You Can Overcome Osteoporosis - But You Need More Than Calcium
Thinning and brittle bones give rise to fractures. This affects a third of women and one out of every twelve men. It is a major cause of death.
Bone mass peaks at around age 35. From then it’s downhill all the way, especially for women whose bone mass is 10% - 15% less than men’s at skeletal maturity and then suffer with accelerated bone loss for 8 - 10 years around the menopause when hormone levels decline. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is not the answer. It increases the risk of blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and cancer.
The Problem With Calcium
Calcium is of course important. However osteoporosis is not a deficiency disease caused by a lack of calcium. It is not recommended to take calcium supplements on their own. There is no certainty that the calcium will end up in the bones. It could find its way into tissues instead. This may create its own health problems. Vitamin D certainly improves the absorption of calcium, but calcium has important synergistic relationships with a range of other minerals.
Magnesium Is Also Important
One third of the body’s magnesium is found in tissues, two-thirds is found in the bones. Its role is crucial in calcium and bone metabolism. Bone strength, volume and development is decreased in deficiency states. A number of population studies show a positive association with bone mineral density (BMD).
Strontium Can Stimulate Bone Formation
A century ago studies demonstrated strontium to be able to effectively stimulate rapid bone formation and that the combination of strontium with calcium was superior to using calcium alone to mineralise bones.
Boron Helps Bones To Heal
Boron is an important mineral for calcium retention. Dr Rex Newnham, a world authority on boron has stated that broken bones will heal in half the usual time with adequate supplies of this mineral.
Manganese Is Needed For The Growth Of Bone
Manganese is required to mineralise the bone. Blood manganese levels in osteoporotic women were found to be only 25% of those without osteoporosis. Deficiencies lead to abnormal bone and cartilage growth and degeneration of vertebral discs.
You Need Silicon, Zinc & Copper
Silicon is quite rigid and the body uses it at sites of calcification of the bones. If bones are to form normally they require zinc. Copper works in co-operation with zinc. Depletion of this mineral can lead to bone defects and a loss of calcium. Iron is also believed to play a role in the formation of bones.
Let’s Not Forget Vitamins
Vitamin D facilitates active calcium absorption in the intestines. It is also involved in bone turnover. Vitamin D status declines with age so deficiency in the aged is not uncommon.
Vitamin K is vital for bone formation, remodelling and repair. A few population studies show that deficiencies of vitamin K in either the diet or circulating in the body is associated with reduced BMD or an increase in the rate of fracture.
Bone health can certainly be added to the long list of conditions that vitamin C can treat. It is required for the collageneous structure of the bone. Vitamin C may also protect the skeleton from oxidative stress especially for cigarette smokers. Smoking greatly increases the risk of hip fracture.
The bone remodelling process also requires vitamin A. Bone health is impaired with deficiencies.
There is an increased requirement for folic acid at the menopause, studies suggest. This happens because the efficiency of converting homocysteine - a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism - to less toxic compounds becomes impaired. Other nutrients that protect against the damaging effects of homocysteine include vitamin B6 and B12, so these may be helpful too.
And Finally
In conclusion, bone health depends on a sufficient supply of a wide range of nutrients that goes well beyond calcium and vitamin D. Such an approach is likely to be far more successful than current orthodox approaches which leave a lot to be desired.
