A person needs to exercise AND eat right to fight osteoporosis. One is not complete without the other.

In short, be sure you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D. Also be careful of high protein diets as many believe they help in developing osteoporosis.

Here is a checklist of the diet experts believe is best at keeping bones strong:

1) Eat foods rich in calcium, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu and calcium-fortified fruit juices. If those are not in your diet, try dark green leafy vegetables, seeds and nuts as sources of calcium.

2) The recommended amount of calcium you should eat ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 mg daily, with 1,500 mg suggested for older men and postmenopausal women. Try to take in this amount through your diet, but it is wise to ask your doctor if calcium supplements are a good idea for you

3) Avoid antacids containing aluminum, as they can prevent calcium absorption by binding with phosphorus in the intestines. Many over-the-counter antacids do not contain aluminum and are a good source of calcium

4) Eat foods that contain plant estrogens, especially tofu and other soy products. Avoid foods that can interfere with your body's absorption of calcium, such as red meats, soft drinks, and excessive amounts of alcohol and caffeine

5) Include fish oil

6) Drink milk to obtain the vitamin D your bones need.

And here's one lifestyle hint from the experts: Do not smoke. Studies have shown that women who smoke increase their risk of developing osteoporosis and related fractures.

Welcome to the February issue of The Health Bounce!

In this month's newsletter, Edita Antonian delivers a plan on how all of us (men & women) can battle against osteoporosis!

Be sure to check out how changing your diet can be your ally in keeping your bones strong!

We also want to let you know about our eNews archive! Look through our past articles by clicking here. There is also a link on our homepage located directly beneath the Newsletter signup form.

And, yes, men need to fight too!

By Edita Antonian, Certified personal trainer with nutrition and personal training certificates from ACE, NPTI and NASM.

Experts agree: the right combination of diet and exercise can slow down-or even slightly reverse-bone thinning. And while men may encourage the women they love to take the necessary steps to avoid osteoporosis, the fact is men should be following the same regimen.

Everyone reaches peak bone mass in their early 20s, and it's natural to lose a little bone density as we age. Though lost bone cannot be fully replaced, we can take steps to preserve bone health and the bone density that remains. The alternative is suffering from brittle, porous bones caused by osteoporosis and their frequent fractures.

To knock out this potential threat, use a one-two punch of resistance training and diet (See "Healthier diet..." for more information on the foods that help).

I am a firm believer that the younger you start resistance training, the better. I have trained people as young as 12 and as old as 70 (men and women) and all of them have benefited from doing resistance training.

Resistance training can be any type of an exercise involving dumb bells, weight machines, resistance bands, and your own body weight. It is best to do resistance training 2 to 3 days a week to get stronger muscles and denser bones. (Many people read and ignore this, but you shouldn't: please consult your physician before embarking on any exercise program. Once you have your doctor's clearance, the next step is to prevent injuries and get the maximum workout benefit by asking a personal trainer about the correct way to performing the exercise and using the weights and machines. )

As a personal trainer, I can tell you that most of my clients had no idea what resistance training can do for them, but recently many have become more aware of its benefits. Most women I have trained were at first scared of lifting weights or using the weight machines so I had to educate them about the importance of strength training and how it can prevent osteoporosis.

There is hope for even those too scared to pick up weights. Research shows that weight-bearing exercises are a great ally in the battle to keep bones strong. Activities like Yoga, brisk walking, golf, racket sports, and hiking get muscles pulling on the bones, which stimulate new bone to grow. If you want to foster bone health this way, be sure to use many different exercises regularly as only the bones being worked by the muscle will be enhanced (in other words, brisk walking won't make your wrist bones stronger.)

No matter which approach you choose, be aware that you won't be seeing big changes on any bone density tests after your first week of working out. Bones change slowly-but they do change.

Edita Antonian is a certified personal trainer with nutrition and personal training certificates from ACE, NPTI, NASM, and the 24 Hour Fitness Club. Her passion is helping people stay young and healthy.

Excerpt from the Introduction of the Great Tubing Handbook

"If you do a lot of traveling, or are looking for a method of exercise that is lightweight, inexpensive and takes up little space, then stretch tubing is for you. Long used in physical therapy and rehabilitation, stretch tubing offers a means of strength training that emphasizes both eccentric an concentric contraction of the muscles. In other words, like working with weights, you have resistance in both the beginning phase of the exercise and the return phase of the exercise. Studies have shown that a significant benefit is achieved by resisting the pull on the return phase of the exercise."

The Great Tubing Handbook.includes steb-by-step instructions, color photots for all exercises and a complete fitness routine. 64 pages.

The FitBALL brand of tubing is made from durable natural rubber. Each 4' length tube is attached to two comfortable foam handles. Attractive clamshell retail packaging in 5 new color-coded levels of resistance make the FitBALL tubing practical for beginners and advanced athletes.