Osteoporosis

Although you don’t currently hear much about it in the media, there exists a disease that affects 10 million Americans and threatens almost 30 million more.  To make matters worse, it is a silent disease that typically doesn’t show any signs or symptoms until it is too late. What is this disease, you ask? In case you didn’t read the article title, its osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is so prevalent and severe that it causes over 1.5 million fractures every year, almost half of which involve the spine. In case you’re rusty on your anatomy, the spinal cord runs through the spine. It’s probably the last place you would want to have a fracture. 

Yes, I know, we tend to think that only frail eldery women suffer from osteoporosis, but that’s not the case. In fact, over 2 million men in the U.S. already have the disease, and one out of eight men will eventually suffer a fracture because of it. And these are not necessarily benign, uncomplicated fractures. Due to frequent hip and spine involvement, many osteoporosis-induced fractures result in death from complications.

Osteoporosis, which literally means porous bone, results when the formation of new bone is slower than the restoration of old bone. Bone is not at all an inert tissue like one might thing. In fact, it is a very dynamic tissue-much like the skin. When we are younger, bone formation virtually always exceeds restoration. But around the age of 30, bone mineral density tends to decline.

Causes

Various factors affect how rapidly bone mineral density declines. Hormonally speaking, a decrease in estrogen typically corresponds to loss of bone mass. For that reason, the most dramatic loss in bone mineral density in women occurs after menopause, when estrogen production virtually ceases.

In men, declining testosterone levels can contribute to a loss of bone bass. While testosterone levels don’t drop as suddenly in men as estrogen does in women, levels do begin to gradually decline between the ages of 25-30.

Certain medications can also decrease bone mineral density. One of the most common culprits is the long term use of glucocorticoids, which are used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions, ranging from arthritis to bowels disease. Numerous other medication have the  same potential to decrease bone mineral density. Barbiturates, some anti-seizure medications and even excess thyroid hormone are just a few examples.

One of the primary factors that leads to osteoporisis is a diet that is chronically low in calcium and vitamin D. Though it is fairly common knowledge, nutrition surveys show that many people still don’t even get half of the 1,000 to 1,500 mg of recommended calcium per day.

Likewise, it is recommended that people consume 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day. Because the skin makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, less exposure to the sun necessitates a higher dietary intake and vice versa.

Recent evidence is pointing more and more to the benefits of vitamin D. Many experts are recommeding that people consume 1,000 mg per day as opposed to the aforementioned amounts.

Another way to decrease bone mass and increase one’s chance of suffering from osteoporotic fractures is being bed- ridden, or voluntarily choosing to spend your waking hours on your rear. The reason is simple: Weight-bearing exercise places stress on the bone, which causes it to adapt by getting denser and stronger. Lack of exercise gives the body no reason to build strong, dense bones. As is the case with our muscles, the term “use it or lose it” applies to bone.

Lastly, there are a couple of sinful behaviors that decrease bone mass: smoking and drinking. Now you have yet another reason to avoide these two vices.

Pharmaceutical Treatment of Osteoporosis

When it comes to alleviating just about any ailment, it seems that our first instinct is to ask, “What can I take to make it go away?” Although medications to treat osteoporosis should only be used after or in addition to more natural means of treatment, there are some FDA approved medications that can effectively improve the condition. Estrogen and calcitonin are hormone treatments, while alendronate (Fosomax), raloxifene (Evista) and risedronate (Actonel) are synthetic pharmaceutical preparations.

Nutritional Treatment and Prevention of Osteoporosis

A more natural way to treat osteoporosis, and one of the best ways to prevent it, is to ensure adequate dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D. As with any nutrient, it is considered ideal to get them through food.

The best sources of calcium, by far, come from dairy. This includes milk, cheese, and yogurt. In addition to dairy sources, some good sources of calcium are almonds, sardines, salmon, white beans, tofu, ornges, sweet potatoes, and most green vegetables, like broccoli and turnip greens.

As for vitamin D, cod liver oil, egg yolks, and fortified dairy products are some of the best dietary sources. But don’t forget the best natural source-sunlight.

In addition to vitamin D, which enhances calcium absorption, vitamins A, C, E and K are vitally important in the formation and maintenance of bone tissue.

Another nutrient that is of upmost importance is protein. If I may stereotype for a moment, I’m going to assume that you, a reader of www.drclay.com, already know the importance of consuming adequate protein and do so on a daily basis. So for now, Im going to spare you the “eat more protein” lecture

Now let’s talk about minerls for a moment. As already mentioned, calcium is vitally important in the formation of bone tissue. However, there are a couple of things you should know  before you begin shoving calcium pills down your pie-hole. For starters, calcium absorption is optimized when comsumed in smaller doses. Taking your daily requirement in one sitting will likely leave you deficient.

Instead, spread your calcium intake throughout the day. This applies to both calcium supplementation and what you consume from food sources. So practically speaking, it would be wise to take any calcium supplement with meals that are low in calcium. Don’t take your calcium with your cottage cheeses. Instead, take it with a meal like meat and potatoes that is inherently low in calcium.

Other minerals that are essential to bone formation are phosphorous, magnesium, boron, zinc, manganese and copper. Let’s discuess the most iportant of these: phosphorous. While it is absolutely vital for the formation of bone, too much phosphorous is the most common problem. Let me be more specific.

When too much phosphorous and too little calcium is consumed, the body will leach calcium from bones to correct this balance. Obviously it would be better to consume less phosphorous and more calcium in the first place than to have it taken from your bones.

For the record, the optimal ratio of calcium to phosphorous is considered to be between 1.2:1 up tp 2:1. That means for every mg of phosphorous that you consume, you should consume 1.2 to 2 mg oc calcium. To help keep this ratio in check, avoid processed meats and soda, both which are high in phosphorous.

Red meat is also high in phosphorous. However, I do believe that the consumption of lean read meat is still advisable in moderation.

Exercise to Improve Bone Density

One of the best, yet often forgotten, ways to improve bone density is to engage in weight-bearing exercise. But not just any type will do. As I mentioned earlier, the more stress that the activity puts on the skeleton, the denser the bones will become.

Exercises like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses are some of the best bone-density building exercises around. As for cardiovascular exercise, opt for walking over something like bike riding to improve bone density.

Hopefully I have been able to shed some light on how common osteoporosis is and how you can take action to prevent or treat the disease. Whether you opt for drugs, eating the right food, taking certain supplements, engaging in the right type of exercise, or a combination thereof, you will improve your bone density if you start applying some of this information.

As always, see your doctor before implementing any of the infomation in this article. It’s just that, information, not a specific diagnosis for you and your specific condition.

Yours in Health,

Dr Clay

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Osteporosis: The Silent Epidemic