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FRUITS & VEGGIES
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Vol.9 Issue 1
Keep
those fruits and veggies coming! They're good for you!
You're getting a double serving of good nutrition this
quarter. Nancy Testard
has given some good advice in her President's article, and
here comes some more!! This one is more about osteoporosis,
which seems to be a hot topic these days. Either the medical
profession is getting unduly concerned, or osteoporosis is
really more common than it used to be. We are now being
warned that the seeds for future osteoporosis are actually
sown during our 30's, or even earlier. So it's no longer a
concern for just those age 50 and above-with or without PXE.
The current thought is that if anyone has a poor diet and
little exercise during their 20's and 30's, they are more
likely to develop osteoporosis later in life because they
didn't develop good bone structure when they were young. I
was reviewing some nutrition literature recently and came
across an article from the renowned nutrition center at
Tufts University stating that potassium, magnesium, and
fruits and vegetables in the diet are helpful in maintaining
bone density. This has some relevance to PXE. I believe that
anything that helps to maintain bone density without
ingesting large quantities of calcium is the best way to go.
Fruits and vegetables are both good sources of magnesium and
potassium. The highest concentration of magnesium is found
in seeds, nuts, and green vegetables. Fruits are relatively
poor in magnesium, except for bananas, which are rich in
magnesium. As for potassium, it is present in most all foods
but richest in fruits and vegetables.
The authors of the article found that these nutrients help
to keep our bones more alkaline, which in turn helps to
prevent calcium loss from bones and thereby maintain bone
mineral density.
We also keep hearing about the value of fruits and veggies
in our diet to help prevent cardiovascular disease and to
keeping our cholesterol down. So there seems to be several
reasons for all of us to try to eat less red meat and to eat
more fruits and veggies. The basic recommendation to eat
five servings of fruit and veggies each day seems to be good
advice for everyone and perhaps even better advice to anyone
with PXE-at any age. The earlier in life you start it, the
better the long-term results.
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