Product Description

Based on the latest scientific information, and including practical advice on the best nutrition, exercise, and medication, Strong Women, Strong Bones is an essential guide for any woman who wants to know more about the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Includes: ¥ A one-hour-per-year plan for healthy bones ¥ A self-test to assess risk factors ¥ Facts on the most accurate bone-density tests ¥ Tips on supplements beyond calcium, plus new

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1356295 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 318 pages

From Amazon.com
The Strong Women have done it again. First Strong Women Stay Young broke new ground by showing women how strength training--exercising with weights or against resistance--can delay the signs of aging. Then Strong Women Stay Slim showed women how strength training could keep the pounds off. Now Strong Women, Strong Bones teaches women how to prevent and treat osteoporosis through exercise (strength training, weight-bearing aerobic exercise, stretching, and balance) and nutrition. Tufts University researcher Miriam Nelson and award- winning health writer Sarah Wernick again team up to bring you the latest science, translated to reader-friendly language and practical application. You learn how osteoporosis works, your personal risk factors, and exactly what to eat and what exercises to do to keep your bones strong. These authors have become popular because their information is up-to-date and based on cutting-edge research, so their advice is trustworthy and it works. And they make it simple--even if you haven't exercised since high school (and even if high school was a very long time ago!) you can follow their safe and clearly illustrated "bone-boosting workouts." Their nutritional advice won't make you load up a shopping cart with an alphabet soup of supplements like many books--instead, you'll load that shopping cart with fruits, vegetables, soy, high-calcium foods, and a calcium-vitamin D supplement. "Support your bones," advise the authors. "They support you." Strong Women, Strong Bones shows you how. --Joan Price

From Library Journal
Osteoporosis is a preventable and treatable disease characterized by decreasing bone mass. Nelson and Wernick, coauthors of Strong Women Stay Young and Strong Women Stay Slim, explain in a clear and friendly manner how bones grow; osteoporosis risk factors; how to adjust the diet to include calcium, vitamin D, and other bone-essential nutrients; the types of weight-bearing exercises that should be performed to promote maximum bone health; and the latest osteoporosis treatment options. The authors urge readers to think about how this disease pertains to them by using the book's handy "One-Hour Self Assessment Checklist" once a year. Nancy E. Lane's The Osteoporosis Book (LJ 10/1/98) contains similar prevention and treatment information, but Strong Women, Strong Bones focuses more heavily on diet and exercise and contains sample menus, a grocery shopping list, a detailed exercise program, and sample logs for keeping track of diet and workouts. Men also get osteoporosis, and the authors briefly explain how they can adapt the nutrition and exercise advice to meet their needs. Highly recommended for consumer health collections. (Illustrations not seen.)--Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
For those to whom osteoporosis is a serious concern, this will be welcomed as a straightforward, single-purpose guide to its prevention and treatment. Nutritionist Nelson and writer Wernick (Strong Women Stay Slim; Strong Women Stay Strongneither reviewed) recommend exercise and nutrition measures as the building blocks of prevention, bolstered by medications when needed. They first explain how bone is formed, and what goes wrong in the process that allows osteoporosis to occur. They explain how diagnoses are made, and then lay out their plan for action. Exercise must involve some amount of weight-bearing to promote bone health, they instruct (swimming, for example, wont do it). And exciting new research suggests that just two minutes a day of vertical jumpingyes, leaping up and downcan produce significant improvements in bone density. Balance training (covered here) is important to lessen the likelihood of falling. The diet and menu plans given here are easy to follow. Information on medications such as hormone replacement therapy, Fosamax, Evista and calcitonin is included. Finally, self-assessment tests are provided to help readers create an individualized plan for maintaining bone health. Clear, sound help for those at particular risk. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

must have reference book for home library
I took out a number of books from the library including recent releases. Admittedly, I reviewed them from a different perspective than older folks as I'm just over 40. This was the most informative book with relevant information to my age group. Even though I work out regularly and thought I had a pretty good routine, there were plenty of enlightening strength exercises that have never been in my repertoire. That reason alone rates this book superior than others.

Strong Women Strong Bones
This book was recomended to me by a naturopath. It was easy enough to read in just one evening. The sections about how bones grow and what your risk factors are for getting osteoporosis were quite good. There is also good advice about what vitamins and minerals in addition to calcium to include in your diet, as well as the importance of vitamin D and sunshine, for calcium absorbtion. However, the food section is confusing. Nelson does not mention sea vegetables as the best food source of calcium and minerals to include in a healthy diet. And since she has the opinion that a person can get all the calcium they need from food sources, she should have included a more accurate calcium food chart in her book. For example, spinach, which tops the vegetable calcium secton, contains a lot of oxalic acid which interfers with calcium absorbtion. Nelson mentions the oxalic acid problem with some foods, but never mentions exactly which foods contain the highest amounts. Instead she says we should eat these foods for other reasons. So, why is spinach at the top of the calcium chart? Let's have a more accurate chart before telling people they can just add up what they are taking in with the chart she provides. Also, in her section on exercises she encourages women over 50 to jump vertically to retain calcium. A woman should gradually build up to 2 full minutes of jumping. What if a persons knees are not in alignment? Jumping is one of the most jarring and hardest things a person can do to their knee joints, especially if they are heavy on their feet. A woman who is over 50 and not used to exercising could easily get injured with this jumping program. I am over 50, and I already exercise 5 or 6 days a week, doing aerobics, running and weight training. I tried jumping vertically at a fitness center in front of a mirror to make sure I did it correctly. Then I went on to do a leg press, which I do on a regular basis, and my left knee hurt. My personal trainer said running would be much better for me than jumping. I do not have joint problems, yet, but I could after Neilson's exercise program. Also, the medication section encourages every woman to consider hormone replacement therapy. Does we all really need this therapy? I am discouraged that this book was rated so highly and recomended. It was mostly a waste of money. Only the first couple sections in the book were really worth reading. Check it out at the library or buy it used if you must.

Good additional info
Dr. Nelson offers more bone-building exercises and more info about osteoporosis and how to prevent it. Used with Strong Women Stay Young, one can't go wrong.