How does calcium work?
As with other minerals, the body has an efficient system for keeping the concentration of calcium in the blood and tissues in balance.
This is needed because if calcium concentrations fall too low or get too high, certain organs will fail to function.

The first checkpoint is in the intestines. If you eat too much calcium, or already have enough calcium in your blood, the intestines simply absorb less of the calcium in the food you eat. If your body needs calcium, the intestines absorb more.

Bones are the second checkpoint. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, your body may borrow what it needs from your bones. This works for a time, yet continuing withdrawals of calcium from the bone bank can lead to  osteopenia and osteoporosis.
A hormone called parathyroid oversees all this calcium activity like a vigilant bank manager, keeping the calcium concentration just right. When your calcium levels fall, this hormone stimulates vitamin D to increase absorption of calcium from the intestines, and to release calcium from the bone bank until a proper balance is restored.
It is an efficient system, but even if you are eating a fair amount of calcium, there are some other factors in your diet and lifestyle which can interfere with the calcium you consume being utilized by your body. We will deal with these factors in a later section of this article.

Other functions of calcium in your body

Besides promoting healthy tooth enamel, calcium helps muscles. Muscles can cramp, and heart muscles can even FAIL, if these muscles are not supplied with just the right amount of calcium.

Nerve impulses, the transmission of information between nerve fibers, will not function properly without just the right amount of calcium.
For example, muscles twitch (called tetany) when the calcium supply to neuromuscular cells is insufficient.

Calcium is one of the most vital minerals for optimal functioning of your entire body, so you need to eat a balanced diet a la the food pyramid every day in order to get enough calcium and other vitamins and minerals in your diet.

Osteopenia and osteoporosis
There are a variety of reasons for osteopenia, some hormonal and some related to the fact that calcium absorption lessens in elderly intestines.
Also, certain medications decrease the body’s ability to absorb calcium, including antacids. Soda with phosphates in it and smoking are also notorious bone health stealers.
Senior citizens need to be particularly conscious about the level of calcium in their diet and about which medications interfere with calcium absorption.
Women of white descent are most prone to osteoporosis.  If you are at risk it’s best not to wait until you’re fifty-something to start preventing osteoporosis.
Building stronger bones with a calcium-rich diet and weight-bearing exercise such as light weights in your twenties and thirties is more likely to prevent osteoporosis than preventive measures in your fifties.

Calcium is one of the most important minerals in your body for a variety of reasons.

WHY DO YOU NEED CALCIUM?

We all know that calcium is necessary for strong bones and teeth.

What you may not know is that calcium is required for EVERY cell of the body to function in a healthy way.

Besides acting as a cellular ‘cement’ for bones, calcium is used by your nerves and muscles, and it also contributes to proper blood clotting.

Here’s an overview of the good things calcium does for your body:

Calcium promotes healthy bones and teeth for life.
Just as lime is necessary for strong concrete, calcium is needed for strong bones.
We think that bone is something solid and permanent, but it is a living, changing component or our bodies.  Bone is constantly breaking down and being built back up again.
Calcium is continually deposited into multiplying bone cells, like the cement that holds together the particles of stone and sand in a chunk of concrete.

Your bone health through your life
The stronger the bone development during childhood, the healthier those bones will be in adulthood. That is, the stronger the foundation, the sturdier the eventual building.
During adolescence bones grow rapidly, so teens need a lot of calcium in their diet. Once a person reaches full growth (usually at the age of 26/27 when your leg bone finally reaches its full size and solidity), your nutritional need for calcium will stabilize.
But there are periods when calcium needs increase, such as during pregnancy, lactation, and healing from injuries.
In old age, the bones begin to lose some of their sturdiness (this is called osteopenia, “bone poverty”, a thinning of the bones, and its most severe form is calle osteoporosis or “fragile bones”).

Now, what about that blender?  It’s a bit difficult to eat soup the traditional way while driving and if you are serving to your kids, the combination of a car and soup in a bowl is a disaster waiting to happen.  Here’s where the blender comes into the picture.

Pour some of the soup into the blender and blend until the pieces are small enough for you to swallow without choking. You can even puree the soup completely if you’d prefer. For a thicker texture, add a bit of cream, though watch the calories. Now, your soup is ready for distributing in your to-go cups.

The ideal cup would be a travel mug with a lid. These types of cups have a wide opening perfect for drinking soups from.

Another great thing about soup is you can make it in large quantities with very little effort, and some variation from one batch to the next. Make vegetable with pasta in one portion, with rice in the next.

Be sure to prepare enough soup for the entire week. You can take the soup with you while you’re out shopping, working in the garden, or to work.  A cup of soup is packed with healthy nutrients and it won’t mess up the car or cramp your busy lifestyle.  The next time you don’t have time to eat, reach for a cup of healthy homemade soup instead of pulling into that fast food drive thru. Your waistline and your family will thank you for it.

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First, choose your favorite soup. A popular choice of many is the famous chicken noodle soup. There’s nothing better when you are under the weather than the warm chicken broth soothing your throat. You might be tempted to go for the soups in a microwave container perfect for eating on the go, but again, in terms of expense and sodium, this is a bad choice. Instead, we are going to make our own soup for an even healthier choice.

The one thing that is best about homemade food is that you know what is and is not in it. Since we are concerned with health, preparing your own soup creations at home is the best way to go. No matter which type of soup you choose to make, be sure to use fresh ingredients. The other items you’ll need are plenty of food containers with tightly secure lids, a travel mug or two, and a blender.

Now it’s time to actually create your time saving soup. A good soup always starts with the stock. For chicken soup, make the broth by boiling the remains of the chicken you had for dinner. Add the herbs and seasonings of your choice and boil until the chicken bones come out clean. Any remaining meat will be included in the broth. Once the broth cools completely, scrape off any fat and discard, then ladle the soup into air-tight jars or containers for storing.

If you’re more of a beef and vegetable soup lover, you can use commercial canned broths or bouillon cubes for the base of your soup, though try to be extra vigilant about how much sodium is in them.

Season the stock really well  with pepper and other ingredients like a bay leaf, which you should remove proior to serving, and NEVER eat. Make your stock and simmer before adding any other ingredients.

Once the stock is ready, all that is left to do is toss in your favorite veggies and other ingredients, such as paste, beans or even couscous Again, wait until the soup is completely cooled before pouring into storage or serving containers.

In this day and age it can be hard to eat healthy. With your busy schedule, especially if you have children, many people find it easier to grab whatever is available and the quickest  way to assuage their hunger, and deal with the health consequences later.

With the following tips for soups on the go, you’ll learn how to make sure that the food you grab is healthy, and satsifying.

The problem with dealing with the consequences of unhealthy eating habits is that later is actually sooner than you might think. Later is right now. Sadly, we are a nation of obese adults and just as many, if not more, obese children. Our unhealthy eating choices have caught up with us. You might be asking yourself, “How can I eat healthy when I’m crunched for time all the time?”

One way is to make foods that can be taken with you on the go.  One of those foods is soup. Soup is tasty, filling, and good for you anytime, but especially on a cold fall or winter day. There are hot soups and ieven cold soups which are delicious and nutritious. Many soups are good eaten cold or lukewarm.

Soups are a great choice because have high water content, so it helps you get your recommended several glases of water a day, and low energy-dense, so fewer calories. Anyone who has seen the Progresso soup commercials knows that most of their soups are 100 calories or less in what is basically half the can, a good portion, though bad for you in terms of how much sodium you are packing in.

However, there are low sodium varieties, and some soups are better for you than others.  Try to avoid cream based soups as having more calories. Soups with a lot of pasta or beans in them can also add a lot of carbs to your diet, not a good thing if you are carb sensitive.

We also recommend snacking because the alternative might be worse-not snacking at all you actually make yourself too hungry. This leads to overeating at meal times. So does that attitude that you have to clean your plate, and that wasting food is a sin.

Getting too hungry means you will opt for dining out more often if you feel starved because you haven’t munched on a few healthy snacks throughout the day. It leaves you open to the dangers of supersized portions, and again, the attitude of not letting food go to waste if you have paid for it. If you must go to a restaurant, why not doggie bag half of it to save for later, when you know you are going to be hungry.

Starting a meal with low energy density rich foods like soups and salads, which are fillling, but not too caloric if they are not cream based, is another way to cut down on snacking on unhealthy choices.

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is good for you, but only if you make your treat choices healthy ones. Keeping good for you snacks on hand will make snacking healthy even easier. So, snack away, but make them good, low calorie, nutritious snacks in order to reap the most benefits.

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