Navigating Osteoporosis With Cathy Ann

31/08/2023

18/08/2023

https://youtu.be/o4J7V_qRuPI

This is a great exercise to do along side your other weight bearing and resistance exercises that help to promote bone building. And you only need to do 7 to 10 heel drops at a time, 3 times a day!

Physical Therapist Margaret Martin demonstrates the heel drop exercise to strengthen bone.The heel drop exercise targets the muscles in your calf. It also ta...

30/06/2023

It was great to meet the lovely ladies from the Women’s Shed Inverell, who made me feel very welcome and were so receptive to my message of the importance of optimal bone health.

22/06/2023

PART 2 STRESS AND 4 WAYS YOU CAN REDUCE IT

An analogy I used in Part 1 when discussing the stress response was running away from the Saber-Tooth Tiger.
PART 2 of my post continues with discussing how to tame the Saber-Tooth Tiger 🐯 and ways to manage our stress response to modern day stressors.

02/06/2023

Did you know that your mental and emotional well-being can have a significant impact on your bone health? Chronic stress, negative mindset, and anxiety can wreak havoc on your body by causing inflammation which in turn increases the risk of bone loss and osteoporosis.
Stress is a natural response designed to protect us from danger. When an area in our brain that senses danger, perceives a threat, it sends out messages to different glands located in our bodies to release a cocktail of stress hormones, such as cortisol, as well as hormones that trigger various physical changes in our bodies that ready us for the ‘fight or flight’ response. Some of the changes are increased blood sugar levels for energy, a faster heart rate for the needed increase in oxygen to our muscles so we can ‘fight or flee’, and even redirected blood flow to vital organs and away from organs that are not essential for immediate survival such as the digestive tract. Our bodies are pretty amazing to do all that in a matter of seconds!!
Back in the day, this fight or flight response was crucial for our primitive ancestors' survival, especially when they were being chased by a Sabre-tooth tiger!! Their bodies would respond to this immediate danger, and once the danger was gone, so too the stress response with hormones returning to normal, and they went back to business as usual.
We live in the time of modern-day stressors and are exposed many times a day. Here's the catch: the area of our brains today is still the same as our primitive ancestors that sensed life threatening dangers. Our brains can't distinguish between a real threat and the daily stresses of modern life. So, whether it's a demanding job, a conflict with your boss, or financial worries, our bodies react the same way as if the Sabre tooth tiger were chasing us. Many people experience this type of chronic stress in their lives, experiencing one stressful incident after the other, our brains see this as a ‘threat to our survival”, therefore stress and other hormones don’t return to normal and become chronically elevated to some degree impacting our health.
Chronic stress can take a toll on our bones. Studies have shown that high cortisol levels can lead to decreased bone density and increase the risk of fractures. Cortisol interferes with the bone-building process, reducing calcium absorption and promoting bone breakdown. That's why managing stress is crucial for maintaining healthy bones.
The good news is, you have the power to manage stress and mindset for better health and improving your bone health. Stay tuned for part 2, where we'll explore some of the ways you can do this. Remember, your well-being is within reach!

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03/05/2023

Confused About Choosing a Healthy Diet? Here’s What You Need to Know!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the conflicting advice on what to eat for a healthy diet? It's not surprising as there are so many options out there - vegetarian, carnivorous, paleo, Keto Mediterranean - it's easy to get lost in the confusion! So, how can you decide what's right for you?

Firstly, I suggest you pay attention to your body. How do you feel after you have eaten foods such as grains or dairy? Maybe you are showing subtle signs like fatigue or vague aches and pains after eating certain foods. You may experience more obvious symptoms of food intolerances such as bloating, diarrhea, or headaches showing you that a particular diet may not be suitable for you.

When deciding what to eat, any health conditions should be considered e.g., osteoporosis, autoimmune, digestive disorders, and Celiac disease where products containing gluten should never be consumed.

I know when I was studying as a health coach because I learned about many different diets, all sounding feasible and all the experts promoting the diets they believed in, provided papers and scientific studies to show why this diet was the best! So, who do you believe?

I came to the conclusion that you need to become familiar with your body and if you don’t show any signs of intolerance to a particular food and there are no other health concerns that would contradict eating these foods, then you may want to include them in your diet.

Personal values, cultural beliefs, food likes and dislikes and preferences should be considered as well. We eat to stay alive, but there is more to it than that for most of us. Food is a pleasant sensory experience and has become an important part of socialising with family friends and community, so choosing a diet that is healthy for our individual circumstance shouldn’t take over our thoughts and lives becoming a stress detracting from the pleasant aspects of the food experience.

No matter what diet you follow, a wide variety of foods is important, especially plants, i.e., fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Grains and legumes can be controversial in some diets, but if you are sure you tolerate them, they can be a very good source of nutrients.

A large percentage of plants and a smaller amount of animal protein is generally accepted as healthy. Plants are essential for a healthy microbiome and by consuming a wide variety, including a mix of greens and colourful fruits and vegetables it helps ensure you get the essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre your body needs.

Don't let confusion about dietary choices hold you back from achieving optimal health. Message me today to get started on your journey towards a balanced, bone healthy, nutritious diet.

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26/04/2023

Looking to support your bone health? There are many vitamins and minerals required for optimum bone health, but today I am going to discuss the “BIG THREE” key nutrients that are essential for prevention and improving osteopenia and osteoporosis. They are Vitamin D, vitamin K and calcium.

There are two main types of vitamin D: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D2 is found in some plant-based sources, such as mushrooms. Vitamin D3 is essential for calcium absorption and is primarily obtained in small amounts from animal sources such as fatty fish, egg yolks, and liver. It is difficult to get enough vitamin D from food alone, so it is just as well that sun exposure to our skin stimulates vitamin D3 production. Enough sun to produce a healthy glow is all you need, never aim for pink!

Vitamin K 1 is needed for blood clotting and is obtained in some leafy greens as well as produced by gut bacteria.
Vitamin K2, particularly K27 plays a critical role in bone health by activating osteocalcin, a protein produced by osteoblasts, (bone forming cells) and is needed in bone formation. Vitamin k27 helps to direct calcium to the bones and prevents it from accumulating in the arteries forming calcifications which can lead to coronary heart disease and heart attack.

Calcium is a mineral essential for bone health but unless it can get to where it needs to go, i.e., the bones, it is not all that useful and as already stated can be harmful to our arteries.
Not all calcium supplements are created equal. If using a calcium supplement, we need an easily absorbed calcium, for example, marine calcium, red algae calcium, or calcium citrate supplements, which are believed to be more bioavailable and better utilised by the body.

TIP: Vitamin D and K are fat soluble vitamins and should be taken with food containing fat for maximum absorption.
TIP: Magnesium shouldn’t be taken at the same time as calcium as it affects its absorption.
TIP: If supplementing with calcium, keep in mind only 500 mg can be absorbed in one dose so, if taking a larger amount split the dose, taking at separate times.

While it's best to obtain essential nutrients from a well-balanced diet first, supplements can be beneficial in certain circumstances. Often, we don’t consume enough of the essential nutrients by diet alone and even if we do , we may not absorb the nutrients properly due to disorders of the gut or other disease processes or take medications that cause gut absorption disturbances.

***It is recommended that you consult your healthcare professional to determine the appropriate supplement dose based on individual needs and circumstances. ***

24/04/2023

These are alarming statistics that highlight the importance of taking care of our bones!

If you have osteoporosis or osteopenia and want to know more about how you can manage your diagnosis in a more natural and holistic way, know that there is a lot you can do other than taking medications. Contact me because I can help, just click the send message button.

27/03/2023

Welcome to Navigating Osteoporosis with Cathy Ann.