Can you answer Heidi14’s question about Osteoporosis?:

Any information about links between high bone density and breast cancer? I recently had my bone density checked for Osteoporosis risk using the heel ultrasound, and was off the charts, up around 4.6. Low risk is usually measured as values between 0-2, but anything above zero is supposed to be good.

Osteoporosis Bone Density

Can you answer Crushing on TWO girls…’s question about Osteoporosis?:

DONT ASK WHY.
What is “it” called, I think I know what you mean, but I want bone density too.

Osteoporosis Screening Tool

If your doctor says your bone density is degenerating or that you have osteoporosis, what can you do? Most likely your doctor will want to put you on a drug. Since most drugs have real nasty side effects, after long term use, you may want to look for a natural alternative.

First of all, you need to make sure that you are getting a

good supplement of calcium and magnesium for reducing osteoporosis. For women up to 1200 mg to 1600 mg of calcium per day and about 600 mg to 800 mg of magnesium is recommended. And for real good calcium absorption take 500 mg of vitamin D. For men, use around 200 mg less than women, except for the vitamin D quantity.

Realize that calcium is a difficult mineral to absorb in your intestinal tract. Taking magnesium and vitamin D improves your absorption of calcium. Using an ionic form of calcium also improves your changes of absorbing more of this mineral.

Vitamin B12 reduces osteoporosis

There is one other nutrient that you should also take to increase your absorption of calcium. In a clinical study made at the University of California, they found that women who had the highest levels of vitamin B12 compared to the ones that had the lowest levels had a significant decrease in bone loss and bone fractures - reduced osteoporosis.

In another study done by Tufts University, they again found that in 2,500 men and women that high levels of vitamin B12 reduced their chances of getting osteoporosis.

Homocysteine

In previous articles, I had written of the other serious benefits of Vitamin B12 and the other B Vitamins, B6 and folic acid. These B vitamins are essential for reducing your homocysteine levels. Remember that high homocysteine levels and unchecked homocysteine levels in your blood lead to plaque buildup in blood vessels. Plaque build up in your blood vessels is probably the most serious condition that you will have to face as you age. Plaque buildup in the blood vessels is the major cause of cardiovascular disease or arthrosclerosis.

Celiac Disease encourages osteoporosis

In another article, I have also written about celiac disease. This is a disease where more than 1.5 million people have it and many don’t know it. It is a disease where grains (gluten) have destroyed the small intestines ability to absorb nutrients.

In studies, it has been shown that those with severe celiac disease

also have severe osteoporosis.

To make things worse, your ability to absorb Vitamin B12 decreases as you age, since you produce less intrinsic factor. Intrinsic factor is created in the stomach where it helps you adsorb more Vitamin B12.

Pharmaceuticals block calcium and encourage osteoporosis

Pharmaceuticals of various kinds, especially acid blockers, can also prevent you from properly absorbing Vitamin B12.

So now you can see that it’s necessary to supplement with calcium, magnesium, B12, B6, and folic acid to prevent or even reduce osteoporosis. Not only do these supplements help you with osteoporosis, but they also will reduce the plaque buildup in your artery walls.



Thanks to Rudy Silva for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Calcium Vitamin D Supplement

Many people experience bone loss. Some of the reasons include hormonal changes, aging, and inadequate supplement intake. Since we can’t avoid the process of aging, is there anything we can do to slow the progression of bone thinning? The answer is yes. With certain weight bearing exercises we can preserve our bone health and bone density.

The best weight bearing exercises are the ones that place stress on our bones. Bones adapt to stress that we put on them and just like any other muscle, by exercising your bones you make them stronger. Some of the best exercises include tai chi, yoga and brisk walking. Tai chi is very popular because it is not that strenuous on weakened bones. This particular exercise incorporates slow, graceful moves in order to build bone and coordination. It has been speculated that tai chi could slow down bone loss in premenopausal women. One study concluded that women who committed themselves to 45 minutes of this exercise (five days a week) slowed down their bone loss by three and a half times.

Another great bone strengthening exercise is yoga. This particular fitness regimen has the power to increase bone mineral density in a woman’s spine. And lastly, brisk walking offers many bone strengthening benefits. Brisk walking is one of the most popular exercises because it does not require costly gym memberships. Many women try to encourage at least one of their friends to join them, this way the fitness routine becomes more of a social time instead of a strenuous activity. Certain studies show that brisk walking for four hours a week can lower the chances of developing hip fractures. So if you want to preserve your bone health, try to incorporate one of these exercises into your daily routine.



Thanks to Lauren B. Wallace for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

How To Increase Bone Density

If your doctor says your bone density is degenerating or that you have osteoporosis, what can you do? Most likely your doctor will want to put you on drugs. Since most drugs have real nasty side effects, after long-term use, you may want to look for a natural alternative.

First of all, you need to make sure that you are taking a good calcium and magnesium supplement, for reducing osteoporosis. For women, I recommend, up to 1200 mg to 1600 mg of calcium per day and about 600 mg to 800 mg of magnesium. For men, use around 200 mg less than women.

Since calcium is a difficult mineral to absorb, in your intestinal tract, taking magnesium improves your ability to absorb it. Using an ionic form of calcium also improves your changes of absorbing it.

Vitamin B12 reduces osteoporosis

There is one other nutrient that you should also take to increase your absorption of calcium. In a clinical study made at the University of California, they found that women who had the highest levels of vitamin B12 compared to the ones that had the lowest levels had a significant decrease in bone loss and bone fractures - reduced osteoporosis.

In another study done by Tufts University, they again found that in 2,500 men and women that high levels of vitamin B12 reduced their chances of getting osteoporosis.

Homocysteine

In previous newsletters, I had written about more benefits of Vitamin B12, B6, and folic acid. These B vitamins are essential for reducing your homocysteine levels. Remember that high homocysteine levels and unchecked homocysteine levels in your blood lead to plaque buildup in blood vessels. Plaque build up in your blood vessels is probably the most serious condition that you will have to face as you age. Plaque buildup in the blood vessels is the major cause of cardiovascular disease.

Celiac Disease encourages osteoporosis

In another article, I have also written about celiac disease. More than 1.5 million people have this disease and many don’t know it. It is a disease where grains (gluten) have destroyed the small intestines ability to absorb nutrients.

To make your Vitamin B12 absorption worse, you produce less intrinsic factor as you age. Intrinsic factor is created in the stomach, which helps you adsorb more Vitamin B12.

Clinical studies have been shown that those with severe celiac disease also have severe osteoporosis.

Pharmaceuticals block calcium and encourage osteoporosis

Pharmaceuticals of various kinds, especially acid blocker, can also prevent you from properly absorbing Vitamin B12. So keep this in mind as you use pharmaceuticals and look for ways to reduce their use by using natural remedies.

So now you can see that it’s necessary to supplement with calcium, magnesium, B12, B6, and folic acid to prevent or even reduce osteoporosis. Not only do these supplements help you with osteoporosis, but they also reduce plaque buildup in your artery walls.



Thanks to Rudy Silva for contributing this article to our Osteoporosis blog:

Osteoporosis Spine Surgery