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A sweet way to avoid osteoporosis (and maybe cure PMS, too)?
The Product
Do you have a sweet tooth? Really like chocolate? Do you know
that you need more calcium in your diet to reduce your risk of
osteoporosis but you don't know where to turn? There may be a
new product in stores tailored to your needs.
Mead Johnson Nutritionals recently launched a new calcium
supplement called VIACTIV Soft Calcium Chews. They are
bite-sized chews that come in two flavors, chocolate, and
mochaccino. Each chew contains calcium carbonate and is
supposed to provide 500 milligrams of calcium. Vitamins D and K
are also incorporated into the chews to aid in the absorption of the
calcium. According to the company, eating two or three chews can
deliver the recommended daily intake of calcium, 1,000 to 1,500
milligrams. It is important to note that just because the chews
contain 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium does not mean that
your body will absorb all of it. Your body may only absorb 500
milligrams, which is far less than the total calcium contained in
each chew.
Possible Benefits
The target market is women over 35. Yet, calcium intake is most
important during adolescence, as women soon reach their peak
bone density. If they don't get enough calcium at this point in life,
their bone density is always less and they set the stage for trouble
later. When they reach menopause, more bone is broken done
than built up, which is the exact opposite of youth. There is a
decrease in bone density. Calcium deficiency is to be avoided
because it will make this break-down of bone worse. Still, no
matter what a woman does at menopause, she does not
appreciably change this decline from its natural course with
calcium supplements. Whether or not the woman's decline in bone
mass dips down to the level where it will cause her fractures is
largely determined by the bone density she had before the decline
began, which was reached way back when.
There is now much evidence that calcium alleviates PMS
symptoms. This calcium supplement is chocolate. Plus, growing
girls have higher calcium requirements. Why not give PMS Escape
a run for its money? There's no way to motivate a teen to do
something for her health a good 50 years down the road. But get
rid of that irritability and satisfy the chocolate craving every month
all at once, that's something a girl can understand. The calcium
supplement market is rapidly expanding, largely due to
menopausal baby boomers. Calcium is being added to a number
of foods, such as orange juice and cereal. Young women should
grocery shop with their calcium needs in mind, just as much as
their mid-life counterparts. Unlike with social security, young
women can benefit from being in the shadow of the baby boom.
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