Of calcium and women

MANILA, Philippines - “Drink your milk!” so the age-old reminder goes whether from your mom or your doctor. But how many times have we grown-ups really looked into what we are drinking — whether or not the milk we drank really contained the proper amounts of nutrients to keep our bones strong and healthy, as well as providing other essential elements that could be lacking in our diet?

The ideal milk product must provide adults all the benefits expected from milk: calcium to help protect our bones; the right amounts of nutrients to help our body stay strong and healthy; and essential vitamins and minerals to supplement our diet.

According to the Food Consumption survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), Filipinos’ average per capita intake of calcium is only 57.1 percent adequate. 

Insufficient daily intake of calcium may make us prone to osteoporosis, a disease where bones become brittle and thin. And not only that: calcium has other beneficial functions in our body — it regulates our heartbeat, moves our muscles and transmits nerve impulses, and regulates blood clotting.

The possibility of osteoporosis should not be shrugged off just because people who usually have it show no symptoms for many years. Unfortunately, it’s usually when serious injuries happen that the problem is detected.

This is why, apart from regular exercise and physical activity to increase muscle strength, we need to ensure our daily intake of the ideal amounts of calcium; this prevents bone thinning and reduces the risk of bone fracture.

It is not a well-known fact, but osteoporosis affects both men and women. While osteoporosis is more common in women, men are known to suffer from the disease as well. Fortunately, it has also been shown that osteoporosis is preventable: if one starts to improve his or her lifestyle as early as today by eating healthy and being active, osteoporosis can be avoided.

Osteoporosis is a widespread public health problem. It affects an estimated 75 million people in Europe, the United States and Japan. It is projected that by the year 2050 about 50 percent of all cases of fractures will come from Asia.

Natural sources of calcium include dark green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, tofu, canned fish, eggs and milk. If we do not have enough calcium in our diet, the body is forced to absorb calcium from our bones (a phenomenon called “calcium cannibalism”) — when this happens our bones become weak and brittle.

This is where Nesvita Pro-Bone Protection comes in: drinking it every day gives our body the needed dietary requirement for calcium. It has Calci-Lock, which also allows maximum calcium absorption to make our bones strong and healthy. Boosting calcium intake by taking milk can significantly reduce bone fractures in adults. 

Nesvita Pro Bone Protection can still benefit the elderly. Even if food alone cannot build bone density at old age, having the right diet can significantly slow down the rate of bone loss. This is why as adults, it is important that we add milk to our diet.

Now that we know the facts about osteoporosis, we can now make the right lifestyle choices — especially by getting regular exercise and eating healthy. 

Nesvita Pro-Bone Protection is an ideal source of calcium: it has a special combination of nutrients, called Calci-Lock developed by the Nestlé Research Center, that helps the body absorb more calcium from the milk we drink.

Nesvita Pro-Bone Protection also contains more iron and folic acid per 100 grams compared to other adult brands; these two nutrients ensure that our body keeps on producing red blood cells and keep these cells healthy.

Furthermore, unlike other milk products, Nesvita Pro-Bone Protection is low in fat. This makes it ideal not only for those who are maintaining a slim figure, but also helps adults maintain a low-fat diet — adults who take in too much fat may risk exposing themselves to a variety of diseases.

And it’s not just about drinking any milk product or brand we grab from the store shelf — we have to choose the right milk that gives us what we need for our age and our lifestyle. Try Nesvita Pro-Bone Protection today and make the most of life and what it has to offer.