Osteoporosis – A Nine Step Plan

There are two reasons why osteoporosis occurs according to a clinical nutrition perspective. The first and foremost is that the raw ingredients necessary for bone formation are not taken in. It's a myth that calcium is the key to bone construction. It is only one of the players. It requires a synergistic union of numerous compounds and minerals to create bone matter. The raw materials must be supplied and most of these will be in minerals. Secondary are the necessary vitamins, and third is hormones.

The second reason is that there are digestive inadequacies that are preventing the ingested raw materials from getting into the body. Inadequate digestion will keep the minerals and other supporting nutrients from entering the blood stream.

In the elderly there may also be hormonal issues. Have the thyroid and parathyroid checked. Do not accept the medication called synthroid or anything similar if there is a hypothryoid conditon. Demand Armour thyroid. An iodine supplement should be considered and the thyroid rechecked after 3 months of iodine supplementation.

1. Silica - is essential for the formation of bone matrix, and the repair of tough connective tissue in joints as well as bones. . It provides the body with strength and flexibility. I would take a natural plant based silica product for the best effect. There are reported cases of cure of osteoporosis with the use of Horsetail herb which is very high in silica and which is highly bioavailable. Many cures have been reported in just 9 weeks but for very advanced osteoporosis it of course would take longer.

Purchase you can purchase Alta silica or Flora Vegatal silica at iherb. I would take 16 capsules a day for for 3 weeks, then 12 a day for 3 weeks, then 8 a day for 3 weeks, and then maintenance dose of 6 caps a day,2 after each meal.

You know. No one likes the cure word in conventional or alternative health. It really puts people on on a limb of expectation. But my clinical nutrition teacher uses the cure word for osteoporosis with the use of this silica horsetail product. This product may be a little spendy. After the results are seen I would seek a less expensive organic Horsetail Herb product.

2. Vitamin D3 - must be increased. Do not think you will get it from the sun as elderly people loose the capacity to produce vitamin D from the sun. Actually this capacity starts to decrease in the early ‘30’s. I advise that you get your vitamin D levels checked. You want the 25 hydroxy vit D3 level test, not any other. You want your D level to rise to 50, with 70 to 90 being optimum with chronic health conditions. It is very difficult to get a D level to rise. You will need to mega dose on D until it occurs. It may take several months. Recheck your D level at 6 weeks and adjust your dosage accordingly. When you have reached a 90 level you can cut back but will still have to supplement daily to maintain your level.

D3 50,0000 iu 2 x day for one week, then I would take it 1 x day for a week, . then I reduced to 10,000 IU daily. After 6 weeks I would my Vitamin D3 levels checked. https://secure.bio-tech-pharm.com/catalog.aspx?cat_id=2

After vitamin D levels are checked and you find you are around a score of 70 to 90, 5,000 IU a day is usually required fro maintenance.

Vitamin D will help to reconstruct bones and it will prevent cancer.

Below are notes on Vitamin D3 from the Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Conference I attended. I do not necessarily recommend this... I just place it here so that you can be aware of what some practitioners are doing.

Notes..............................................................

Ellie Campbell D.O. Family Doctor and Bio - Identical Hormone Expert

Methods of Application of Vit D3

1. Orally

2. Topical D3 replacement therapy lotion

3. Injection

Vitmain D injection

Dr. Campbell recommends:

One time a year injection of Custom compounded

400,000 to 600,000 IU vitamin D3

Most people will be restored with one injection but there are a few who require a second injection and those people may need 5,000 IU daily to maintain a level 50 over the year. Dr Campbell recommends the injection to almost all her patients.

In the USA there is no RDA for Vit D

1000 IU is inadequate to restore or to maintain a level 50

2,000 is required to sustain a D level of 50.

deficiency requires 5 to 10,000 IU per day.

Recheck D3 after 5 to 6 weeks

(400 IU is 1/10 of what is needed)

In India each nursing home patient gets a 600,000 IU injection per year routinely!

D levels of 46 to 50 is of best advantage for preventing cancer

Signs of Deficiency over a long period of time:

Proximal muscle weakness (They can not get out of a chair unless they push themselves and this is caused by deficiency in vit D)

Osteoporosis, Bone pain, Depression, Brain fog, Insomnia, weak fingernails, weak pelvic muscles

The Right Test – use bioidentical vit D3 as the body can process it better
get a 25 hydroxy vit D3 level

If Vitamin D stores are adequate the need for high dosages of calcium are not needed. High dosages of supplemental calcium can cause problems, kidney stones. Get most of your calcium from green veggies and the amount you will need to supplement will be much less.

You need the minerals calcium protein magnesium, iodine, strontium, boron, plus exercise with Vit D3 to prevent osteoporosis. [COLOR="rgb(153, 50, 204)"]Weight lifting exercise is optimal and small hand weights of 1 to 3 pounds is sufficient according to studies.

She does not recommend any prescription osteoporosis medication.

End of Notes.........................................................................

If you find that several of the supplements you are taking offer Vitamin D and you are concerned about taking too much do not worry. It is turning out that overdosing on Vitamin D is mostly a myth and largely based on inaccurate studies. As a maintenance dose, after your vitamin D3 levels are testing up between 50 and 70, Vitamin D3 5,000 IU to 10,000 IU daily is OK. As time goes by you may see where you need to level off at but only testing will be able to assist you with this. Some elderly people are requiring 10,000 IU a day.

3. Vitamin K2

You need at least 90 mcg. This product may help prevent stroke and other vascular issues. If you are on a blood thinner like warfarin/coumadin discuss this with your doctor first.

Vitamin K2 is essential to assist in the deposit of minerals in the bone. I will now refer you to this website for details on just how important vitamin K2 is.

Weston Price, one of the greatest nutritionists ever, could not specifically identity Vitamin K2 but he knew of it beneficial presence in diets with the right kinds of fat. He called it Activator X for it was responsible for the correct functioning of so many other nutrients. westonaprice.org

4. Magnesium - I guarantee that you are magnesium deficient. Magnesium is more important than calcium for bone construction and the ratio of magnesium to calcium should be least 1 to 1. Some alternative practitioners say 2 to 1, with calcium the lesser ingredient. I think the verdict is still out on this one.

For Magnesium take a bath with this at least 3 times a week. Transdermal absorption of magnesium will provide the best application of magnesium. You will also take magnesium pills daily. One does not exclude the other.

Swanson vitamins sells an excellent liquid magnesium transdermal product.

Find magnesium a chloride product and take 600 mg a day or magnesium in the magnesium citrate form.

Find also a calcium citrate product and take at least 250 to 400 mg a day.

5. Protien -To build bones protein is essential. You need lots of high quality protein. Fish, chicken and eggs are great. Red meat once or twice a week is permissible. You need at least 40 grams of protein a day. Eggs also provide vitamin K2.

Here’s the hitch. Most elderly people do not digest their protein properly. As we age our ability to digest protein goes way down due to a decrease in the production of hydrochloric acid and other enzymes. You will need an Betaine HCL supplement to take with all your protein meals and at this stage of the game all your meals should have a protein.

Twenty years of tests done at the Tahoma Clinic in Washington have shown that 90 percent of individuals with osteoporosis have low stomach acid. Stomach acid is required for the proper assimilation of minerals. Modify your betaine HCL dosage based on how much protien you are consuming at each meal.

Now that you have the help you need to digest protein properly here is a great predigested protein product that will easily amp up your grams of protein. It is Jarrow whey and is just a great product. I mix mine with apple juice and drink it daily. With a product like this you will increase your protein intake about 20 grams without all the calories that is usually associated with protein intake. Be sure to take a Betain HCL supplement when you drink this shake.

6. Calcium - So What about Calcium?

Women are continually told to take more and more calcium, 1200-1500 milligrams of supplemental calcium per day. It’s a giant mistake. Women who eat a good diet already get about 600-800 milligrams of calcium, particularly if they eat dairy products. Thus they only need about 250-400 milligrams of supplemental calcium with an equal amount of magnesium.

Veggies provide the complex phytonutrients necessary to deposit bone into the matrix and some are high in calcium. Broccoli is a winner as is green cabbage, celery, dandilion greens, Chinese cabbage, Okra. You should be eating at least 2 foods off of this chart daily that rank in the 30’s or 40’s or greater. Pumpkin Pie any one? Always remember that organic vegetables either fresh or canned will have higher mineral content as they are grown in mineral rich soils.

Find a link to a calcium chart at the end of the article.



You want calcium CITRATE. You can mix a powdered calcium some juice. One half teaspoon will be sufficient to equal about 300mg.. Do not mix this calcium with your protein shake as Calcium tends to neutralize hydrochloric acid (remember Tums?) Or if you prefer you can find a pill instead of powder. But 250 to 400mg of calcium should be sufficient and the amount of calcium you take should at least equal your magnesium. It is safe to take more magnesium than calcium if you think you should need it. You should be getting most of your calcium from fresh vegetables. If you can’t eat vegetables increase the amount of calcium you take to about 600 mg. http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=481

Its proven that supplemental calcium of 1000 to 1500mg a day do not prevent bone fracture. Many women who take dosages like this also end up with kidney stones, clogged arteries and heart disease. Vitamin K2 will help the kidneys to manage higher levels of calcium, but still, 1000 mg is too much.

One of the main factors determining calcium placement in the bone is hormones. This is why women who are menopausal become candidates for osteoporosis.

A 15-year study involving 36,000 women found calcium supplements are worthless, and it predictably increased the risk for kidney stones as well. [New England Journal of Medicine 354: 669-83, 2006]

7. Boron and Strontium and other trace minerals - are required to form quality bone matrix.

"Taking strontium in addition to calcium is more effective than calcium alone. Numerous studies have demonstrated that strontium does much more than slow the deterioration of your bones—it actually stimulates rapid bone formation. A 2004 double-blind, placebo controlled study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a combination of strontium ranelate, calcium, and vitamin D increased bone density by 9 to 15 percent over three years."(per Dr Jonathan Wright MD of the Tacoma Clinic)

I use a strontium containing supplement. Look at the following products. One is called Osteo-mins AM & and then there is Ostomins PM. Because some leading researchers state that calcium and strontium mutually inhibit each other’s absorption, calcium is in the PM part of the formula, and strontium is in the AM.

Osteo-mins AM

Osteo-mins AM Take these pills as directed on the label and it has the boron and strontium in it. Take it at the opposite time of day that you take your calcium. Then….

Osteo-mins PM

Osteo-mins PM - Do not take these PM pills AT ALL as they have too much calcium and not enough magnesium! I just put this here so you would understand why not to order it even though I recommend the AM pills.

Trace minerals. There are a number of trace mineral products and I like the one's that have about 75 minerals in them from Utah mine shale. Some are liquid. Osteoporosis is primarily a mineral deficiency disease complicated by hormonal issues and vitamin deficiency.


8. Exercise - Weight bearing exercise has proven time and time again to increase bone density and should be added to the above nutritional program. Due to the severity of the osteoarthritis a low weight is indicated. Start with about ½ to one pound weight and you may find what you are looking for in the kitchen cupboard. A can of soup or similar product will provide sufficient weight to do a repetitive lifting exercise with. Studies indicate that lifting ½ to one pound weights will stimulate deposit of bone into the matrix. Increase weights slowly. You should not need to go over 2 to 3 pounds in the first year. I do recommend that you contact a physical therapist to develop a weight bearing program specifically designed for you that you can do at home.

9. Hormones

Bio-identical estrogen replacement therapies may not be the best choice for all women, especially if there is an estrogen hormone cancer history. Plant estrogens may be the answer such as found in lignans from flaxseed oil or one tablespoon of crushed flaxseed meal a day to provide 25mg., two tablespoons if osteoporosis is severe.

“The evident answer is to consume plant estrogens (isoflavones from soy, lignans from flaxseed), that are about 1/1000th the strength of human estrogen). [Asia Pac J Clinical Nutrition 13:S74, 2004]”

Barleans High Lingan Flax seed oil – available at any good health food store or Lignans by Flora.

“Obtain the amount of plant estrogens that women in Asian countries consume, about 25-50 milligrams per day. A good source of phytoestrogens is lignans from flaxseed.Copyright 2005 Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc. 2”

Purified lignan extract is also available at brevail.com. Brevail is a good product if you can not tolerate crushed flax seed. Flax seed gives some people a laxative effect. Also, make fresh crushed flax seed often and keep it in the refrigerator as it can go rancid easily.

I reccommed bio-idential hormone replacement for menapausal women if they have been cancer free. Find a doctor who specializes in bio-identical hormones. My hormones come in a troche, that is a melt in your mouth tab. She prescribes twice the daily dose I need and I take half the dosage prescribed. That means a one month supply will last for two months. The troche is easy to split in half. One month costs $30 this way, instead of $60. My doctor says that a woman can start this program at any age and continue on it into advanced years. My docotor also insists that I do iodine supplementation while I take these hormones. Iodine will block any possible toxic effects of estrogens on breast tissue.

If you decide to order any products from iherb.com enter coupon code BAR967 for $5 off your first purchase. This is an excellent company with good service that carries many name brand products.

Calcium Foods Chart

Calcium Supplements

Some Insight to Bio-identical Hormones