Did You Know?...

1. The discs in your spine are great shock absorbers! You have 24 vertebrae in your spine, and each is separated from one another by these shock absorbers called discs. These discs are pads of cartilage, and have a fairly tough outer layer and a soft interior to cushion against the shocks and strains created by you during everyday activities.
-The discs are subject to injury, disease, and degeneration with use over time. Certain activities and types of work increase the risk your discs can be damaged or deteriorate. If the soft interior material of a disc pushes out through a tear or weakening in the outer covering, you have a slipped disc.
-A slipped disc goes by a number of names; it is also called herniated, protruding, bulging, ruptured, prolapsed, or degenerated discs. There are fine distinctions between these terms, but all really refer to a disc that is no longer in its normal condition and/or position. Slipped discs cause pain by intruding on or pinching and even injuring nerves in the spinal column.
2. Calcium is the most common mineral in your body. It’s essential to the growth and maintenance of strong, healthy teeth and bones. It’s also necessary for regulating the heartbeat and lowering cholesterol levels.
-But what if you don’t get enough calcium? You may suffer from aching joints, dry, brittle nails, tooth decay, high blood pressure/high cholesterol levels in the blood, and even muscle cramps. Perhaps the most significant potential complication from inadequate calcium intake is bone loss, often leading to osteoporosis and increasing the risk for bone fractures. These are real dangers for women who have gone through menopause already. So play it safe, and get plenty of Calcium in your diet!

“I wish more and more that health were studied half as much as disease is. Why, with all the endowment of research against cancer is no study made of those who are free from cancer? Why not inquire what foods they eat, what habits of body and mind cultivate? And why never study animals in health and natural surroundings? Why always sickened and in an environment of strangeness and artificiality?”~ Sarah N. Cleghorn