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MENOPAUSE AND OSTEOPOROSIS (2)
Bone health is a reflection of total health
In the past five years, there has been a growing appreciation that low bone mineral density is not exclusively a calcium-deficiency disease. Calcium intake is only one of the many factors that affect bone mineral density. Others include hormonal status, age, weight, physical activity, and efficiency of calcium absorption. Exercise and nutrition are recognized as important adjuncts as well.
Diet, as well as intestinal and renal function will influence mineral ion homeostasis needed to maintain the skeleton. The coupling of bone formation and resorption are also modified by external physical forces such as those generated by body weight and exercise. Changes in the acid-base balance of the body is a tremendous contributor to bone loss. Improving the breakdown, digestion and assimilation of nutrients is critical to calcium absorption. Therefore, calcium deficiency is only one of many contributing factors to osteoporosis; a better description of osteoporosis would perhaps be a mineral imbalance.
Nutritional Advances in Osteoporosis
The role of nutrition, particularly calcium nutrition, in the mineralization of bone in adolescents and preadolescents has been minimally investigated for the past 20 years; recently, however, that trend has been reversed. Researchers from Belgium concluded none of the currently available medications for osteoporosis have demonstrated the ability to fully prevent the occurrence of the new vertebral or peripheral osteoporotic fracture once the disease is established.
Patients should also know that simply increasing calcium intake does not guarantee strong bones. Inefficient calcium absorption can be a problem. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that almost half (40%) of the postmenopausal women cannot absorb calcium carbonate (for example, TUMS, Rolaids) well. The absorption rate is a mere 4%! The reason for this is their stomachs do not have enough hydrochloric acid to dissolve the calcium carbonate
**Levels of calcium intake greater than those recommended herein could cause urinary tract stones in susceptible people. Therefore, anyone with a history of kidney stones should only undertake calcium supplementation with the guidance of a physician.
No nutrient functions in isolation. Healthy bone nutrients include vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K. It is essential to supplement these nutrients with calcium for optimal benefits. Vitamin D is crucial because it is so intimately involved in the absorption of calcium. Other nutrients which also may contribute to bone health include, vitamin B-12, B-6, C, D, E, copper, phosphorus, silica, boron, and DHEA.
Another bone nutrient which is of great interest to bone specialists today is MCHC. MCHC (Microcrystalline hydroxyapatite calcium) is an extract from whole bone. It contains a complex of important trace elements/components found in bone including calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. What makes MCHC so unique is that the minerals in the complex naturally occur in the proper ratio that they actually exist in bone. It also features a lattice shaped, crystalline structure which surrounds proteins such as collagen- the vital connective tissue holding us together.
As per David Hoffman, Herbalist, herbal and nutritional treatments cannot eliminate osteoporosis but it can slow down the process. Nutrient rich botanicals such as Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Urtica dioica (nettles) and Equisetum arvense (horsetail) can be taken for long term treatment of osteoporosis. A time tested herbal combination used to facilitate the uptake of calcium salt and to fortify broken bones combines the mineral ash of alfalfa leaf, nettle leaf, concentrated extract of sea vegetation and marine algae (specifically kelp and bladderwrack).
- Horsetail contains the essential trace mineral, silica, which is vital to proper formation and repair of bone, cartilage, skin and connective tissues of all kinds.
- Silica is an integral part of collagen and the protein complexes. It is crucial to the formation of bones and cartilage matrices.
- Alfalfa contains phytoestrogens and its action is to restore the strength and tone of the digestive, ovarian and uterine tissue. It is one of the most potent vitamin-containing herbs known and is very high in mineral protein, phosphorus, iron, potassium, chlorine, sodium, silicon, and magnesium. It also contains minute quantities of trace elements. The isoflavones in alfalfa are estrogenic. Calcium, phosphorus and iron work in harmony to strengthen the bones. The reason alfalfa is so rich in all these nutrients is because in its early stages of growth, the young roots have been known to penetrate as far down as 50 to 66 feet, with an average depth of 38 feet. Because these roots go down so far, they are able to mine out the precious resources located in the sub-strata levels of the earth far beneath. The real secret of alfalfa lays in eight digestive enzymes that permit the stomach to process food better, thereby allowing greater nutritional assimilation.
For women in menopause, phytoestrogens offer valuable adjunctive therapy to support the female reproductive tract. Most of the identified phytoestrogen constituents consist of sterols, coumestans and isoflavones. Coumestans have a high affinity for the human estrogen receptor and are 30 times more potent than isoflavones. Phytoestrogens compete with estradiol for estrogen binding sites in the reproductive tracts of animals in vivo and in human breast cancer cells in vitro. The most potent phytoestrogens are phytosterols. Common foods which contain phytosterols are sesame, soy, chestnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. They are most common in whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Plant oils are also high in phytosterols.
Cimicifuga (Black Cohosh) is invaluable in many aspects of the female hormonal balance of estrogens and osteoporosis. It has been shown to suppress leutinizing hormone surges associated with menopausal hot flashes. Research has also shown that Black Cohosh has an inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo on bone resorption in ovariectomized rats as well as rats on low calcium diets. It is specific for headaches in the late luteal phase which are associated with lower estrogen levels. Its constituents compete in vitro with 17-betaestradiol for estrogen receptor binding sites. Numerous other plants including wild yam, licorice, False Unicorn root, and ginseng have also been shown to be effective at relieving the symptoms of menopause.
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