Osteoporosis

Years of study of osteoporosis, a disease of the bones, talks about our diet, the amount of exercise we do, the supplementation taken on a daily basis and men and women having osteo.

It is important to know that this is a preventable disease.

It is a system disorder, meaning it is controlled by maintaining good health of the entire body! This devastating physical experience is something that we should all work towards not having.

Bone Density Test

The Bone Mineral Density (BMD) becomes reduced and the variety of proteins in bones is altered. A fragile fracture can happen very easily.

Primary Type 1 or Postmenopausal Osteoporosis is the most common form of osteoporosis in women, which occurs after menopause.

Secondary Osteo can develop at any age, and can affect men and women.

This form results from prolonged use of medications or a chronic predisposed medical problem.

Primary Type 2 or Senile Osteo is seen in both females and males. This occurs after age 75.

History of Osteo

Have you heard tell of the ‘dowager’s hump? Do you have any memories of movies of the old woman walking along darkened streets (usually a black and white movie) and she was hunched over and always wearing a cape. This was probably osteoporosis.

Natural Treatment for Osteoporosis

Exercise is a must – There are no specific exercises for bone strength but any physical activity increases bone strength. The old saying, ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it’ applies to bone density and exercise. Nature doesn’t waste resources building bone, if you don’t use it to support weight.

When doing any weight bearing or muscle exertion forms of exercises, this is a good stimulus for bone formation.

Aerobic walking is the best possible exercise as it increases the oxygen and also increases the mineral content and density of the bones. Fast walking helps build muscles around the hip area, which in the case of a fall, the muscles will help absorb the force of the impact, hence less chance of fracture.

Weight bearing exercises are extremely important and should be started long before menopause starts. Resistance training with light weights or rubber band resistance exercises performed regularly.

Osteoporosis Diet

Getting enough calcium and the proper form of calcium can help prevent the onset of this disease. This condition does not result from only a calcium deficiency, but also a mineral imbalance. Diet is very important.

Taking supplements and eating right are important for everyone.

A vegetarian diet study revealed that there was less bone mineral loss in people on a vegetarian diet compared to those who were meat eaters. Green vegetables are high in calcium but huge quantities would have to be consumed to reach the RDA goal of 800 milligrams daily.

• Collard Greens
• Dandelion
• Turnip greens
• Kale
• Parsley
• Bok choy
• Mustard greens
• Broccoli
• Watercress
• Whole grains
• Nuts and seeds
• Alfalfa sprouts

Remember that the mineral content of the food grown today is contingent on the amount of minerals left in the soil that the plants are grown in.

AVOID as the following products actually decrease bone mass.

• caffeine
• alcohol
• smoking
• soft drinks
• high intake of (meat)
• birth control pills
• excessive amounts of dairy products
• excessive salt
• fluoride and chlorine, as in tap water
• dairy products

Vitamin D has a well-established role in maintaining calcium levels in the body and in building strong bones. That's why vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of osteo. In addition, elderly who don't get enough vitamin D have weaker muscles and are more prone to falls, which could further increase the risk of fractures.

While there have been no clinical trials to date demonstrating conclusively that D2 prevents fractures, every clinical trial of D3 has shown it does.

That being said, optimizing your sun exposure and levels of vitamin D3 may, indeed, be one of the most important physical steps you can take in support of your long-term health.

Conventional medicine is finally beginning to get on board the vitamin-D3 bandwagon, using the natural power of sunshine to treat type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis during a woman's pregnancy and even tuberculosis.

Calcium Magnesium

Calcium in human nutrition is very important. Calcium interacts with other food minerals to build and maintain your body's framework.

It is so important that their are complex back up systems which grab calcium from your bones if necessary in order to maintain the constant levels of calcium that are required in the blood.

Deficiencies of calcium can lead to very serious problems.

Calcium is required for the skeletal muscle contraction and relaxation.

Calcium regulates cardiovascular physiology and is important for blood pressure regulation. Calcium metabolism is critical to hypertension.

A good calcium supplement offers nutrients that will assist in proper calcium metabolism, such as magnesium and Vitamin D3.

When calcium is not properly utilized in the body, it deposits in various parts of the body. Arthritis in the joints, is a perfect example of calcium being poorly utilized by the body.

Calcium in the arteries promotes arteriosclerosis.

Calcium calcifies in the kidneys and bladder causing stones.

Bursitis and tendinitis are examples of the same problem.

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