Osteoporosis is a condition that can strike you without warning. It can silently sneak up on you throughout the years, and you may not know until later in the disease when simply picking up the vacuum cleaner causes your bones to fracture.

Osteoporosis means “porous bones,” and it is a serious and painful disease that causes your bones to thin and become weak and brittle over time. There are little to no symptoms early in the disease, which is why it’s so important as you get older to really make sure you are caring for your bones and body. Symptoms begin presenting themselves later in the disease in the form of bone pain and tenderness, lower back pain or neck pain, fractures with little impact, a stooped posture, and a loss in height.

There are many factors that come into play when it comes to your risk of getting osteoporosis. The disease affects women twice as much as it affects men and it tends to affect Caucasian and Southeast Asian women more than any other race. Obviously the older you get or if osteoporosis is in your family will also increase your risks of getting the disease. Even bad habits like smoking and caffeinated soda consumption has been linked as causes as well.

All of this might seem like a grim diagnosis, but it’s never too late to begin fighting this disease. The first step in the fight against osteoporosis is prevention, and one of the easiest things you can to do is to make sure you get plenty of calcium and Vitamin D. Why Vitamin D? Because your bones can’t absorb calcium without it! The Mayo Clinic suggests you get at least 1,000 mg of calcium a day and 800 IU of Vitamin D a day.

Also, it’s time to kick any bad habits you might have. Smoking and excess alcohol consumption can wear done your bones eventually. Also, cut back on the caffeine as studies have shown too much caffeine has a negative effect on your bones as well.

Adjust your diet. Eat dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale. Drink low fat milk and eat low fat cheeses and yogurts. Any kind of canned fish like salmon and sardines will also help. Also add soy into your diet. The estrogens found in soy have been shown to help maintain bone density.

And finally, exercise! Building up strong bones starts with a healthy exercise routine. The best exercise for your bones will combine aerobics such as jogging with a weight lifting routine.

Osteoporosis is a difficult disease to live with, but by working on strengthening your bones now, you can help avoid having to ever deal with this painful disease.

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Everyone knows that the key to a healthy lifestyle is exercising and eating right. But what happens when your feet get in the way of your exercise? No, I’m not talking about clumsiness; you’re on your own with that one. But what I am talking about is what almost 60 million Americans suffer from on a daily basis – foot problems!

It’s hard to get a good work out when your feet are bothering you. Sometimes pain in your feet can be caused by being overweight, but if your feet hurt because you’re overweight, and you can’t exercise because your feet hurt… what’s a person to do?

Well, of course the solution often depends on the kind of foot problems you do have. If you suffer from foot and ankle pain, then the first step is to invest in a good pair of walking or running shoes with the support you need. Rule of thumb is if you can fold the sole in half, it’s too flexible. You can also try what is called a foot orthotic. These can provide shock absorption and the support you need to handle the stress your extra weight can have on your joints. Although there are prefabricated foot orthotics, depending on the severity of your pain, you may need to be custom fitted for one at your local podiatrist.

Common corns and bunions can also interfere with your exercise routine by causing you pain and discomfort when you walk. Corns are callus growths that can form on the tops of your toes and are usually caused by wearing shoes that don’t fit you right. The first thing you can do to help avoid pain from corns is to have comfortable well-fitting shoes. You can also apply padding around the corns to soften impact when you are exercising. If the corn becomes increasingly painful, you should go to your doctor for treatment.

Bunions are a bump on your foot by your big toe. The joint of your big toe actually becomes enlarged and forces your other toes to crowd. Bunions are again caused by wearing shoes that don’t fit well. To reduce pain, again, get a good comfortable pair of shoes. You can also pad the area and take over the counter pain medicine such as Tylenol or Aleve. If the pain persists, you may require surgery.

Don’t allow common foot problems to get in the way of your healthy lifestyle. If the pain persists, see your health care professional immediately.

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Diabetes can be a dangerous and debilitating disease and is the fifth deadliest in the United States. According to the American Diabetes Association, almost 21 million Americans have this disease, with 9.7 million of them women, and almost 7 million people don’t even know they have it.

There are several major types of diabetes. The first type of diabetes is Type 1 Diabetes. This type of diabetes is the more serious kind and was once known as juvenile diabetes because it is usually diagnosed in children and adolescents. This is a life-long disease that occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. Insulin is what is required to control your blood sugar levels. Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes include: nausea and vomiting, weight loss, fatigue, pain in your abdomen, no menstrual cycle, and increased urination.

People with Type 1 Diabetes need to constantly monitor their blood sugar and administer insulin as needed. Checking your feet for injury is also important as the disease causes damage to your nerves, which can reduce your ability to feel pressure or injuries to your feet. Serious infections can occur before you even know you had an injury. Treatment also includes a special diet and exercise, but the foundation of treatment is based on education and listening to your body. Knowing how the disease can affect you and what to watch for will improve your overall lifestyle with this disease.

The second major type of diabetes is called Type 2 Diabetes. This form of the disease is the most common and occurs when your body either can’t produce enough insulin or your cells simply ignore what insulin is provided. Your body needs the insulin to use glucose for energy. This glucose can build up in your blood over time and can result in the following symptoms: blurred vision, fatigue, increase appetite, slow-healing infections, and increased urination.

However, most people with Type 2 Diabetes have no symptoms at all. A simple blood test can usually tell your doctor if you are at risk. Most people with this type of diabetes can be treated with diet, exercise, and medications. Daily monitoring of your blood sugar levels is necessary to see how the treatment is working.

Diabetes can be a devastating disease, but with careful diet and exercise, there are ways to manage and even prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Most people will have what is called pre-diabetes before they develop Type 2 Diabetes. Studies indicate that just 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise and a healthy diet can help prevent this debilitating disease.

Regular checkups by your physician can help to catch diabetes and other diseases early in their development. Write down questions to ask your doctor at your next visit to ensure a healthy and vibrant lifestyle.

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Your exercise program is going well, but, when you stand in front of a full-length mirror and appraise your body what do you think of your back? Are there any areas you need to work on? Maybe it’s those side bulges where your thighs meet your torso or perhaps it’s a post-baby tummy that has lasted too long. For many women, it’s your back that’s not as defined as you would like.

Being concerned about the appearance of your back is not just an aesthetic fixation. The way your back looks is an indication of how much exercise your back is getting. Exercising your back may be far more important to your overall good health, now and for years to come.

Many people don’t pay attention to their back until they have an injury. Such injury often comes not from accidents, but everyday activities. If you sit for hours in front of a computer screen at work or home, lift heavy objects or stand in one place for a long time, you may end up with an injured back and back pain. Back injuries cause more lost time at work than injuries to other parts of the body.

Most injuries can be avoided, and pain can many times be relieved, by doing exercises to strengthen both the muscles and bones in your back.

Key muscles contributing to a healthy back include those that pull your back forward, extend it downward and lift it upright. When you help those muscles become stronger and more flexible, you support the spine and protect your back from harm.

Pilates exercises are good for the back. The focus of Pilates is on the muscles of the abdominals and the lower back and its moves mimic day to day movements. Because of its focus, Pilates has become popular in rehabilitation as well as fitness. Many of the exercises in my 30 Minutes to a New You incorporate the Pilates principles.

You can build your bone strength in your spine by lifting weights at safe levels. Don’t overdue it! My exercises include strength training with the addition of light weights and advancements. All designed for the feminine body to define your curves and empower your beauty.

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After January of 2006, the month that Congress made the food manufacturers squirm by forcing them to list trans fats on food labels, the American public got a glimpse at just how bad the processed food was that we were consuming on a daily basis. Since then, food manufacturers have scrambled to find substitutes for trans fats in order to display on their packaging the coveted “zero trans fat” burst.

But what does that really mean for us? Can we trust the labels or have manufacturers simply found ways to trick us into thinking the food is free of trans fats when it actually isn’t?

While you ponder that question, let’s talk about what exactly trans fats are and why they are so dangerous to our health. There are actually two kinds of trans fats. There’s the kind that is found naturally in dairy and meats, usually only trace amounts, and then there’s the artificial kind that is made when liquid oils are hardened. This last kind is the one we have to worry about. It’s found abundantly in fried fast foods, baked goods like cakes and cookies, popcorn, and other processed food.

These bad trans fats can significantly increase your risk of heart disease by clogging your arteries and increasing your levels of bad cholesterol, and should be avoided at all costs.

With that said, let’s go back to the question we posed before. How easy is it to find out if a food has trans fats in it or not? The answer is, not that easy. It’s not as simple as checking to see if the packaging says “zero trans fats.” Food manufacturers can be sneaky since the guidelines state that food can contain .05 grams of trans fats per serving and still be able to market them as “zero trans fat.” When eating something like chips or cookies, where the average person will more than likely eat more than one serving per sitting, the trans fats can add up.

The only way to truly be sure you are avoiding trans fats is to check the ingredient list. When you see words like “partially hydrogenated fats or oils” or “shortening,” you should put the product down and move on.

Something else to consider as you shop for food is just because something doesn’t have any trans fats, does not mean it is healthy. While saturated fats can be good for you, like olive oil, the amount you consume should be limited.

Simply put, you are what you eat, so do the research and find out exactly what you are putting into your body and the negative effects it can have on you. The Fitness4Her Diet is based on eating low fat, wholesome foods that are delicious and nutritious.

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