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Bones are living tissue that grow, mend when broken, and continually renew themselves.

There are two types of bone cells

-         Osteoclasts that locate old bone needing renewal, dissolve it and leave tiny unfilled spaces behind (bone loss),

-         Osteoblasts that move into these spaces and produce new bone

Spring is here - the start of new life - seedlings are often accompanied by instructions on soil preparation and nutrients to ensure healthy and flourishing plants.

Children are precious "seedlings" and optimal nutrition will ensure flourishing health and vitality throughout their lives. Sadly statistics show that many children in South Africa receive less than two-thirds of the recommended levels of vitamins and minerals with some children being severely undernourished and others unhealthily overnourished.

Low-calorie dieting as compensation often follows over-indulgence during year-end festivities.  Weight is lost while dieting but a few months later the weight gained is more tOverweight people are often ridiculed and referred to as "lazy gluttons" but this may not be true - they may in fact have low thyroid function.  The thyroid gland regulates cell metabolism in response to the hormone TSH from the pituitary gland.  If the pituitary gland is continually stimulated by stress or stimulants such as chocolate or coffee, it will eventually under function, as will the thyroid. 

“Can something I like so much be so bad for me?”
“Can something that has such a pungent taste be good for me?”
The answer to both is a resounding YES.

 

Babies generally have a strong preference for sweet and a moderate aversion to bitter – other tastes such as sour, pungent and salty are learnt from social or cultural conditioning. Avoiding certain tastes creates an imbalance and a tendency to eat too much sweet – not difficult with all the “nice” sugar-rich food tempting the taste buds. Neither the recommended 9-portions-a-day intake of fruit and vegetables nor the 11-portions-a-day of whole grains, often perceived as “not-so-nice” foods, are generally achieved.

Visitors to game parks must adhere to safety measures advocated by the park to ensure their safe travel through areas populated by “dangerous” animals. “Dangerous animals” are lurking unsuspectingly in many homes, yet few, if any, safety measures are followed.

I recently made this remark to a friend who said I couldn’t make such a claim – I was only repeating what several authors have already written – but it is something that I firmly believe.

With all the fast foods, easy-to-prepare meals, off-the-shelf pre-packs and convenient deli’s at service stations, the challenge of eating correctly becomes more and more difficult. These meals, high in sugars and starches, provide energy but very little nutrition and send the body on a glycemic roller coaster ride causing an almost constant demand for insulin secretion. This puts strain on the pancreas, which could lead to damage and the inability to produce insulin.