Putting on the Pink

Last night our church put on a "Putting on the Pink" party for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October). It was a lot of fun. Lots of information, good speakers, yoga, massages, and a bone density test. I decided to do the bone density test (I didn't opt for the massage as I'm so knotted up there wasn't enough time to work half of them out). It's a neat machine that is 99% accurate.

It looks kind of like a foot massager. They ask your age first.  You place your foot in the machine and two balloons on either side of your heel inflate. Nothing uncomfortable like a BP cuff. It sits for about 30 seconds or so and deflates. They look at a colored graph on the screen and show you where your bone density is in relation to your age.

I am 46 (next Saturday). Here are the findings of my test:

* On the graph I am above average for my age.

* My T score is 0.0 {T score indicates whether you are above or below the bone density of a healthy 30 year-old, the age when bone density reaches its peak.}

* My Z score is 1.1 {Z score indicates whether you are above or below the bone density of other people your age, sex, and race.}

So, my T score of 0 indicates the average for the healthy, 30 year-old group and my Z score of 1.1 indicates I have higher bone density than my age group.

I have the bone density of a 30-something year old! Se said a good diet, exercise, and lots of greens contribute to higher bone density. I said I green smoothie every day and she just smiled and said green smoothies are great.

I think that is awesome considering my mom lost 8 inches of height at the end of her life and that is something I definitely want to avoid.