Answer to Question 1
She should look for foods and beverages that contain added calcium such as cereals, soy products, or orange juices. She can also eat green leafy vegetables to get more calcium. (Table 8-12 provides tips for boosting calcium in meals.) She could select plant-derived calcium sources such as almond butter.
She should also do weight-bearing exercise to encourage maximum bone density. Consult Table C8-3 for more information as to how to prevent osteoporosis.
She may want to consider taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement but she should be aware of the risks of taking calcium supplements as described in Table C8-4.
Answer to Question 2
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate atwhich the body uses energy to support its basalmetabolism.Bas al metabolism is the sum total of all the involuntaryactiviti es that are necessary to sustainlife, including circulation, respiration,and new tissue synthesis, but excludingdigestion and voluntary activities. Basal metabolismis the largest component of the averageperson's daily energy expenditure. BMR is affected by age, height, growth, body composition, fever, stress, environmental temperature, fasting/starvation, malnutrition, and the hormone thyroxine.Many weight-loss advertisements make this claim that eating certain foods can elevate the BMR as a marketing gimmick. This is false because you cannot increase your BMR by eating certain foods. Any meal temporarily steps up energy expenditure due to the thermic effect offood, and there is no specific food that accelerates it further. In order to lose weight you would have to increase your energy expenditure associated with voluntaryactivities (as opposed to involuntary activities, i.e., BMR). If you increase voluntary activities, you will spend more calories, and if you keep doingso day after day, your BMR will also increase somewhat as you build lean tissuebecause lean tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue.