Colbert vs German Granny Gymnast

"Johanna Quaas, 86, isn't taking old age lying down," writes the Huffington Post. "Instead, she's taking it spinning, jumping and twirling - on the parallel bars, no less." A late starter, she only picked up the sport in her thirties, but has more than kept pace with the pack over the years. She boasts 11 goal medals from her senior gymnastics competitions across the globe.

Perhaps more impressive still, is that with her geriatric tricks, she manages to diminish even Stephen Colbert's usually GROSSLY OVER-INFLATED EGO.

Awww, look on the bright side, Stephen: all that ice cream you're binging on is loaded with calcium - a nutrient that's proven beneficial to both the formation and maintenance of bones. Strong bones = age-defying octogenarian status. Granted there are better food sources for calcium than ice cream. Leafy greens, soy products (tofu), low fat dairy, calcium-fortified orange juice and cereals all comprise grub that packs the mineral punch without the caloric paunch. But baby steps, you're in the right food group of dairy, haha. 

Calcium is important for bone health, hormone secretion, normal blood clotting, and a healthy heart beat. Aim to get 1200 mg of calcium per day, ideally from your diet, but if you are supplementing with pills, remember that your body can't absorb more than 500-600 mg at a time. Think about taking a pill in the morning and another at night (instead of two 600 mg pills at once).

Vitamin D is a mineral that helps to absorb calcium. The recommended intake is 600-800 IU per day. Some of that you'll get from being out in the sun, but it's better to not count on that for your full supply. Search out foods like salmon, tuna, catfish, eggs, fortified milk and fortified cereal.

A diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, along with regular weight-bearing exercise can help prevent osteoporosis. Bone is living tissue. That means it's constantly being absorbed and replaced. Osteoporosis happens when your body removes more old bone than it creates new bone. So to make sure that doesn't happen, and to make sure we can be as active as Johanna well into our old age, it's important to keep our body stocked with the mineral building blocks it needs to make a strong supporting structure of bones!

For more information on Osteoporosis, check out the International Osteoporosis Foundation's website.