1. North American women have one of the highest levels of calcium consumption in the world. They also have one of the highest rates of bone fractures.
2. In Japan, where the average woman consumes two-thirds less calcium, the rate of spinal fractures is half what it is here. And in China and Peru, where women consume even less calcium, bone fractures are practically unheard of.
3. The 12-year Harvard Nurses Health Study found that women taking 900 mg of calcium per day or more had DOUBLE the rate of hip fractures than those who consumed half as much. How can this be possible?
One of the world’s leading calcium experts, points out that the more you increase your calcium intake the more the level of active vitamin D falls. And as you will read later, vitamin D is critical to the actual process of mineralizing your bones.
4. Several other studies have found no bone-building benefit from taking calcium. One study took 36,282 women and randomly assigned them either 1,000 mg of calcium or a placebo. (Both groups took vitamin D as well.) Result: The women taking calcium saw no decrease in fractures and no increase in bone density of the spine.
My mentor used to drill into my head that “calcium was the sheep and magnesium was the shepherd”. If you consume lots of calcium but no magnesium to tell it where to go, then you will have calcium dropping out of solution (not going to your bones) and going places that it shouldn’t.
When you have more calcium than magnesium you will find calcium in places it shouldn’t be which causes such things as tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, and bone spurs. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium can lead to plaque in the arteries, kidney stones, gallstones, calcification of the aortic valves and the painful calcification of joints.
"Calcium is essential for bone, joint, muscle and ligament health, while magnesium is necessary for calcium’s proper incorporation into bone, by preventing a build-up of calcium into the soft tissues and joints.... Most people, though, consume too much calcium and not enough magnesium" - (Burton Goldberg Group, Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, Future Medicine Publishing, Inc. WA, p. 533).
When you understand the relationship between calcium and magnesium, you will understand why dairy is NOT helpful to your health or your bones. It is true that milk (and other dairy products) is loaded with calcium but it is exceptionally low in magnesium.
Also dairy products can make you very acidic which will cause you to lose calcium from your bones (see pH balance below).
Most people are getting adequate calcium through their diets, but they are not getting enough magnesium. Magnesium is also easily lost due to stress, diuretics, alcohol and sugar consumption. Therefore most people are calcium rich and magnesium poor, which does not make for good health or strong bones!
If calcium and dairy products are not the answer to great health and strong bones, then what is the answer?
There ISN'T JUST ONE SOLUTION. There are several, and unfortunately they usually aren’t the ones you hear about. This newsletter will focus on the things you need to know if you want to have strong bones.
1. Pay Attention To Your pH Balance
Our bodies need to maintain a proper pH Balance. The pH level is a measure of acidity or alkalinity. The proper range depends on which gland or organ you are measuring. For example, your stomach needs to be more acidic to break down food for digestion. Whereas your intestines need to be more alkaline so that good bacteria can flourish.
The pH scale is zero (indicating the most acidic) and fourteen (indicating the most alkaline). Mid-range of 6.5 to 7 is ideal for your intestines and 7.4 for your blood.
If your blood is acidic, your body will use up your supply of minerals to buffer the acidity in attempt to create a balanced pH. You will use up potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium to name just a few. Once your reserves are used up, your body will rob minerals from your bones, joints, muscles, etc.
That means that if you are too acidic, your body will rob calcium from your bones causing you to eventually develop osteoporosis. Acidity also leads to many other health problems.
Researchers found in one study that female athletes who drank carbonated soft drinks experienced 2.3 times more fractures than those who abstained.
My recommendation: is that you purchase a pH testing kit and regularly monitor your pH.
How do you create a pH balanced body?
The first step is to deal with the worst offenders.
Offender number one: Pop
Pop is the worst drink imaginable for someone who wants to be in good health or who wants to prevent or reverse osteoporosis. An average can of soda has a pH of 2.5, which is highly acidic.
Also, phosphorus is used to keep nearly all soft drinks bubbly. The excess phosphorus (as phosophoric acid) is very detrimental, as it imbalances the minerals in the body. The phosphorus binds with calcium and other vital minerals such as magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper, making them unavailable to the body.
My recommendation: Stop drinking ANY kind of soda!
Offender Number Two: Decaffeinated or caffeinated coffee or tea
Coffee and black teas are both very acidic.
My recommendation: Limit your black coffee/tea intake to 8-16 oz per day. If you currently drink a lot of coffee, do not cut back quickly. Instead wean down slowly.
Offender number three: High acid forming food.
My recommendation: Reduce your intake of
- White flour products such as pastas and breads.
- Refined sugar products such as cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream and muffins.
- Dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and milk. (Eggs are NOT a dairy product).
Offender number four: smoking.
My recommendation: It is beyond me how any one can justify their smoking habit. There are no true benefits and only negatives. If you continue to smoke, osteoporosis will be the least of your worries!
Put Your Focus On Your Vegetables
The best way to create a pH balance is to increase alkalinizing foods and the best food to get the job done is VEGETABLES.
Vegetables are also a great way to get all your bone building minerals because the roots of vegetables go into the soil and absorb the minerals.
But if your vegetables have been grown in mineral depleted soils (and most soils are depleted these days), they will be very lacking in minerals. Buy certified organic whenever possible and make up the balance with your supplement regime which we will discuss later.
My recommendation: Every day eat at least 2 cups of vegetables not including your intake of lettuce, peas, corn, mushrooms and potato. You can eat them, they just don’t count.
2. Balance Your Hormones
Osteoclasts Vs Osteoblasts: Bone forming cells differentiate into osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclast cells continually travel through bone tissue looking for older bone in need of renewal. Osteoclasts resorb or dissolve away such bone leaving tiny unfilled spaces behind. Osteoblasts then move into these spaces and produce new bone.
The function of estrogen is to restrain osteoclast cells, but on the other hand, natural progesterone stimulates osteoblast cells. Therefore, estrogen can slow down bone loss but natural progesterone can actually rebuild bones.
My recommendation: Women over the age of 32 should consider using natural progesterone cream if they wish to keep their bones strong but women who have already lost bone mass should absolutely use progesterone cream as part of their bone restoration program.
Please Note: Progesterone pills will not work as they are not real progesterone and do not have the same bone building properties as natural bio-identical progesterone cream.
3. Exercise Appropriately
Do weight bearing activities which put pressure on bones, especially the legs and spine, stimulate the formation of new bone tissue. Swimming on the other hand, which puts no pressure on bones, doesn’t help prevent osteoporosis.
My recommendation: walk, play tennis or badminton, go to jazzercise, dance, etc
4. Ensure Adequate Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) Secretion
If you don’t produce enough HCL you could end up with iron deficiency anemia or osteoporosis because you need good stomach acid to make your minerals available for absorption. Decreased HCL may also show up as gas, bloating, and discomfort after rich meals. Most people with indigestion/heartburn are actually LACKING in HCL.
Other signs of a possible HCL deficiency are food allergies, leaky gut syndrome, diabetes, eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo, and tooth/ periodontal disease. Also if you are prone to intestinal bacteria, yeasts, and parasites you may be low in HCL.
The older you get the less HCL you are likely producing, but no matter what your age chronic stress causes HCL production to decrease.
Prescription Drugs Can Put You At Risk of Osteoporosis: Be aware that drugs for heartburn and acid reflux such as Pariet slow or prevent the production of acid in your stomach. Without your stomach acid you can’t absorb your dietary calcium!
Tums: A Double Negative
First of all Tums neutralizes your stomach acid which you need for absorbing your dietary calcium.
Secondly, Tums contains calcium carbonate which is the most poorly absorbed form of calcium that you can take. So even if I were recommending calcium supplements, Tums would not even make it to the bottom of my recommendation list.
My recommendation: Think about it. If you have acid reflux or indigestion, you have it for a reason. Why not work with a health care practitioner to get to the bottom of it instead of trying to cover the problem up with a band-aid. As with any medication, it can give you relief but eventually it will cause a new problem. Besides, you may have heartburn because you actually have TOO LITTLE stomach acid, not too much!
If you suspect that you are low in HCL, try a taking Betaine Hydrochloric Acid supplement after a meal. If you don’t need it, you will get a warming sensation in your stomach. If you need it, you won’t get that warming.
5. Switch Your Nutrient Focus
I think you will be SHOCKED to discover which nutrients will help you build strong bones! Stay tuned for part two: Bone Building Nutrients.
Before I sign off, I know that someone will ask
“What About Fosomax?”
I can’t tell you whether you should or shouldn’t take a drug. I can tell you that I wouldn’t take it. I avoid all medications except in life threatening situations. All drugs have unwanted side effects and it is up to the doctor (and in my opinion, the patient) to determine if the benefits outweigh the side effects. Did you know about the possible side effects of Fosomax?
Common side effects of Fosomax: abdominal pain, bone and joint pain, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, muscle pain, and nausea.
Less common: abdominal distention, acid backup, difficulty in swallowing, esophagus ulcers, gas, headache and vomiting.
Rare side effects: changes in taste, inflammation of the stomach, rash, and skin redness.
FOSOMAX IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR WOMEN with kidney problems or women ON HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (and guess what, most women are prescribed both Fosomax and HRT when diagnosed with osteoporosis)!!!!!
In my next Total Health Newsletter, I will tell you all about the nutrients that do build bones and my recommendations for reversing Osteoporosis.
Sincerely,
Brenda Eastwood, RNCP
