You Can Overcome Osteoporosis - But You Need More Than Calcium
Fractures caused by brittle and thinning bones affects one in twelve men and one in three women.
Bone mass reaches a peak at about the age of 35. After that it declines, especially for women who have 10 % - 15% less bone mass than men at skeletal maturity. There is then an accelerated loss of bone for up to a decade around the menopause when there is a decline in hormone levels. The answer is not Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This increases the risk of heart attack, strokes, blood clots and cancer.
Calcium Can Cause Problems
Calcium is known to be important. However osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency disease. Taking a calcium supplement alone is not recommended. It won’t necessarily be absorbed into the bone. Instead it may remain in the blood and end up in the tissues causing its own health problems. While absorption is improved with vitamin D, it also has close relationships with other minerals.
Magnesium Is Also Important
Two-thirds of the body’s magnesium is found in the bones. It plays a crucial role in calcium and bone metabolism. Deficiency causes decreased bone strength and volume and poor development. A positive association with Bone Mineral Density (BMD) has been demonstrated in many population studies.
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 important in retaining calcium. According to Dr Rex Newnham, a world authority on the mineral, boron “will help broken bones mend in about half the normal time.”
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 Those Vitamins
Active calcium absorption in the intestines is facilitated by vitamin D, which is also involved with bone turnover. The status of vitamin D declines as we age and so deficiencies with ageing are common.
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.
Vitamin C is also required for bone health. It is vital for the formation of collagen within the bone matrix. It may protect the skeleton from oxidative stress especially for those that smoke. Cigarette smoking increases hip fracture risk.
Vitamin A has an important role to play in bone remodelling. Deficiencies of this vitamin have detrimental affects on bone health.
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.
About the Author:
This article is a brief version of a bigger article that can be located at complementary health. Michael Sellar is a UK writer and editor of a newsletter for holistic health professionals. More articles can be seen at nutrition articles