The World Of Tzu Chi December 2019 (Vol.117)

2019 • 12 58 ellness Never Too Early to Catch Up on Calcium A sound knowledge of bone health is instrumental in ensuring strong, healthy bones, as is a nutritious and balanced diet. It is also crucial to boost calcium intake during childhood and adolescence when bone density and growth are at optimum levels. Translated by Cheong Pei Lin O ne day, we chanced upon my daughter’s classmate on our way to a restaurant. She took my daughter’s hand in hers and before long, both of them were skipping excitedly along the street, nearly knocking over an elderly pedestrian in their path had I failed to pull them back in time. Following the incident, I warned my daughter of the potential danger of colliding into a senior citizenwhen scurrying around recklessly in public spaces, causing them to fall and break their bones. My daughter’s eyes widened at the revelation and enquired innocently, “Broken bones? Do bones snap into half like tree branches? But bones are hard!” As expected, my daughter held the perception that bones are rock-solid. I borrowed an encyclopedia on the human skeletal system from the library and gave my daughter a brief lesson on bone structure, explaining to her that our bones are composed of living tissues, unlike rocks. Bones constantly undergo a remodelling process in which old bone tissue is replaced by new tissue. Therefore, it is crucial to boost calcium intake during childhood and adolescence when bone density and growth are at optimum levels. Many years ago, an elderly acquaintance was walking on the street when an office worker rushed past her to chase after the bus and accidentally brushed against her shoulder. The slight bump caused her to lose her balance and fall over, resulting in a hip fracture and a prolonged hospital stay. She was even reprimanded by her children: “You wouldn’t have ended up suffering like this if you drank the milk we bought you!” No use crying over spilt milk When I mentioned this incident to a friend some time later, she maintained that the elderly lady had only herself to blame for failing to pay adequate attention to her health in her youth. I found my friend’s assumption inconsiderate as she had neglected to take into account the possibility of other factors influencing the elderly lady’s predicament, solely attributing it to insufficient milk intake instead. For one, information on osteoporosis and its prevention was likely to be less accessible to the older generation early in their lifetime, much less knowledge on calcium intake. Furthermore, the elderly lady devoted most of her life to raising a large family in a time when one had to be content with living frugally and surviving on scarce food resources. After surveying the elderly lady’s dietary habits, I inferred that her susceptibility to osteoporosis was due to a lack of awareness on bone health and an imbalanced diet. “Don’t blame yourself for the bone fracture. Brittle bones are not necessarily linked to milk intake,” I offered, attempting to comfort the elderly