I used to work with a client who had osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. She asked me for my advice on building healthy bones. Of course, the best way to do that is with weight-bearing exercise. That's why she came to me.
Diet is another good way to build strong bones, but medications such as Fosamax Boniva probably aren't. Users report everything from bone and join pain, destruction of the jaw bone, esophageal reflux, and spontaneous fracture of the bone. If you thought the brakes on a Toyota were dangerous, then you haven't been taking these drugs.
Fortunately she wasn't taking these medications. Instead, she was talking 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). I told her to get at least 2000 IU. I take 4000 IU per day, but I'll take less during the summer when there's more sunlight.
If you're going to get calcium in your diet, then skip the dairy. Dairy can actually leach calcium from your bones. It's no wonder that this country has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. Most people in this world lack the enzyme to digest milk so clearly it's not an essential food. If you're trying to avoid dairy, then watch out for whey and casein, two cow-milk proteins. If you have to eat dairy, then get organic and make sure the quality is good. Plant-based milks are fortified with calcium: soy milk, rice, oat
If you're worried about osteoporosis, get 1,200 mg of calcium daily. Good sources of calcium include chard, spinach, broccoli, beans, figs, edamame, and almonds.
What's not known is that vitamin K is also important. It increases bone density and reduces the risk of fracture. I recommend supplementing with 50-100 mcg of k2. You can also get k in miso, a fermented source of soy.
Like always, avoid processed foods, trans fats, and high amounts of meat. Meat contains arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that's inflammatory. Exercise to strengthen bones. Take an antioxidant supplement to reduce COX-2, a enzyme that's a major source of inflammation. Like I said in my post about spices, add tumeric and ginger to your diet, as they have anti-inflammatory effects. Of course, take your fish oil to reduce inflammation.
A good combination of exercise, a clean diet, fish oil, no unnecessary medications, and supplements will manage the pain of osteoarthritis.
Keep those bones strong, especially if you don't walk or run a lot.
Kevin
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You might explicitly note that the 1200 mg of calcium daily needs to be taken in divided doses, if using supplements, as the body cannot absorb more than 600 mg at a time. Also, that total is to much for adult men and can lead to prostate problems. The recommended dose for men is 600 mg.
ReplyDeleteI heard a very interesting radio show a couple of weeks ago that suggests that our osteoporosis problem in this country is more a result of eating too much protein than not getting enough calcium. A lot of the foods we can buy are "fortified" with calcium and vitamin D, but the long term use of both doesn't really seem to help much. The rest of the mineral constellation is equally important and the best way to get all of them is by eating lots of fruits and vegetables and minimizing animal protein. The reasoning behind this is that protein increases the acidity level inside the body, contributing disproportionately to bone loss. The inside of the body is supposed to be alkaline (higher pH), while the outside, i.e., the skin, should be more acidic. Interestingly, eating foods we normally consider "acidic" (like citrus) doesn't necessarily make the system more acidic. It all depends on how a specific kind of food is metabolized.
All very interesting. No matter what the health topic, it always comes back to eating fruits and vegetables and minimizing animal-based proteins. So simple in concept and yet so hard for most people to do.