistakenly believe they are getting enough vitamin D. That’s why Os-Cal—the number-one doctor- and pharmacist-recommended calcium supplement—is aggressively empowering AfricanAmerican women to take charge of this health issue. Through its We Matter, Vitamin D Matters program, Os-Cal is recruiting Health Champions in communities across the country. Armed with an Each One, Teach One toolkit, Os-Cal Health Championsare taking the newsstraight to their mothers,sisters, daughters and girlfriends, and hosting in-homeparties, church events and other activities to spread the word. Each kit equips Health Champions with educational bone health resources and other information about ways to maintain healthy bones through a combination of diet, exercise and supplementation, such as: Get Your Bones in Shape. For strong, healthy bones, do weightbearing exercises such as walking, aerobics and dancing. Note: Bicycling and swimming are not weight-bearing exercises. Fighting Deficiency with a Capital “D.” Consume plenty of vitamin D-fortified foods. If you don’t get enough from your diet— and most don’t—calcium supplements with vitamin D, such as OsCal +Extra D, are a great way to satisfy your daily requirements. Have Fun in the Sun. Your skin likely has more melanininit, which could hinder the natural production of vitamin D in your body from sunlight. Find fun, easy ways to align your routine with the outdoors, such as exercise or a poolside barbecue. To learn more about becoming a Health Champion, visit www. os-cal.com/champion or call (866) My-Bone-Health (1-866-692-6634) to receive a free bone health guide.
