|
Overview:
Osteoporosis is a disease where bones become fragile and more likely to break. It is important to understand that bones are not lifeless structures, but instead are complex living tissue. Just like our skin, bones are constantly broken down and built back up with new, healthy, pliable bone. Two cells involved in bone maintenance are osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The osteoblasts are the “bone builders.” In contrast, the osteoclasts are the cells responsible for the breakdown of old, brittle bone. The ratio of these two types of bone cells must be in balance to maintain strong and healthy bones. Due to the Standard American Lifestyle your bones break down faster than new bones can be formed. In women, bone deterioration accelerates after menopause due to the fact that the ovaries stop producing estrogen, a hormone that protects against bone loss.
Diet:
Your blood is a tightly controlled system that requires biochemical finesse in order to make an optimal environment for your cells and organs to function. Blood pH is of critical importance, if your blood gets even slightly acidic then the critical enzymes would not function and death would occur. In order to maintain proper pH the body utilizes minerals to act as a buffering system. So how does your blood get acidic? The answer is food and stress. When you eat lots of animal protein, refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, white rice and sugar these things add acid to your body. When you eat vegetables and low-sugar fruits you neutralize some of that acid. The problem is you need 5 times as much alkaline food to neutralize 1 part of acid food. Stress also will cause excessive acid to form in the body. So what does this have to do with your bones? The bones are your body’s mineral bank account. If you aren’t giving it plenty of those green leafy vegetables then your body will have to choose, between death or osteoporosis. In this case, your body becomes like Robin Hood, it steals from the mineral rich bones and gives to the mineral poor blood and organs.
To maintain bone health we should make sure that the bones have all of the necessary mineral building blocks. These building blocks feed the osteoblasts so as to keep new and healthy bone developing over your life. A readily absorbed bone mineral formula such as Osteosheath will accomplish this. I would also suggest an additional 1,000 iu of vitamin D during the Spring and Summer and 2,000 iu during the winter months. On top of this, adding a green drink full of concentrated green vegetables and superfoods will help keep your body alkaline by providing phytochemicals and organic minerals that neutralize acid.
To treat osteoporosis the standard procedure has been to take drugs such as Fosamax to inhibit bone deterioration and to increase intake of calcium. In the short term this approach may provide benefit to bone strength and fracture risk. There is concern, however, of the long term ramifications of such an approach. This approach may result in poor quality bone and thus could lead to increased risk of fractures years later. To avoid this, our goal is to increase bone formation and normalize bone deterioration. We suggest that calcium, magnesium, boron, proteins, and other trace minerals be taken to help increase bone formation. The average diet consists of 600 mg of calcium so 600-1200 mg should be taken in a supplemental form. There are many different types of calcium available, however not all of them are efficient forms. Calcium carbonate, found in Oscal, Tums, and their popular little brother Viactive, is considered the worst form of calcium. This form does not absorb due to its buffering effect in the stomach. Calcium carbonate needs an acidic environment of the stomach in order to dissolve. Some good forms of calcium are calcium citrate, calcium citrate-malate, calcium MCHA, and calcium lactate. We suggest that magnesium be taken in a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium. Daily, 1200- 2400 units of Vitamin D can be taken. An intake of 3-6 mg of boron a day is recommended. Vitamin K stimulates new bone growth. Vitamin K1 can be obtained by eating vegetables. Vitamin K2, produced from K1, increases bone growth and normalizes bone deterioration. Trace minerals can be found in the multi vitamins. Strontium citrate should be reserved for severe cases. It is taken in doses of 600 daily apart from calcium. Because there is little long term safety data on strontium it is reserved for those with severe osteoporosis.
Lifestyle:
All these suggested supplements are primarily the elemental building blocks of bone formation. The body needs a stimulus for the bone formation. This stimulus is in the form of weight bearing exercise. Walking is just not enough because it does not put enough stress on the bones, the best exercise is weight lifting. In order to promote bone growth you will need to stress the bones that are in need of growth. For instance, if you want the hip bone to grow stronger then you can’t do bicep curls. Placing weight on the shoulders and doing squats may be a better option. If you suffer from osteoporosis, you may need to do this under the supervision of a physical therapist. You may also want to purchase a weighted vest to wear while walking. This may help add more stress to the bones to stimulate their growth. If you suffer from osteoporosis, you may want to purchase walking poles, which are ski poles that have been built for walking. This helps to stabilize your gait and increase the number of calories you burn. Be sure to check with your doctor.
If you have weak bones, such as with osteopenia or osteoporosis, here are the suggestions for building healthy bones:
1. Progena Osteo Plus – This is a comprehensive bone mineral formula that provides you with the calcium, magnesium, boron and other trace minerals in their best absorbed and utilized forms. 2 tablets twice daily.
2. Vitamin D - Vitamin D helps the body absorb and utilize the minerals. We suggest 1 capsule daily in addition to the vitamin D in your multi and bone mineral formula. We shoot for 1,200 – 2,600 IU on a daily basis, especially during the winter months.
3. Vitamin K – 10 – 45 mg daily. Vitamin K supplements are especially important in those who do not eat a lot of green leafy vegetables. If you have mildly unhealthy bones you may want to use Super K by Life Extension Foundation. If you have moderate to severely compromised bone health, you may want to try Ultra K2 (1 cap three times daily).
4. Biost – Though not available in our webstore, this product contains a veal bone extract that provides certain enzymes and proteins that assist in normal bone formation. 2 tabs twice daily.
5. RegeneMax is a source of organic silica which the body uses to form the backbone structure on which the minerals are layed down. Recommended dose is one capsule daily.
2. Strontium – This stimulates new bone growth. Taken 2-4 caps daily away from the bone formula. This should only be used in people who have osteoporosis especially if they are unable to take such medications as Fosamax or Actonel. People with osteopenia only, should try all other products before adding strontium.
|
