At least 1.2 million American women over age 45 suffer osteoporotic bone fractures each year.(1,2) Medical costs for osteoporosis treatment exceed $10 billion annually in the U.S. and, because of the increasing elderly population and rising medical costs, may reach as high as $30 billion within the next 30 years.(3) The incidence of osteoporotic bone fractures has doubled in the last 30 years, possibly due to nutritional and environmental factors.(1) About 8% of men develop osteoporosis, which can be severe, usually after age 70.(4)

Mainstream medicine traditionally has viewed osteoporosis as an irreversible process associated with aging and menopause. The emphasis has been placed on slowing down the rate of bone loss by prescribing estrogen replacement therapy, calcium supplementation, and exercise.(1) While these therapies do slow the rate of bone loss in most women, research indicates that doctors should be concentrating on therapies that actually reverse the process. Rather than being an inevitable disease, osteoporosis may be totally preventable with proper attention to bone health from pre-puberty.

MAINTENANCE OF BONE TISSUE
The process of bone remodeling results from the complex interplay of various hormones and nutrients and their action on osteoclasts and osteoblasts. The primary hormones involved include parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, estrogen, progesterone testosterone, and probably DHEA.(1,4) Osteoporosis involves both the mineral (inorganic) and the non-mineral (organic protein matrix, composed primarily of collagen) components of bone.(5,6)

DIETARY FACTORS
Since bones are living tissue, they are just as dependent on proper nutrition as any other part of the body. Dietary factors that contribute to increasing bone loss include a Western diet of processed foods, carbonated soft drinks, caffeine, and high protein, sugar, and salt consumption.(1,2) Excess animal protein and excess phosphoric acid from soft drinks probably head the list of offenders since excess acid ash and calcium/phosphorus imbalance cause increased urinary excretion of calcium.(1) Bone requires various nutrients to develop normally:(1)

• Vitamin K: Attracts calcium to bone tissue, enabling calcium crystal formation to occur. Helps in formation, remodeling, and repair of bone by helping build protein matrix upon which calcium crystallizes. Overuse of antibiotics kills off intestinal flora which produce vitamin K. "Fast losers" need supplementation. (Patients on blood-thinning drugs should not use.)

• Manganese: Stimulates production of mucopolysaccharides which provide a structure on which calcification can take place. Deficiency is common in osteoporosis.

• Magnesium: Deficiency common in osteoporosis; prevents abnormal calcification of bone. Determining factor of bone strength.

• Folic acid: Decreases homocysteine levels which can cause osteoporosis and atherosclerosis. Alcohol interferes with absorption; contraceptive pills can cause deficiency.

• Boron: Markedly increases serum concentration of 17-b-estradiol and testosterone to levels of women on estrogen replacement therapy. Necessary for vitamin D synthesis. Also a precursor in formation of DHEA, an anti-cancer substance.

• Vitamin B6: Required to provide tensile strength and structure to collagen and other structural proteins in bone tissue; enhances production of progesterone.

• Zinc: Enhances action of vitamin D; required for protein synthesis of bone tissue, and formation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Over 90% of elderly patients may be zinc-deficient.

• Strontium: Draws more calcium into bones; imparts strength to bones; decreases bone resorption and increases bone density.

• Copper: Inhibits bone resorption; deficiency causes bone abnormalities in children. Must balance with zinc intake.

• Silicon: High concentrations found at calcification sites in growing bone; may be involved in early stage of calcification.

• Vitamin C: Promotes formation and cross-linking of some structural proteins in bone (collagen, etc.); deficiency can cause osteoporosis.

• Vitamin D: Required for calcium absorption and deposition into bone tissue; elderly may be deficient. Calcium: A major component of bone, along with phosphorus and magnesium. Must balance with magnesium, or it can cause a magnesium deficiency. Calcium/magnesium ratio should be no more than 2: 1, and may be 1:1, or a magnesium deficiency results.

• Phosphorus: Part of the hydroxyapatite crystalline structure with calcium. Calcium/phosphorus ratio should be 2.5:1. Excess phosphorus can cause osteoporosis.

Many of these nutrients (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, boron, zinc, strontium, copper, and silicon, as well as potassium and iron) exist naturally in an effectively absorbable form of calcium called microcrystalline hydroxyapatite calcium (M.C.H.C.). Calcium citrate also has demonstrated excellent absorbability. Recommended daily intake for post-menupausal women is 1200 to 1500 mg.

HORMONAL FACTORS
Hormonal regulation of osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity also determine the rate of bone loss and deposition. Excess parathyroid hormone tends to increase the osteoclastic activity which breaks down existing bone and resorbs the calcium into the serum.(5). Calcitonin has the opposite effect.(5) Estrogen therapy can halt bone loss in postmenopausal women. However, many women feel that the benefits of its use are not worth the increased risks of endometrial cancer, blood clots or stroke, as well as reduction of thyroid activity.(1)

With the emphasis on estrogen replacement therapy to prevent bone loss, perhaps the medical community has overlooked another hormone which has been shown to actually reverse osteoporosis-progesterone. For years a synthetic progestin has been prescribed to counteract the effects of estrogen’s tendency to promote endometrial cancer. However, there can be numerous side effects with this synthetic drug. Both it and estrogen are contraindicated in individuals with thrombotic disorders, edemic tendencies, and depression.(7) Natural progesterone, on the other hand, in the form of a cream or gel (even without supplemental estrogen), has been found to actually increase bone mineral density by as much as 11-25% within a year depending on the degree of original bone loss. Within six years, patient's bone mineral density had stablized at the levels of healthy 35 year olds with no fractures.(8,9)

KEY TO PREVENTION
The key to prevention lies in starting an anti-osteoporosis program in pre-puberty. Physicians need to emphasize the importance of a lifetime of regular weight-bearing exercise and effective calcium/trace mineral supplementation. The ideal time to increase bone mass is during adolescence and early adulthood, since bone mass reaches its peak around age 35.(1) Unfortunately, most adolescents consume large quantities of soft drinks which have detrimental effects on bone density.

The most effective program for osteoporosis treatment or prevention involves the consumption of a varied diet of whole foods; use of natural progesterone (1/4-1/2 tsp. twice a day), M.C.H.C. (2 tablets twice a day), other bone-supporting nutrients; and a regular exercise program. Natural estrogen, if required, can also assist in prevention of bone loss.

Home | Online Catalog | Newsletters | Therapy Index | Psoriasis / Eczema | Free Vitamins | Order | Contact Us

Copyright © 1996-2007 Nutrimed Labs, Inc.