Re: Newly diagnosed

[big bear]

hiya nana, just popped in to check ,
my sensible chum with bone stuff swears by line dancing!
shes in her 60's and loves it!
with the a acid and line dancing at last check her bone density had gone up!
i enjoy walking, wear pedometer
do a private exercise class for people with osteoporosis
on a monday lunchtime
and a falls prevention class locally, also an hour!
i swam with head out of water, breaststroke
which was bad for my spine
dont like putting head under water (contact lenses)
so have packed up swimming for time being!
touching toes not a good idea!
lol, thats about all ive found out!
i'm lucky,
gp gives me 2 months supply of pills
love and hugs
your chum bugbear x

[NanaNana]

Went to see GP today, as needed more tablets for kangarooland trip (see July posting), as 4 tablets just aren't enough to keep me going for that time. He flicked through my notes and mentioned my 'dairy intake', so I told him that I'm doing what the consultant told me to (ie. pint of milk a day plus cheese etc). "OOH, we don't want you clogging up your arteries, do we?" he said.
I now have a blood test next Thursday to check my cardio-vascular system's state.

Ugh, why does one professional tell you one thing and another tells you something different? Don't know where I am.

Anyway, on with the swimming trials (yes, I'm really try-ing), plus the dancing. Hey ho, ooh and lots of sunshiney vitamin D to help with the absorption of all that dairy stuff.

[big bear]

get proffesional advice about the swimming,
i and my sensible chum have both been advised against it when u have osteoporosis,
i ve been told backstroke is ok
my chum learnt to swim in her lat 40's but has packed it up now too
i swam weekly for decades
including half hour once a wk while caring for mr bb
really miss going
jury was out till i heard my chum had been told same thing
i take exercise class for osteoporosis with trainer who is reps 4 quailfied to deal with people with osteoporosis.
the national osteoporosis society has a cht room with lots of idiots,
if id listened to them instead of my sensible friends, 2 of them, i dread to think!
i give it a wide berth!
hope this helps
hugs big bearxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaka bugbear x

[NanaNana]

Hi My dear Bugbear, now you've done it.
WHY do I have to give up swimming? What's wrong with it? I thought I was doing good, getting exercise etc.
Please reply before this Wednesday night!!!!!!
What did the professionals say? I don't do backstroke, just front crawl and back sculling.

[susieq]

The best exercise for osteoporosis is anything that is weight bearing (helps to strengthen bones, build new bone and improve muscle tone) i.e. walking or dancing - swimming is not weight bearing and therefore has no benefits.

When swimming crawl is the best stroke as it stretches out the body and helps to strengthen muscles, which in turn support your bones - ditto backstroke. Breaststroke, however, is a no-no if you have lower back problems - the scissor movement when you bring your legs up together causes the vertebra in your lower back to 'pinch' together and will exacerbate any problems in that area.

Swimming is better if you need aerobic (to get your heart pumping) exercise or exercises to improve suppleness as in arthritic conditions.

You can also get calcium from foodstuffs other than dairy - dark green leafy vegetables are a good source as well as fish like tinned sardines (all the little bones !). Plus things like soya yoghurt and soya milk have calcium added but don't contain any saturated animal fats like dairy products do (they're also a lot lower in calories).

[big bear]

dear favourite shropshire lass,
i'm really miffed by swimming advice 2
and have put on a stone over couple of yrs since i stopped sgoing

advice i got was from my trainer
i'm just the messenger
i gave up
but friends said surely it cant do harm etc
then i heard my sensible chumhad stopped too
i really miss it as it was a social event too
went with different chums
and found it relaxing and stressbusting
so tbh not a happy bunny to be the messenger
but please dont just take my word for it
i'm like you only taking advice
i didnt know the stuff about backstroke susie
i hear water aerobics is very good

lol, why are things so complicated,
really miss my swimming!
and touching toes,lol

sending warm love and hugs nana
to counteract miserable advice!
love bigbear x

[susieq]

It's not that swimming is BAD for osteoporosis, it's just that it doesn't provide any real benefit.

To increase bone density you need weight bearing exercise - in swimming the water supports your whole body. It's the same with water aerobics - the water supports your body whilst you do the exercises.

The best exercise for osteoporosis is walking for at least 30 minutes every day wearing good supportive trainers and at a pace that leaves you slightly out of breath - so not a stroll round the shops ! If you really enjoy swimming there should be no reason why you shouldn't continue and enjoy the benefits to your overall health.

[NanaNana]

I'm not swimming for my osteop. I'm learning to swim cos I couldn't and at 56 suddenly decided it was time to stop being afraid and just do it. It does get me out of breath though, so must be doing some good. I'm still line dancing though and do a load of walking.
Phew, I thought I'd have to stop.
Yeah, no benefits for osteop, but benefits for other places.
I haven't tried soya milk/yoghurt, well not since menopause days anyway and that was over 10 years ago. Didn't like it much. Won't semi-skimmed milk do? Doesn't it have less fat content than full fat, blue top milk?
I've never had to think about my diet before, but I am definately thickening out around the waist and hips, all that full fat milk I guess??????????? I'm not up with all this dieting and thinking about what I eat lark.

[bowlingbun]

I understood that skimmed milk was best - since there is less fat, there is more of the calcium containing stuff.

[susieq]

I understood that skimmed milk was best - since there is less fat, there is more of the calcium containing stuff.

true BB, fluid ounce for fluid ounce skimmed or semi-skimmed milk has more calcium than full fat milk

Re the soya products - when I was diagnosed as diabetic I had to re-think my whole diet ! One of the changes I made was to cut out as much sugar as I could from my diet - milk (and most dairy products ) contain lactose, a natural sugar. So I switched to Alpro soya yoghurt - the plain or almond variety, both have a very low sugar count (and are low in calories and fat) - unlike fruit yoghurts which are mostly sugar ! The Alpro soya yoghurts I actually find are much 'milder' and creamier tasting than the dairy versions which come over as quite 'sour' tasting.

New thinking on diabetes recommends a low carbohydrate/high fat diet so, apart from cutting out sugars (natural and refined) I've also cut out virtually all carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cakes, biscuits etc) but increased my intake of protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts) - although because of cholesterol levels I do keep to low fat rather than high fat content. I've also increased my intake of vegetables (especially the green, leafy ones), but have to limit my fruit intake to two small portions a day (fruit also contains fructose, another natural sugar).

In a year I've lost 3 stone and 4 dress sizes