LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Osteoporosis cures and bone health

BEST DEPOT OF CALCIUM IN THE BODY IS BONE – (08-25-08)

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Extracellular pH and Bone

It has been known for some time that acid base balance plays a large role in bone metabolism. At the heart is the fact that our bodies use calcium as a buffer for acids in the blood. When calcium in the blood drops (an otherwise potentially life threatening situation) the body quickly moves to correct the drop.

The best depot of calcium in the body is bone. So, in an acid situation, the body will reach calcium from the bone to keep the pH of the blood steady. Keeps us alive short term–destroys bone long term. This is one of the reasons I have always had an issue with the way we treat osteopenia and osteopororis in medicine today–almost exclusively by blocking bone turnover.

An approach to bone health is multifactorial, including exercise, alkaline diet, optimal Vit D levels and an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. In addition, this study found that at acidic pH, the bone matrix actually becomes more soluble, resulting in further bone loss.

Read entire article here

SERUM CALCIUM AND INCIDENT AND FATAL PROSTATE CANCER – (05-25-09)

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Serum Calcium and Incident and Fatal Prostate Cancer in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Had to share this…higher serum calcium leads to 2.68 OR for fatal prostate cancer. Kind of brings into question the idea of “dairy it does a body good” and taking calcium for bone health, huh? I first heard it proposed in Dr. Colin Campbell’s the China Study that higher serum calcium leads to lower activation of 25 OH Vit D to calcitriol. Less calcitriol means we open up to risks of chronic diseases associated w/ low Vit D status.

All the research I’ve seen really seems to point to the validity of this process. Because of this I’ve become increasingly wary of calcium supplementation. Instead, maintain good Vit D levels coupled with high quality diet–let the GI tract sort out how much calcium it wants to absorb.

Read entire article here

OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG LEADS TO OBESITY AND DIABETES?

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Never forget that the human body is of such incredible design that we could never even begin to understand the depth of relationships within it.  Every cell, every tissue, every organ communicates with one another in a harmony of such incredible proportions as to exceed true comprehension.  This is exactly why interfering with normal physiology with medications is a very, very bad idea in almost all cases.

In this particular case, our understanding of just how integral bone is to maintenance of body composition and diabetes has come to light in the past few years.  Healthy bone contains active cells called osteoblasts that build bone.  These cells also produce a hormone called osteocalcin.  Osteocalcin can be considered an anti-diabetic hormone, helping us to maintain an ideal body weight and keeping visceral fat under control.  So basically, healthy bones = healthy body composition.  The reverse is also true.

So that should mean that drugs like Fosomax, Boniva, Actonel or Reclast, that are good for our bones, should help with body composition, right? 

Pump the brakes, bro…

Many make an incorrect assumption in noting that these drugs are actually good for the bones.  They are not.  They kill off the cells that breakdown bone and destroy healthy bone turnover.  While this may add bone density in the short term (2-5 years), overall they worsen bone quality.  In case this seems hard to believe based on all those wonderful ads we see in magazines and on television, consider this particular article.

Researchers looked at a compound called undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), which is the form of osteocalcin that helps to maintain an ideal body composition.  Higher is better.  However, the use of alendronate (Fosomax) actually lowered ucOC levels.  Not a good thing and indicates that bone health is in no way improved with this class of drugs.  Rather, our bones become sicker under the influence of this class of drugs and may begin to have long term consequences on our risk for many other chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes.

So, rather than opt for the sickening of your bones, consider lifestyle changes well known to improve bone health.

OSTEOPOROSIS? 5 WAYS YOUR DOCTOR MAY NOT HAVE MENTIONED TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES

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Bone health is a growing problem in today’s toxic society. Some are diagnosed with osteoporosis. Some with osteopenia, which is considered a “pre” osteoporosis. The vast majority of patients with these diagnosis are given a prescription for Fosomax or Boniva or Actonel.

Read the entire article here

A NEW 8TH BENEFIT OF BREASTFEEDING

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I know I may get some flax here as a male stating that breastfeeding should really NOT be an option, but if a couple makes a decision to have a child EVERY decision needs to be in that child’s best interest.  Some say that they couldn’t nurse–so what would’ve happened to that baby 1,000 yrs ago??  I don’t think Mother Nature would’ve planned for a large chunk of newborns to die because the mom couldn’t nurse.

Either way, the benefits of nursing are many.  Some are instantly noticeable, like better sleeping, a stronger connection between mom and the baby and healthier weights.  Some are a little more subtle.  Check these benefits out:

  1. Breastfed children have better focus
  2. Breastfed children experience less pain
  3. Breastfeeding protects against celiac disease
  4. Breastfed children are less likely to be hospitalized for respiratory disease
  5. Breastfed children have better visual acuity
  6. Moms who breastfeed have lower rates of breast cancer
  7. Breastmilk has twice the antioxidants of formula

This particular study adds the 8th benefit of breastfeeding.  Researchers found that exclusively breast fed infants had bone formation centers at the femoral head show up earlier than formula fed infants.  This may likely translate to better bone health and lower risk of osteoporosis decades later.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT DRUGS THAT PROTECT YOUR BONES MAKE THEM WEAKER?

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IS IT POSSIBLE THAT DRUGS TO PROTECT YOUR BONES MAY THEM WEAKER?  If you understand the dynamic process of bone, you will know the answer to this is yes.  Our bones are constantly remodeling based upon stresses placed upon them (Wolfe’s law), and this requires bone breakdown (to clean out the old stuff) and replace with new bone.

A typical vertebral body may have hundreds of microfractures as a normal process.  So what happens when you use a drug like Fosomax or Boniva to stop the breakdown of bone?  These drugs do NOT add bone, they just stop the breakdown.  There is mounting evidence that fracture rate drops for a few years, but after that the rates go up.  Patients also begin to experience fractures in unusual areas.

The problem is that most doctors will keep patients on these drugs for years and years, even AFTER their bone density have improved.  Worse, we are using these drugs for patients with osteopenia, for which there is NO evidence for their use.  That means it is likely that these patients will be on the drugs for even longer.

Even more scary is the strong links between bone health, the gut and weight–yes, bone plays a role in our weight.  Want to improve bone health?  Exercise, healthy fats, Vit D and a plant based diet.  Also, I strongly encourage anyone in their 20’s, 30’s or 40’s to have their bone density checked.  Don’t wait until the crisis stage.  We do bone density testing every few months in our office and I encourage everyone to get tested.

BONE HEALTH AND HEART DISEASES

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Bone health & the heart. I know most people think of taking extra calcium for the bones, but the problem is much more complex as this study illustrates, finding 2X the risk of heart disease in those w/ low bone density. Calcium is actually a weak player. Exercise, Vit D, anti-inflammatory diet, no bad fats, strong intake of health fats. The bottom line is that we view dz as separate entities-they are NOT. If you’re at risk for one, you’re at risk for them ALL!!

LOW BONE DENSITY? THIS MAY BE WHY..

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This is not the first time I’ve addressed bone health and I’m pretty certain it won’t be the last.  I’m just not sure why my message hasn’t yet changed public policy as it relates to bone health..  Here’s a little secret.

Bone health has virtually nothing to do with calcium.  Sure, calcium is a component of bone, but so is silica, molybdenum and phosphorus (among many others).  More importantly is the signals that our body sends to add or destroy bone.  Our understand has moved from bone merely being an inactive calcium depot to bone being a very active and important player in our risk for diabetes and body composition.

So the recommendations for bone health are not isolated to a single nutrient or single change such as weight bearing exercise.  Bone is merely reflective of our overall health.  Better health = better bones.

This is exemplified by this particular study.  Researchers looked at dietary patterns and how they related to bone health.  A clear pattern existed with those with the worst dietary patterns (high consumption of refined cereals, soft drinks, fried potatoes, sausages and processed meat, vegetable oils, beer, and takeaway foods and low consumption of other vegetables, vegetable dishes, tea, coffee, fruit, wholegrain breads, and breakfast cereals) clearly had lower bone density than those with the better habits (high consumption of legumes, seafood, seeds, nuts, wine, rice and rice dishes, other vegetables, and vegetable dishes and low consumption of bacon and ham).

Pretty basic and clear cut.  Think on this scary thought.  How many teens are sitting on their collective duffs not exercising (bad for bone) eating the poor dietary pattern noted above.  This is an absolute recipe for disastrous bone health very early on.

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