The other day I was asked by a woman who called if I could guarantee that my weight vest would add bone for her. Of course I can’t. The factors that add to bone are simple; good nutritious food, weight-bearing exercise, correct pH balance and a stress-free life. But the factors that tear bone down are much more complex, from daily sodas, stress, drugs of various kinds, lack of exercise, caffeine, smoking, acid body, fast food, lack of vitamins, lack of green food, poor relationships, low thyroid or adrenal function, environmental toxicity…. I could go on and on.
There is no way I can control any of those factors in women’s lives. I can just offer a tool that can be used to build bone. Whether it is used in conjunction with all the other tools I give you information about, or not, is not in my sphere of influence.
Since we are programmed as women to lose a little bone density every year after menopause, then I can say that if you use the weight vest regularly and address all of the lifestyle factors possible for you, then you are doing your best to build bone.
My customers are very varied, from 85 year old women to some in their 40’s, who have just been diagnosed with Osteopenia. The same weight-bearing vest works for all of them but the information has to be sifted through to find what applies to you. The many younger women who buy the vest are often very upset and disturbed with their new diagnosis. They tell me that they eat right and exercise and ask where did this problem come from?
I can only advise them not to get too upset because the diagnosis may be inflated – drug companies in league with testing companies. It’s best to act as if the diagnosis was a wake-up call to examine their lives for signals of imbalance. We are all more stressed in this culture than in any other (except for times of warfare). Forty year old women are often juggling jobs and family and a hormone system that is moving into change. I have found that many women in this age group take refuge in exercise – it’s the only thing they can control and it gives them endorphins if they do it hard enough and long enough. But excess exercise is hard on our bones and is a risk factor for osteoporosis.
There is so much information available about bringing our lives into balance, and the time it takes turns out to be a good trade-off for the energy it gives you. Look after yourselves, take care of yourselves as if you were your own beloved child. No-one can do that for you except yourself. Just say no to all the energy suckers in your life and make a bit of space for yourself. Your bones will thank you for it.