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“All he wanted was to be loved and that I get to give him that love every day now, it’s incredible.”
Changing one’s name can be a powerful thing, signifying the joining of a new family or the promise of a better life.
For ZIB, it meant all of the above.
The now 4-year-old border collie’s early life was filled with neglect. Languishing in a shelter in Claremore, Oklahoma, the young dog, then known as Kong, was suffering from a painful skin disease and a sunburn so bad that he couldn’t be touched.
Taken in by Border Collie Rescue & Rehab in Prosper, Texas, and brought back to health, Kong became known as #387 on the rescue’s website.
But Curtis Hartsell didn’t need a name to fall for the little white dog with the big smile and curious eyes.
“I looked through his profile and just immediately fell in love with his single picture and the description they put on the page,” Hartsell told The Dodo. “His foster mom described his temperament and personality and I described my life to her a bit and she said we sounded perfect for each other.”
Hartsell, a cyber threat intelligence analyst with a credit bureau based out of Little Elm, Texas, worried his active lifestyle wouldn’t fit with owning a dog — but something indescribable told him everything would work out, he said. So he submitted an application.
“I asked for daily updates through the adoption process and felt as if he were mine from the very beginning and these people were just helping us get reunited,” Hartsell added.
After several interviews and a home visit, Hartsell’s application was approved, and the day finally came for the two to meet for the very first time. To mark the fresh start, Hartsell had decided to change the dog’s name from Kong/#387 to ZIB, in honor of a famous Soviet space dog.
“The original was just a lost dog running around base that they sent to space for successful flight,” Hartsell explained. “I felt this was fitting for my ZIB because he was just a lost dog until someone picked him up and helped nurture him back to health. Now he and I are off to the stars together!”
Hartsell arrived at ZIB’s foster house, and a friend managed to capture a picture of the powerful moment that the little lost dog was finally found.
“I was handed his leash … I got down in front of him and gave him his new name and asked if he wanted to come home with me,” Hartsell recounted. “‘ZIB, I’m going to call you ZIB. Do you like that? How would you like to come home with me, ZIB?’ He was sitting in front of me, looked into my eyes and then hugged me and bowed his head. It was adorable; I’ll never forget that moment.”
ZIB couldn’t be happier in his new home with his loving dad. The puppy who was once in so much pain he couldn’t stand to be pet now can’t get enough cuddles and touches.
Despite his early worries, having ZIB around has improved Hartsell’s life exponentially, he said, and the lines of who rescued whom have since blurred. “I cannot even begin to describe how much happier and fulfilled I feel,” Hartsell said. “Knowing that this poor puppy was once neglected and all he wanted was to be loved — and that I get to give him that love every day now, it’s incredible.”
“I truly feel saved by him and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him,” he said. “Our lives revolve around each other now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Treating the bone condition called osteoporosis is relatively simple and mostly involves having an osteoporosis diet. This diet includes the following foods: spinach, milk, pineapple juice, red clover, yogurt, black cohosh, beans, vinegar, salmon, tofu, and calcium supplements. This is of course, in addition to behavioral adjustments. One should stop smoking, drinking alcohol, keeping a healthy weight, maintaining an active lifestyle and reducing protein consumption.
What is Osteoporosis?
As we age, our bodies deteriorate, including its hardest component– bones. However, there is one disorder that appears to affect more people than some other health disorder: Osteoporosis. This is a state wherein the quality of the bones begin its decline, affecting nearly millions of individuals across the globe. More than 70% of people over the age of 80 are experiencing a certain form of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is derived from the Greek term which means “porous bones,” which is exactly what occurs when afflicted with the condition. As the calcium in the body depletes, the density of the bones goes through a dramatic change that coincidently weakens it. This results in a likely chance of literally breaking the bones, especially among aged people. The parts where bones have been broken usually stay considerably weakened, and patients may also suffer chronic pain.
Some of these can be as a result of debilitating accidents, and usually, signals the start of osteoporosis. This can bring in declined mobility, dependence on medicines, and gradual weakness. This makes a brutal cycle for the afflicted, making it hard to “recover.”
Like many diseases which are better prevented than treated, osteoporosis is a condition which must be avoided at all costs. Thus, it is important to have a healthy lifestyle and a well-balanced osteoporosis diet.
So let us discuss further at many of the home treatments for osteoporosis.
What Should an Ideal Osteoporosis Diet Include?
1. Vinegar
One surefire way of affirming the strength of your bones is to boost your mineral consumption, including calcium. As these nutrients are not something that the body can produce, these vital components of our skeletal system must constantly be reloaded, for the most part as we get older. Vinegar has been connected to boosting calcium levels. Therefore, vinegar, for as long as it’s available, should be an addition to one’s osteoporosis diet.
2. Tofu
Soy may be a prominent food among vegans for its protein which is not possible to get via meat sources. But it is also getting popularity as well in the fight against osteoporosis, particularly due to its high content of phytoestrogens. These mixtures are similar to estrogens required for women to keep healthy hormonal balance. Women are at considerably higher risk of osteoporosis than men, so this is a significant new area of studies. Thus, it should definitely be present in an osteoporosis diet.
3. Salmon
Relatively pure, this delightful variety of fish is predominantly high in calcium and vitamin D content, as well as beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. So if you desire to stay away from weakening bone and other chronic disorders, then add salmon to your osteoporosis diet at any time possible!
4. Red Clover
Like soy, red clover benefits the bones with its influence on estrogen which sets a normal hormonal balance in the body. This can very much help in avoiding osteoporosis but these elements are also unstable and not much yet understood.
5. Spinach
There is a common notion that milk contains the most calcium from foods, which might be true to certain extent. However, in the plant kingdom, spinach reigns supreme when placed in the same context. Consider a fresh spinach salad to your weekly healthy diet (at least once a week!) and guarantee a continuous supply of bone-strengthening minerals to your body.
6. Milk
Disputably the most well-known drink to help “build strong bones,” the calcium contained in milk was proven to have a daily bone boost into your diet. Just one glass of milk can fulfill a quarter of the body’s nutritional demand of calcium.
7. Black Cohosh
Black cohosh is a special boon to women who are at risk of getting osteoporosis. This can be compared to soy due to its phytoestrogen contents.
8. Pineapple Extract
You might think that it is only calcium that primarily makes the bone’s density. In reality, there are other minerals known to man that actually constituents a healthy bone. One such nutrient is manganese. In fact, a deficiency in this needed mineral is also said to promote osteoporosis. Inversely, a healthy dose of manganese, also found in pineapple juice, can help prevent the occurrence of the disease immensely. Freshly squeezed pineapple juice is a great source of manganese – and a delicious one, too, to boot!
9. Lower Protein Intake
According to studies, there has been a startling link between the overconsumption of protein and the body’s excretion of calcium which also suggest that eating too much protein risks the bone of getting osteoporosis. Lowering your consumption of protein to just a moderate level can help the body retain its needed calcium to strengthen the bones.
10. Calcium Supplements
You can purchase calcium supplements at nearly every health food shop and drug stores. This is the most certain way to guarantee a healthy calcium intake and avoid osteoporosis or at least slow down its onset.
Osteoporosis Home Remedies: Behavioral Changes
Do Not Lose Too Much Weight
Obesity has long been linked to a great threat of other illnesses. But even tremendously thin people are also at risk of early bone degradation. The key is to keep a healthy weight by employing healthy means.
Exercise Regularly
If you stay active, you will uphold muscle strength, which aids to enhance bone strength and reduce your risk of falling or unexpectedly breaking a bone. Staying active will also maintain energy levels high and avoid the start of other age-linked disorders.
Quit Smoking
Behavioral modifications like quitting smoking are also beneficial. Smoking brings the body with many carcinogens and raises the probability of chronic illnesses. It also can hasten up the start of a menopausal period in women, which usually results in a momentous increase in the risk of osteoporosis. By quitting smoking, you can slow down menopause and prevent back the beginning of osteoporosis symptoms.
Lessen or Avoid Alcohol Consumption
When consumed in moderation, alcohol can truly boost calcium intake. However, there is a definite, clear line. Once your consumption is too much, it has an immediate harmful influence on bone strength and the general health, making you less balanced on your feet and more possible to fall (which may perhaps break a bone as well!).
Reminders
Too much intake of calcium as a means to avoid osteoporosis can result to other complications, like excess deposition of calcium that brings about gallstones, gout, and much more. Might as well consult with an experienced medical expert as you grow older to talk about your lifestyle and diet, and before practicing any significant home treatments for osteoporosis.
