One of the painful problems that come in many packages. Oat straw is the herb of choice, praised to even reverse the problem. For OA (osteo-arthritis) the supplement of choice would be glucosamine/chondroitan, unless one is allergic to seafood in any form. Solutions are as many as suggestions. Don’t give up, luv, Sorcy. |
Thank you Laura, this writeup kicks bootie :)
First of all, your body has as its top priority, to keep your heart beating. Good thing, too. Your blood has to be within the pH range 7.35 to 7.45 in order for your heart to beat. If the pH drops too low, your heart stops beating and the nice folks at the hospital have to give you IV bicarb to raise the pH before they can even try reviving you. What this has to do with protein is this: When you eat protein (any kind -- meat, dairy, soy, beans, etc.) it breaks down in your body into amino acids. That's ACIDs. And they really are acid, dropping your blood's pH considerably if you eat a big hunk of protein. So your body's top priority is to restore the pH ASAP. It does this by grabbing the nearest available calcium and dumping it into your bloodstream until the pH is right again. If you didn't eat a lot of calcium with your protein (dairy, greens, cabbage-family veggies) then the next most available calcium is in your bones. Your body just yanks the calcium right out of your bones to restore the blood pH. Once the protein is metabolized and the amino acids are removed from the bloodstream, the blood pH rises again and the body has to get all that calcium out of there FAST to keep the pH low enough. Usually this entails plastering it anywhere it will stick -- damaged arteries (arteriosclerosis), damaged joints (arthritis), damaged tendons (bone spurs) rather than putting it back into the bones, which apparently is a slower process and doesn't drop the pH of the blood fast enough. Just as an aside, lots of sugar also turns your blood acid and contributes to osteoporosis. If you get your sugar in sodas (which I have to admit a small craving for, on occasion) you get it in conjunction with phosphate, which also encourages calcium to leach out of your bones. Ick. So that's the scoop on osteoporosis. There is some really good information on protein's role in osteoporosis in John Robbins' book - Diet for a New America |
(To subscribe simply fill in the form in the left-hand border under "NEWS CENTER") OSTEOPOROSIS - MYTHS & TRUTHS! Today we are going to examine some of the issues around the very confusing topic and disease process called osteoporosis. The "experts" in the field constantly bombard us with marketing propaganda, trying to sell synthetic hormones, telling us to eat our dairy products on a regular basis, and stuffing us with a variety of calcium supplements. Are these "expert opinions" valid? Do we really need to take calcium supplements, and do they work? What about dairy products, do they really protect us from osteoporosis? Let us begin with an official definition of osteoporosis. DEFINITION The World Health Organization has defined osteoporosis based on a low bone density. Established osteoporosis includes the presence of fractures. Borderline low bone density is called osteopenia. The medical definition of osteoporosis used to be "fractures caused by thin bones". It has since been redefined to "a disease characterised by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue which lead to increased bone fragility and a consequent increase in fracture risk". However, there is a problem with defining osteoporosis as a disease, not a fracture. Low bone mass is only one risk-factor for osteoporosis, not osteoporosis itself. It's a warning sign that might be useful, so you can begin to consider ways to keep the disease itself from occurring. Dr Love offers a striking analogy: "This is like defining heart disease as having high cholesterol rather than having a heart attack. Needless to say, this new definition has increased the number of women and men who have osteoporosis." Overall, 21% of U.S. postmenopausal women have osteoporosis, and about 16% have had a fracture. About 40% of women older than 80 have had a fracture of the hip, vertebra, arm, or pelvis. Men and women continue to lose one mass as they age. Therefore, the prevalence of low bone mass increases as women age. The general assumption has been that once bone reaches a certain level of thinness, it becomes subject to fractures more easily. Now that more is known about bone physiology, it is clear that this is not the full story. Bone does not fracture due to thinness alone. Leading bone expert, and author of “Better Bones, Better Body”, Susan E. Brown, PhD, states: "Osteoporosis by itself does not cause bone fractures. This is documented simply by the fact that half of the population with thin osteoporotic bones in fact never fracture." Lawrence Melton of the Mayo Clinic noted as early as 1988: "Osteoporosis alone may not be sufficient to produce such osteoporotic fracture, since many individuals remain fracture-free even within the sub-groups of lowest bone density. Most women aged 65 and over and men 75 and over have lost enough bone to place them at significant risk of osteoporosis, yet many never fracture any bones at all. By age 80, virtually all women in the United States are osteoporotic with regard to their hip bone density, yet only a small percentage of them suffer hip fractures each year." Why does there seem to be many more women now with osteoporosis than in the past? As Dr Love explains: "...part of that increase is nothing but a change in definition... Needless to say, the broader the criteria used to define osteoporosis, the more women will fall into that category. The level of bone density that defines osteoporosis has been set rather high, with the result that most older women will fall into the 'disease' category - which is very nice for the people in the business of treating disease." ALL MENOPAUSAL WOMEN ARE AT RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS - MYTH NO. 1 There are many cultures in the world where the postmenopausal woman is fit, active and healthy until the end of her life. It is equally true that the women in these cultures do not suffer from osteoporosis. If menopause itself were indeed one of the causes of osteoporosis, all women throughout the world would be handicapped with fractures. This is clearly not the case. The Maya women live for 30 years after menopause but they don't get osteoporosis, they don't lose height, they don't develop dowager hump and they don't get fractures. A research team analysed their hormone levels and bone density and found that their oestrogen levels were no higher than those of white American women - in some cases they were even lower. Bone density tests showed that bone loss occurred in these women at the same rate as their US counterparts. I have personally seen many menopausal women of all age groups who present with their bone scans, and very few are even close to osteopenia. LOW OSTROGEN LEVELS ARE A CAUSE OF OSTEOPOROSIS - MYTH NO. 2! It used to be thought that all women have a considerable decrease in bone from lower oestrogen levels at menopause, thus oestrogen deficiency was said to be the cause of osteoporosis. Continuing research has disproved this idea. Studies following individual women's bone density over time have shown that although some women lose a lot of bone with menopause, others lose comparatively little; also, that some loss starts earlier. One study using urine tests to measure calcium loss found that some women are 'fast losers' and others are naturally 'normal losers'. If osteoporosis is due to oestrogen deficiency, we would expect to find lower oestrogen levels in women with osteoporosis than in women without the disorder. However, studies have shown that sex hormone levels were found to be similar in postmenopausal women both with and without osteoporosis. Dr Susan Brown comments: "Even in the United States, where osteoporosis is common, many older women remain free from the disorder. In addition, the higher male and lower female osteoporosis rates found in some cultures do not support the notion that excessive bone loss is due to declining ovarian oestrogen production. Adding another dimension, we find that vegetarian women have lower oestrogen serum levels yet higher bone density than their meat-eating peers." Dr Jerilynn Prior, Professor of Endocrinology at the University of British Columbia, has conducted research that seriously challenges oestrogen's key role in preventing bone loss. Her research confirms that oestrogen's role in combating osteoporosis is only a minor one. In her study of female athletes she found that osteoporosis occurred to the degree that the athletes became progesterone-deficient, even though their oestrogen levels remained normal. Dr Prior continued her research with non-athletic women, and they showed the same results. While both these groups of women were menstruating they had anovulatory (not ovulating) cycles and were thus deficient in progesterone. As a result of her extensive research, she confirmed that it is not oestrogen but progesterone which is the key bone-building hormone. Such studies seriously challenge the oestrogen deficiency - osteoporosis link. Dr John Lee - doctor, researcher, a leading authority and author ("Natural Progesterone: The Multiple Roles of A Remarkable Hormone - 1993") on natural hormone treatments - conducted a three-year study treating 63 postmenopausal women with natural progesterone. The women showed a 7 to 8 per cent increase in bone density in the first year; a 4 to 5 per cent increase in the second year; and a 3 to 4 per cent increase in the third year. This finding has been reinforced by Dr William Regelson, another expert on hormones: "Given the fact that 25 per cent of all women are at risk of developing osteoporosis, I think it is unconscionable that progesterone's role in this disease has been neglected." While oestrogen plays an important and complex role in bone health maintenance, osteoporosis cannot simply be attributed to lower oestrogen levels occurring at menopause. Numerous dietary, lifestyle and endocrine factors contribute to the development of excessive bone loss. Osteoporosis is not simply produced by the lack of one single hormone. So why is it that a large number of doctors and gynecologists are still placing menopausal women on HRT which is mostly oestrogen, when research has also shown estrogen deficiency to be an important factor? Estrogen, unopposed by progesterone was found to cause salt and water retention, increase blood clotting, promote fat synthesis, oppose thyroxin, promote uterine fibroids, promote mastadynia and breast fibrocysts, increase risk of cholelithiasis, and liver dysfunction, and more ominously, increase the risk of endometrial cancer, pituitary prolactinoma, and probably breast cancer. This, then, becomes quite a serious dilemma for women. It is now known that HRT increases the incidence of breast cancer by 10 per cent a year for each year of use. Ten years of taking HRT increases the risk to 100 per cent. It is obvious that the many risks of HRT far outweigh the rather limited beneficial effects on bone, especially when there are many other safe and effective alternatives. Is the increased risk of a life-threatening disease really worth it? Probably one of the major reasons why doctors are using HRT so often is mainly because of the marketing hype that has been generated by the pharmaceutical companies who saw this as a huge market. Doctors were treated to massive advertising campaigns via journal advertisements, promotional symposia disguised as "continuing medical education" with appropriate credits, personal visits by drug salesmen bringing boxes of free samples, and medical articles of studies spawned by generous grants from the industry, all touting the putative bone benefit of estrogen and the protective effects. The strength of the estrogen-fixed mindset represents a victory of advertising science! HOW DOES PROGESTERONE HELP OSTEOPOROSIS? The cells in the bone that actually produces new bone are called osteoblasts. The other cells found in bone, which absorb older bone cells in need of renewal, are called osteoclasts. There is no convincing evidence that estrogen stimulates osteoblasts to produce new bone. However, Prior, a researcher, has presented evidence to show that there are progesterone receptors in osteoblasts that can produce new bone. From the available evidence, several deductions can be made: 1. Estrogen retards osteoclast-mediated bone resorption 2. Natural progesterone stimulates osteoblast-mediated new bone formation 3. Some progestins (synthetic progesterone) may also stimulate new bone formation to a lessor degree. Dr. John Lee, who has used Natural progesterone for many years reports: "I have, since 1982, treated postmenopausal osteoporosis with transdermal natural progesterone cream included in a program of diet, mineral and vitamin supplementation, and modest exercise, and demonstrated true reversal of osteoporosis even in patients who did not use estrogen supplements." WE NEED MORE CALCIUM FROM SUPPLEMENTS - MYTH NO. 3! When asked about the causes of osteoporosis, most people will chime in with "Lack of calcium". This idea is reinforced on a daily basis as women are reminded to drink their three glasses of milk a day and take their calcium supplements. Even young, healthy, non-osteoporotic women are paranoid about potential bone loss and take measures to increase their bone strength with plenty of calcium. Fear of insufficient calcium has become a national obsession. Is there really a national calcium deficit? Since bone is largely composed of calcium, it might appear logical to link calcium intake with bone health. Western women are now encouraged to consume at least 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium daily. It is curious, however, when cross-cultural data clearly shows that in less-developed countries - where people consume little or no dairy products and ingest less total calcium - there are much lower rates of osteoporosis. The Bantu of Africa have the lowest rates of osteoporosis of any culture, yet they consume from 175 to 476 mg of calcium daily. The Japanese average about 540 mg daily, but the early postmenopausal spinal fractures so common in the West are almost unheard of in Japan. Overall, their spinal fracture rate is one-half that of the US. All this is true, even though the Japanese have one of the longest life spans of any population. Studies of populations in China, Gambia, Ceylon, Surinam, Peru and other cultures all report similar findings of low calcium intake and low osteoporosis rates. Anthropologist Stanley Garn, who studied bone loss over a 50-year period in people in North and Central America, failed to find a link between calcium intake and bone loss. While it is agreed upon that adequate calcium is absolutely necessary for development and maintenance of healthy bones, there is no one standard ideal calcium intake. It is also obvious from these studies that high calcium intake is not necessary for healthy bones. There is certainly a problem with bone health in Western cultures. However, other vital factors that determine the complex process of healthy bones must be understood. Bones are affected by: the intake of other bone-building nutrients; consumption of potentially bone-damaging substances like excess protein, salt, saturated fat and sugar; the use of some drugs, alcohol, caffeine and tobacco; the level of physical exercise; exposure to sunlight and environmental toxins; the impact of stress; the removal of the ovaries and uterus; and many factors that limit endocrine gland functioning. There are at least 18 key bone-building nutrients essential for optimum bone health. If one's diet is low in any of these nutrients, the bones will suffer. They include phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, silica, fluorine, vitamins A, C, D, B6, B12, K, folic acid, essential fatty acids and protein. The body uses minerals only when they are in proper balance. For example, girls who consume diets high in meat, soft drinks and processed foods which have high levels of phosphorus have been found to have an alarming loss of bone mass. Too high a ratio of phosphorus in relationship to calcium will cause calcium to be pulled out of the bones in an attempt to compensate. Scientific evidence shows unequivocally that, by themselves, calcium supplements just don't work. And contrary to popular thought, calcium supplementation does not reduce the risk of fracture. There is now evidence that a high calcium supplement level is actually associated with a 50 per cent increase in the risk of fracture. However, as yet, there remains no proof that increasing the calcium intake with supplements or diet after menopause prevents fractures. In fact, several studies indicate that it doesn't really appear to lower the incidence of fractures at all. In Science (August 1978) it was stated the "link between calcium and osteoporosis was made on insufficient grounds" and that the advertisers were way out ahead of the scientific evidence. But a diet rich in calcium in early childhood and pre-menopausal years does build stronger bones, reducing risk of thin bones after menopause The worst calcium supplements are bone meal, oyster shell and dolomite because they cannot be efficiently absorbed and may contain lead. Excessive calcium intake also leads to constipation and, more worrisome, kidney stones and calcification of the joints. The most effective form of supplementation is hydroxyapatite (especially if it is formulated with boron). This is the most natural of all calcium supplements and a complete bone food. MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS PROTECT US AGAINST OSTEOPOROSIS - MYTH NO. 4! And what about dairy foods for bones? Dr Michael Colgan, a well-known researcher in nutrition, an author and the founder of the Colgan Institute in the US, has said: "The medical advice to drink milk to prevent osteoporosis is self-serving poppycock." After all we've been indoctrinated with, it's a shocking revelation to discover that dairy products contribute to bone loss. The countries that consume the highest amounts of dairy products also have the highest rates of osteoporosis, such as Scandinavian countries. The non-dairy-consuming countries have the lowest osteoporosis rates. In the body's wisdom, the highest priority is to maintain the proper acid/alkali balance in the blood. A high protein diet of meat and dairy products poses a great osteoporosis risk because it makes the blood highly acidic. Calcium must then be extracted from the bones in order to restore proper balance, as it is used as a buffer in the homeostasis of acidity-alkalinity. Since every cell in the body to maintain its integrity uses calcium in the blood, the body will sacrifice calcium in the bone to maintain homeostasis in the blood. In a year-long study of 22 postmenopausal women, there was no significant improvement in calcium levels when their diets were supplemented daily with three 300 mL glasses of skim milk (equivalent to 1,500 mg of calcium). The authors stated this outcome was due to "the average 30% increase in protein intake during milk supplementation". Since skim milk contains almost double the protein of whole milk, it promotes an even greater rate of calcium excretion. There are still other problems with dairy products. They contain antibiotics, oestrogen hormones, pesticides and an enzyme that is a known factor in breast cancer. In addition, another recent study revealed that lactose-intolerant women who drank milk were at greater risk of ovarian cancer and infertility. Women are constantly bombarded with the message that the war on bone loss must include calcium supplements and a daily consumption of calcium-rich foods, primarily dairy products. Doctors strongly recommend long-term use of (synthetic) oestrogen to the postmenopausal woman, and, if additional help is required, suggest the use of bone-building drugs like Fosamax. So, armed with this powerful arsenal, a woman is assured that she will walk tall and fracture-free through the latter part of her life. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. The most popular treatments for osteoporosis are in fact dangerous to women's health. Synthetic oestrogen is a known carcinogenic drug. Most calcium supplements are not only ineffectual in rebuilding bone, but they can actually lead to mineral deficiencies, calcification and kidney stones. And contrary to popular belief, dairy products have been proven to be a leading cause of bone loss. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE! Some of the leading lights in safely preventing, halting and restoring bone mass include supplementation with natural progesterone, hydroxyapaptite, calcium citrate, or Chinese herbal formulas. When it comes to ensuring healthy bones, it's important to remember it's not only about what one puts in the body but also what one doesn't. More and more studies are validating the extremely beneficial effects of a regular weight-bearing exercise program in increasing bone density in postmenopausal women. A woman's lifelong tendency to diet has been an unrecognised cause of bone loss. At least seven well-controlled studies have shown that when a woman diets and loses weight, she also loses bone. A recent study found that in less than 22 months, women who exercised three times a week increased their bone density by 5.2 per cent, while sedentary women actually lost 1.2 per cent. Effective strength-training includes such exercise as walking uphill, bicycling in low gear, climbing steps and training with weights. Osteoporosis is not an ageing disease or an oestrogen or calcium deficiency but a degenerative disease of Western culture. We have brought it upon ourselves through poor dietary habits and lifestyle factors, and exposure to pharmaceutical drugs. It is our ignorance that has made us vulnerable to the vested interests that have intentionally distorted the facts and willingly sacrificed the health of millions of women at the altar of profit and greed. It is only by our willingness to take responsibility for our bodies and make the commitment to return to a healthy, balanced way of life that we'll be able to walk tall and strong for the rest of our lives. God bless! Dr. George J. Georgiou, Ph.D. Clinical Nutritionist - Master Herbalist - Naturopath - Homeopath - Iridologist Clinical Sexologist - Clinical Psychologist webmaster@worldwidehealthcenter.net |
