Osteoporosis – what can you do about it?

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.

What can you do to decrease bone loss, while at the same time, actually help your body to build new strong bone?

The information below presents a 3 part program for building and strengthening bone with natural supplements.

 1. NATURAL PROGESTERONE VS. ESTROGEN

Osteoporosis, or bone loss, in women has led doctors to routinely prescribe estrogen supplementation, but is there really any benefit in this? In truth, there is no evidence that this estrogen therapy does much to relieve osteoporosis at all. Yet, this remains the standard medical approach for osteoporosis.

Dr. John Lee suggests that osteoporosis in women as they age is due to decreasing levels of progesterone, NOT estrogen.

Jerilyn C. Prior, M.D., and her associates also found evidence of progesterone's possible role in countering osteoporosis in a study of sixty-six premenopausal women between twenty-one and forty-one years of age. All these women were long-distance marathon runners. It was observed after twelve months that:

The average spinal bone density decreased by about 2%... However, women who developed ovulation disturbances during the study lost 4.2% of their bone mass in one year. While there was no correlation between the rate of bone losses and serum levels of estrogen, there was a close relationship between indicators of progesterone status and bone loss.

The presence or absence of estrogen supplements had no discernible effect on osteoporosis benefits... Progesterone deficiency rather than estrogen deficiency is a major factor in the pathogenesis of menopausal osteoporosis. (Other factors promoting osteoporosis are excess protein intake, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, and inadequate vitamins A, D, and C.)

Dr. Lee promotes the transdermal method for using progesterone. By carefully observing his patients over the course of fifteen years, he proved the effectiveness of transdermal progesterone cream. His work confirmed its safety and its remarkable benefits to his osteoporotic patients who had a history of cancer of the uterus or breast and to those who had diabetes, vascular disorders, and other conditions. Dr. Lee had hoped that the progesterone would strengthen his patients' bones. To his surprise, it did; their bone mineral density tests showed progressive improvement and the number of his patients suffering osteoporotic fracture dropped to zero.

Dr. Lee points out that the "conventional treatment of osteopososis with estrogen, with or without supplemnetal calcuim and vitamin D, tends to delay bone mass loss, but not reverse it." His investigation into using transdermal progesterone cream instead of a synthetic estrogen replacemnt treatment demonstrates that "osteoporosis subsided, musculoskeletal strength and mobility increased, and monthly vaginal bleeding did not occur." Most striking were the results of the dual-photon densitometry tests: "a 5-10% increase in bone mineral density; and this was even evident to the women who were 25 years after menopause."

After years of researching transdermal progesterone supplementation, Dr. Lee observed in his patients "a progressive increase in bone mineral density and definite clinical improvement including fracture prevention..." He concluded that "osteoporosis reversal is a clinical reality using a natural form of progesterone derived from yams that is safe, uncomplicated and inexpensive."

Natural Radiance Progesterone Creme

 2. Strontium....the first bone building mineral.

Strontium is 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.

Strontium Support from AOR
90 capsules - dosage 3 caps per day
Price $27.95

What is the best form of Calcium???  There is a lot of confusion...

 3. Ortho Bone....not just calcium, but a complete mineral complex.

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.

This formula also provides in a daily dosage:

• 1000 mg Vit D3
• 120 mcg Vit K2
• 400 mcg Folic Acid
• 24 mcg Vit B12
• 420 mg Magnesium (Aspartate, Ascorbate)
• 11 mg Zinc
• 35 mg Silicon
• 3 mg Boron
• 1000 mg Vit C
• Plus other trace minerals
  

• 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.
• 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.

Ortho Bone comes in 300 capsule bottles
Price $45.00

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