Bone health is a growing problem in today’s toxic society. Some are diagnosed with osteoporosis. Some with osteopenia, which is considered a “pre” osteoporosis. The vast majority of patients with these diagnosis are given a prescription for Fosomax or Boniva or Actonel.
Up until the past few years, bone has been thought of as an inert tissue that is basically used to anchor muscles on to so we can move around and stay upright. This view has changed dramatically in the past few years.
Bone is incredibly connected to many other organ systems and even regulates your risk for diabetes and obesity. To further complicate the picture, when the gut becomes stressed (psychological stress, poor diet, drugs to treat acid reflux or heartburn, etc..) special cells lining the gut produce more serotonin. Yes–serotonin, that “feel good” hormone that we think of when we think depression and Prosac and Paxil and Zoloft. Many do not realize that over 2/3 of the body’s serotonin is actually derived from the gut.
Because of this, more stress on the gut produces more serotonin. This serotonin then affects the activity of the osteoblasts in bone, slowing their activity and slowing bone building.
So what do you need to do now to improve your bone health?
- To truly have an impact on bone health, a comprehensive approach that slows bone breakdown and improves bone formation is needed. Anything else falls short.
- Recent studies have confirmed that supplementation with calcium does not affect bone density when the diet is already high in calcium
- Weight bearing exercise is crucial to send the signal to the bone to build
- Vitamin D suplements should usually start at 2,000 IU / day. Blood levels should be maintained between 60-100 ng/ml
- A plant based diet with lots of fruits and vegetables is the best option for good bone health. Despite the hype, dairy has not been shown to help with bone health and, being an animal protein, may actually harm your bones.
Overall, it should be clear that our current approach to osteoporosis has little to do with true bone health and more to do with stopping the normal process occurring in bone turnover. A true approach to bone health goes hand in hand with an anti-diabetic, an anti-cancer and an anti-heart disease lifestyle. This makes it pretty easy. Follow one lifestyle and lower your risk for all.
Dr. James Bogash is a Chiropractic Physician at “LifeCare Chiropractic”
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About The Author: Since acquiring a passion for how the body works in chiropractic school, I have continued to indulge this desire by reading some 120 peer reviewed medical journals per month. I’m always learning more about how to help people avoid chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis, obesity and cancer, and pass along this information in my blog. There are currently almost 2,000 posts cataloged on almost every health topic imaginable!
The stories I hear back from readers of the blog who have made changes to their lifestyles is the most rewarding experience that I know of. If you find that these blog entries have helped give you insight into your health challenges, I would encourage you to share them with me.
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