Stronger
Bones for Better Health
Osteoporosis is a debilitating, costly, and difficult-to-treat
decline in bone density that occurs primarily in postmenopausal
females. Lets look at some statistics.
• Osteoporosis is a major public health issue
for more than 28 million Americans, 80% of whom are
women.
• It is estimated that in the United States
today, 10 million individuals already have osteoporosis,
and 18 million more probably have a low bone density,
• Half of the women over the age of 50 will
have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.
With the onset of menopause, women begin an accelerated
period of bone loss that may increase by tenfold so
that they may lose bone at the rate of 3-6% per year
Most women lose the majority of their bone in the
5 years in and around menopause after the menstrual
cycle stops.
It is more likely than not that you will probably
have some level of bone loss by age 65 if you don’t
start doing some prevention.
Our bones continuously build up and breakdown. This
is called re-modeling. We want bone build up to be
greater than bone breakdown. Breakdown is a normal
process and should not be stopped. Good examples are
trees standing in a forest. Young saplings are strong,
vibrant, their branches almost elastic with the durability
they have to weather the elements. The older a tree
gets the more brittle it becomes and eventually succumbs
to an intense storm due to its inflexibility and comes
tumbling down. We want our bones to be young, strong,
and flexible so they can accommodate to the demands
placed on them. We don’t want them to be old
and rigid so that they cannot adapt to increased demand
and thereby break under pressure.
Testing:
1) Dual energy X-ray Absorbiometry DEXA
* DEXA results are reported as T-scores. The bone
densities of patients are compared to a standard 25-year-old
population of the same gender, and osteoporosis is
defined as a patient with a spinal bone density 2.5
or greater standard deviations (SD) from the mean
of that population.
This is called the T-score. There is an exponential
increase in fractures with decreasing bone mineral
density. For every 1 SD decrease in bone mass, there
is a twofold increase in risk of fracture. A person
with a T-score of -1 to -2.5 has the diagnosis of
Osteopenia. A T-score at -2.5 or below has the diagnosis
of Osteoporosis.
Bone mineral density remains the official definition
of bone health.
2)
Deoxypyridinoline (Dpd) - simple urine test. Dpd is
released into the circulation during bone breakdown
and is excreted into your urine. The results of a
Dpd test will tell your doctor the rate that you are
building bone and the rate that you are losing bone.
Because Dpd levels are not affected by diet or physical
exercise, urinary Dpd concentrations reflect the true
rate of bone turnover and are a good way for your
Naturopathic Doctor to determine how well your calcium
supplements and bone program are working. The best
part about this test is that it can be performed every
six months to check in and evaluate bone turnover.
This is the perfect test to perform in between DEXA
scans that are conducted every two years to ensure
the success of a good bone program.
How
is osteoporosis treated?
It is much easier to prevent osteoporosis then it
is to reverse and treat it once it has set in. We
must do everything that we can to maintain bone health
so that we can have the quality of life we have gotten
accustomed to.
Keeping our bones healthy is one of the most important
things we can do to maintain a good quality of life
in menopause. Building balance and stability on our
feet and exercise ensure bone health and reduce the
chance of fracture.
Statistics
show that death rates dramatically rise within one
year of a hip fracture. Hormones, nutrition, exercise
habits, and genetics influence bone health. Genetically
speaking women have different body types. The thinner,
petite body type is at a greater risk for osteoporosis
because less demand is placed on the skeleton over
a lifetime. When there is no demand, your body will
not lay down more bone. This is why weight-bearing
exercise is so important.
Osteoporosis is a complex condition and really should
be identified as two main risks: Loss of bone (quantity)
and loss of bone strength (quality).
The
DEXA scan only measures quantity. The quality of bone
is measured by its micro-architecture, (remember the
young elastic sapling?) with cross bracing within
the bone.
The most significant "treatment" is prevention
and awareness of the possibility of osteoporosis.
You can reduce your risks of developing osteoporosis
by following these general guidelines:
1.
Stay active. The single highest cause of fractures
is frail health or being unsteady on your feet. Balancing
exercises are so important as we become less stable
on our feet as we age, increasing the chances that
we will fall and break a bone. Yoga level one and
restorative yoga classes are available to keep you
well balanced and grounded on your feet.
Dr. Purcell note: My personal favorite way to put
demand on your hips and spine and promote bone building
is a weighted workout vest. Check it out @ www.walkvest.com
2.
Eat a diet that is high in calcium and other important
trace minerals (including magnesium) and low in phosphorus.
Nuts are very high in calcium along with dark leafy
greens. Asparagus, broccoli, oats, beans, almonds,
tofu, and making soups with bones are excellent sources
of calcium.
3.
Reduce caffeine and alcohol and eliminate cigarette
smoking.
4.
Balance hormones. – Hormones do play a role
in bone health. Have your Naturopathic Doctor evaluate
your hormone levels.
5. Bisphosphenate drugs such as Fosamax/Actonel/Zometa/Boneva
Act by hardening the outer part of the bone, and preventing
bone turnover, this cementing process of the bone
does not allow for normal bone function. It does reduce
fracture risk but has no effect on bone density.
Drugs
in the same class as Fosamax can have significant
gastro-intestinal and digestive side effects. To counteract
the side effects of the “bone drugs”,
acid blocking medications are prescribed which prevent
out minerals from being absorbed through the digestive
tract by blocking stomach acid.
7.
Calcium supplementation
Watch your forms of calcium they are not all the same!
Calcium carbonate is not absorbable! It is made from
oyster shells! We cannot absorb a shell into our cells.
Coral calcium is loaded with heavy metals such as
mercury and lead. Stick with a more absorbable form
of calcium.
Calcium citrate is an absorbable form of calcium.
Combined with magnesium and Vitamin D will help supplement
calcium coming in from food and help provide bones
with proper building blocks. Vitamin D is essential
for calcium absorption. Without Vitamin D the calcium
will not be absorbed properly.
Strontium has been shown in a few studies to promote
bone growth and is present in a few osteoporosis bone
formulas.
Dr. Purcell Note: It is possible to overdose on Vitamin
D, be sure to have your doctor check your levels.
8.
If you drink soda just quit it. There is absolutely
nothing good about soda. All of the dark colored sodas
contain phosphoric acid, which off sets our calcium
ratios in our blood and causes calcium to spill into
your urine. So in essence you are peeing out all that
precious calcium from your bones.
Studies show that when we replaced milk and juice
with soda during female adolescence it decreased peak
bone mass and sets teenagers up for osteoporosis and
bone fractures in the future.
In 1994 a study was done on 127 girls ages 8-16. Girls
who consumed more soda had a higher incidence of bone
fractures than girls who consumed less. |
