Osteoporosis – what can
you do about it?
From being thought of
as a disease affecting a few little old ladies with hunched backs, osteoporosis
has leapt into the public consciousness – and with it, the importance of
nutrition in maintaining bone health. Yet there remains confusion in the
minds of many health-conscious people about the right dose and form of
even the most well-known bone health nutrients, while the importance of
other key nutrients in keeping the skeleton strong remains largely unknown.
Bone loss accelerates suddenly in menopausal women because the drop in
estrogen levels causes an increase in the resorption (teardown) of existing
bone. But resorption is only half of the story. Age-related bone loss is
also caused by a decrease in the formation of new bone tissue. Existing
drugs for treating osteoporosis, as well as calcium and vitamin D supplements,
work by reducing bone resorption. But they do not support the formation
of new bone. These drugs and nutrients increase the mineralization of bone,
but they do not help the body to build new bone tissue. And in fact,
within weeks of starting use of antiresorptive drugs like Fosamax,®
the body’s formation of new bone actually decreases. The resulting bone
is less prone to fracture, but is not the same as youthful, healthy bone.
For the most up-to-date information on the dangers of antiresorptive drugs
(Bisphosphonates) please click here http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/fosamax_abc_news.html
Be sure to come back to this page after reading Virginia Hopkins' report
of this breaking news.
Often, since bone loss occurs in women after menopause, when hormones decline, it is suggested that they take estrogen. However, even though estrogen does inhibit bone loss, it actually does nothing to build new bone. The hormone that is responsible for bone building is progesterone.Click here to learn more about the bone building activity of progesterone
We have been having excellent results with a mineral that also promotes
osteo-blasts (the putting in of new bone). Please read on.......
Strontiumis
a mineral found along with calcium in most foods. Research has long suggested
that it may be an essential nutrient required for the normal development,
structure, function, and health of the skeletal system. Clinical
trials going back into the 1940s have supported this conclusion, but recent
studies have provided evidence that it can offer unique nutritional support
against loss of bone structure and function. Animal studies have shown
that Strontium supplements both decrease bone resorption, and increase
the formation of new bone tissue.
•In animal models, Strontium (in various forms, such as chloride, carbonate,
gluconate, and lactate) causes “baby” osteoblasts (bone-building
cells) to multiply more quickly.
•Bone tissue cultures which are exposed to Strontium synthesize more bone
matrix and new bone collagen. The same amount of calcium has no effect
on these parameters.
•In bone tissue culture, Strontium reduces bone resorption at concentrations
at which calcium has no effect, prevents the resorption caused by excessive
parathyroid hormone, and slows the rate at which immature osteoclasts develop.
Human clinical trials
also support Strontium’s ability to both support new bone formation
and prevent excessive resorption.
•Bone biopsies from a small human pilot trial revealed an astounding 172.4%
increase in new bone formation after six months of Strontium (gluconate)
supplementation.
•The bone-building activity of osteoblasts can be measured using bone-specific
alkaline phosphatase, while crosslinked N-telopeptide (NTx) and C-telopeptide
(CTx) mark the degradation of bone collagen by ravaging osteoclasts. Unlike
the range of side-effects that accompany antiresorptive drugs, no clinical
side-effects have ever been reported that could be clearly attributed to
Strontium.
Calcium
and Strontium can both play key roles in the health of your bones –
if you use them properly. On the one hand, animal studies suggest that
Strontium is not effective, and may even be counterproductive, if your
calcium intake is not adequate. At the same time, however,
it’s important not to take your Strontium supplement at the same time as
your calcium supplements. This is because calcium and Strontium use the
same pathways for absorption in the intestinal tract, so that swallowing
a calcium supplement along with your Strontium can dramatically reduce
absorption.
The best protocol – and the one used in the most recent clinical trials
– is to take your Strontium either three hours after your last meal of
the day, or one hour before breakfast in the morning, or both. Because
studies suggest that one last dose of calcium just before retiring can
help prevent excessive resorption of bone overnight, it may be best to
take all of your Strontium before breakfast and mid-afternoon (2 hrs away
from a meal), leaving you free to take a calcium supplement just before
you go to bed.
What is the best form of Calcium?
Ortho•Bone
- Related Research
A superior nutritional supplement
for bone health must be built on a foundation of ossein Microcrystalline
Hydroxyapatite Complex (MCHC) as the calcium source, and fortified
with well-established nutrient cofactors such as Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese,
Copper, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D3, as well as critical factors like
Menatetrenone (the mammalian
form of vitamin K2) and Strontium, whose revolutionary effects on bone
health have only emerged recently. Here’s a quick review of the controversies
and recent discoveries.
• Get Enough Calcium. Current
“official” recommendations suggest an intake of 1000 milligrams of calcium
for younger adults, and 1200 milligrams for people over the age of 50.
Some evidence suggests that a still higher intake (1300-1600 milligrams)
of calcium is more effective for lowering fracture risk in the elderly.
But remember that these numbers are your total calcium need. The more calcium
you get in your diet, the less you need from supplements.
• Get the Right Kind of
Calcium. Too many health-conscious people believe that conventional calcium
supplements (or conventional calcium plus vitamin D) can put an end to
bone loss. They can’t. As multiple studies have documented, conventional
calcium supplements – such as calcium gluconate, calcium citrate, and calcium
carbonate – slow, but do not halt or reverse, menopausal bone loss, whether
taken alone or with vitamin D. You simply can’t force the bones to take
in more calcium, and build more bone, by taking more and more calcium:
the mineral itself can only provide the raw material needed to support
your existing bone mass, or to allow other factors in your skeletal health
program to build up new bone.
But there is one seeming
exception. Ossein microcrystalline hydroxyapatite complex (MCHC) consistently
halts, or even reverses, bone loss in controlled human trials. When put
head-to-head against other calcium supplemental forms, MCHC consistently
trumps conventional calcium supplements. But MCHC’s bone-building powers
do not lie in the calcium itself.
True MCHC is not just a
form of calcium, but is a calcium-based crystalline nutrient complex, which
is how the mineral is actually stored in your bones. MCHC’s unique support
for the skeletal system is probably due to a combination of its intact
crystalline structure, and the vibrant blend of peptides, mucopolysaccharides,
and growth factors which accompany the calcium in true MCHC supplements
– factors which are not present in conventional calcium supplements, in
bone meal, or in pure, synthetic hydroxyapatite (also known as calcium
orthophosphate). The bottom line is that the unique bone health support
provided by MCHC derives from the whole supplement, and not just from its
calcium content.
Advanced
Bone Protection
A study among healthy adult
men was similarly impressive, as well as another study among healthy adult
women in 2002. This particular double-blind, placebo-controlled trial measured
radial bone mineral density, and once again the mean BMD value of the MBP
group was 'significantly higher' than that of the placebo group.
A Summary of the Results
of MBP Studies:
• In a study among healthy
menopausal women, the MBP group reported a bone mineral density (BMD) increase
of 1.21% while the placebo group recorded a 0.66% BMD decrease.
• In another study among
healthy adult women, the MBP group gained approximately 70% more bone mineral
density than the control group.
• MBP reduced the number
of pits on the bone surface caused by bone resorption by approximately
85% in an in-vitro study.
• In yet another study among
healthy adult females, the MBP group displayed a 3% increase in the BMD
of the radius (a forearm bone near the wrist) compared to a 1.3% BMD decrease
in the placebo group.
Calcium
Citrate-Malate for Vegetarians.
Unfortunately, of course, vegetarians cannot consume MCHC because it is
an animal product (although premium MCHC supplements use free-range, pasture-fed
livestock from countries like New Zealand or Australia as sources for the
raw materials). For vegetarians, the best calcium source is calcium citrate-malate.
Calcium citrate-malate is
not the same thing as calcium citrate, or as a simple admixture of calcium
citrate and calcium malate. Calcium citrate-malate is prepared in such
a way that a significant number of its calcium atoms are bound to both
citrate and malate molecules at once. This unique form makes calcium citrate-malate
six to nine times more easily dissolved in the stomach than plain calcium
citrate.
This superior solubility
may be at least part of the reason for the fact that calcium citrate-malate
is considerably better-absorbed than calcium citrate. And calcium citrate-malate
has been used successfully in many controlled trials to support bone mass
and/or to lower fracture risk. Some of these trials have involved a direct
face-off between calcium citrate-malate and other forms of calcium. Such
trials demonstrate that, as might be expected from its greater bioavailability,
calcium citrate-malate gives better protection to the bones than other
vegetarian calcium sources – although its effects are still not as impressive
as those of MCHC.
• Don’t fall for the “Coral
Calcium” Hype. Some companies are making wild claims about the efficacy
of calcium taken from coral reefs, not just for osteoporosis but for almost
every ailment under the sun. These claims are simply bogus. There is nothing
magical about “coral calcium:” it is actually almost entirely calcium carbonate,
with a sprinkling of some trace minerals. Not one clinical trial has ever
been performed to show that “coral calcium” is better absorbed or better
utilized than other conventional calcium sources. Instead, astoundingly,
the claims of high bioavailability for “coral calcium” are not based on
controlled studies in humans, but on the stuff’s ability to dissolve in
water; and as has been shown, such a silly test bears little relationship
to the ability of a living body to absorb calcium.
Bottom line: take your calcium in the
form of MCHC if you are comfortable with
animal products; choose calcium citrate-malate if you’re not.
• Rock Around the Clock.
Several recent studies have suggested that when you take your calcium can
make a big difference in terms of both the amount of calcium you’ll absorb,
and the effects of that calcium on your bones. For starters, take your
calcium with food, as doing so will increase absorption. It’s also important
to spread your calcium supplements over the course of the day, which increases
your total absorption of calcium and keeps parathyroid hormone (PTH) under
control throughout the day. To get the best possible results, take the
largest single dose of calcium later in the day, at dinner or with a late-night
snack.
• Take Enough Vitamin
D. Aside from improving calcium absorption, vitamin D is needed
for proper muscle function, which may play a role in protecting against
fractures by reducing falls. But you simply can’t rely on the sun to meet
your requirements, especially in Northern climates. Even in sunny Spain,
researchers have found that 80% of children have inadequate vitamin D levels
in March and October. In fact, in one remarkable recent study, researchers
at Creighton University were able to document that even North Americans
who spend nearly all day in the sun during the summer (such as landscapers
and agricultural workers) were still at a 58% risk of being too low in
vitamin D to support optimal calcium metabolism by the end of the winter!
From what we now know, the
old RDA of 400 IU will not protect you from vitamin D insuffciency except
in the sunniest of climates. Studies show that a 400 IU vitamin D supplement
is just not enough to keep serum levels of the active vitamin above the
cutoff for insufficiency, and the use of 400 IU supplements have not been
shown to reduce fracture rates. Even 600 IU has little effect on BMD. Instead,
controlled studies show that vitamin D, together with calcium, helps to
reduce the risk of fracture at a dose of at least 800 IU per day and recent
trials suggest much higher dosages are needed to maintain optimal blood
levels.
Take a magnesium you can
absorb. Magnesium citrate is absorbed at 29.64%, but much better
absorption is available from other forms – especially fully-reacted magnesium
aspartate, with a remarkable 41.7% bioavailability. (we offer a magnesium
citrate-malate in liquid form)
• Small Doses … Big Benefits!
Just a small amount of some key nutrients can play a big role in the health
of your bones. Among the most well-known are manganese, zinc, and copper,
as well as other, even more commonly-neglected nutrients such as silicon,
boron, and vitamin C. Methylating nutrients such as vitamin B12 and folic
acid may also be important to bone health, perhaps because of the toxic
effects of homocysteine on the protein fibers in bone.
More recently, Menatetrenone
and Strontium have emerged as bone-building superstars. Menatetrenone is
a specific form of vitamin K2, not to be confused with the common phylloquinone
(vitamin K1) or even the bacterial menaquinones (which are also forms of
vitamin K2). Multiple clinical trials show that megadose Menatetrenone
supplements reduce fracture rates in osteoporotic women as well as Fosamax®-type
drugs, without having much influence on bone mineral density; apparently,
they work their magic by improving the quality of the bone itself. Strontium,
the neglected bone health mineral, appears to be the first truly bone-building
nutrient, as opposed to supplements like calcium and vitamin D (or even
estrogen therapy) or bisphosphonates (such as Fosamax® ), which work
primarily by preventing the breakdown of old bone.
Younger, healthier people
looking to support their basic bone health should consider taking these
nutrients at kind of doses equivalent to what’s found in the best diets:
5 milligrams of Strontium, and a few hundred micrograms of Menatetrenone.
Clinical trials to treat women with full-blown osteoporosis use much higher
doses: 45 milligrams of Menatetrenone, and 600 to 700 milligrams of Strontium.
• The Phosphorus Paradox.
It’s widely believed that Western diets are too rich in this mineral, and
that excess phosphorus is bad for bone health. But phosphorus is an essential
nutrient, which makes up more than half of the mineral content of bone
and which is needed for osteoblast function. Nearly a third of older Americans
don’t get the new RDA of this essential mineral.
• The Bone Health Lifestyle.
Beyond targeting your intake of specific nutrients, there are a lot of
important choices you can make which can spell the difference between building
strong bones and slowly sinking into osteoporosis. Fortunately, each of
these choices also has positive impacts on other aspects of your health,
so that they are part of an overall healthy lifestyle and not a whole new
checklist of health practices. Eat an “alkaline-ash” diet, rich in fruits
and vegetables. But get enough protein, which is necessary for building
the collagen network in which bone mineral is embedded: the optimal intake
of protein to support a healthy skeletal system appears to be in the range
of 1.0 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body mass, or 0.45 to 0.68 grams of
protein for each pound that you weigh. Keep active focusing on weigh-bearing
exercise. Maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and if you drink, do
so in moderation.
The choices are yours to
make. They’re simple to understand and easy to follow. And the greatest
prize – your health – is yours to claim.
Testimonials from those who have reversed osteoporosis
The information and product
descriptions appearing on this website are for information purposes only,
and are not intended to provide medical advice to individuals. Consult
with your physician if you have any health concerns, and before initiating
any new diet, exercise, supplement, or other lifestyle changes. Source
of information above is:
Copyright © 2005, Advanced
Orthomolecular Research
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