THE RECIPE FOR GOOD, STRONG BONES

(Originally published in Sarasota's Natural Awakenings magazin May 2011) 

               
                Bones are so much more than calcium. American women are taking too much calcium and creating more problems (like hypertension) than they solve.  The U.S. is among the 4 top nations of calcium and yet one of four nations with the highest fracture rate. Go figure. Calcium alone can’t be the answer to building strong bones! 
             The recipe for making good strong bone starts with protein.  The matrix or internal grid of the bone looks a lot like a prom dress crinoline crushed into a paper towel tube. That interlocking network, highest in the amino acid glycine, allows the minerals to be deposited with the glue of collagen protein.  That’s what the calcium, magnesium, boron and other minerals bind onto: the matrix.  Low protein diets do as much damage to bone integrity; as too high protein diets do, but for a different reason. High protein diets one too acidic and this leech bone minerals.

                Bones foundational matrix is made of the protein collagen the same as your skin, teeth, blood vessels, eye and heart.  Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein of the thousands of different proteins in the body.  These strong, white fibers of collagen are stronger than steel wire of the same weight.  Yet you can’t make collagen without Vitamin C.  It does matter if the C comes from pills or pineapple, citrus, peppers, cabbage or strawberries. The study from the Journal of Epidemiology showed that women who took supplemental vitamin C, 500-1000mg/day, had heavier bones than women who just got their “C” from food.  An excellent multi may have all the extra C you need.

                After protein and vitamin C comes another player in the bone matrix:  choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid.  “What!” you say. It is the activated form of silica found in all green leafy vegies from lettuce to beets, but best from a supplement.  Bones require both vertical and horizontal stress resistance.  Walking, standing and lifting all use your bones’ vertical strength.  Horizontal strength of bones is improved with this highly absorbable form of silicon. That’s why you’ve likely heard stories about how the bone drug FOSAMAX does not protect against breaks in the thigh as a result of lateral trauma or strike.   The magic of ch-OSA is that it also improves hair, skin and nails. Less wrinkles, better nails, thicker hair AND stronger bones. Sounds good.

                Never forget the role of the Sunshine Vitamin “D” in bone health.  Get your level checked next time you get blood work. The test is 25-OH-Vitamin D and you want your results to be over 50.  Few women, even Floridian sun bathers, need less than 2,000-4,000iu daily. Not only will it benefit your bones, it will cut women’s risk of breast cancer in HALF! 

                Now when we talk about minerals like calcium, magnesium and boron, it’s done so in light of the acknowledgement that bones are a “soup” of ingredients, not just minerals.  The worst of the calcium is carbonate (only 40% calcium) which may be malabsorbed in those with poor digestion and can cause gas, but it’s real cheap.  The only complete bone food is microcrystalline hydroxyapatite complex (MCHC) derived from bone and containing much greater nourishment that calcium offers alone.  Also present in MCHC are magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese and more. Studies demonstrate increase in bone density at 1,100mg of MCHC daily in divided doses.

                Bone is a dynamic tissue that is constantly breaking down and reforming.  Hard bone is 80% of the skeleton.  The soft spongy bone is the internal framework that makes up 20% of bone density.  That spongy bone allows flexibility, acting like a shock absorber for mechanical stress.  Collagen is the mortar that binds minerals together.  Just like bricks (MCHC) lay atop the mortar (collagen) so bone is built in a process called mineralization, bricks then mortar, more bricks, more mortar, etc.

                The dangers of treating the brittle bone conditions, known as osteoporosis, with drugs is huge. First, there are no long term studies on the safety or efficacy of bisphosphonate drugs, the main category of treatment. Bisphophonates, like Fosamax, work by poisoning and killing the bone remodeling cells called osteoclasts. These cells are partnered with osteoblasts that rebuild bone. Ironically, osteoclasts stimulate osteoblasts. So eventually the abnormally altered bone metabolism kills the bone building cells, too.

                New studies link the action of bisphosphonates (which includes Actonel, Bonia, Didronel, Reclast and Fosamax) with increased microfractures, bone death of the jaw and, most recently, increases in esophageal cancer. Skin reactions, muscle spasms, gastric inflammation, kidney failure and ocular damage have all been reported as side effects. Arthritis and anemia are reported in up to 9% of Reclast users. Evidence published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows three times more risk of atrial fibrillation and thus, risk of stroke in users of Fosamax, Reclast, or Zometa, an intravenous osteoporosis drug.

                It should also be noted that building great bone happens in the teens and twenties. So every dark colored soda pop weakens future bones. In the last century, it was common that kids got a glass of milk at every meal, never soda. Perhaps this is a habit that could use a comeback in the homes of the readers with children.

                We take our bones for granted thinking they are just a frame to hang our bodies on.  But they are not a lifeless Halloween skeleton.  Bones are a dynamic living system important to every other system in the body most especially blood building and immunity. Use of the nutrients the bones need for good health will help assure the future of your bones.