If you’re a female over 30, there’s some good news and bad news about your bone health. First the bad news: Sometime in the first few decades of life, bones reach their peak mass and strength, and from there, naturally begin to decline. Instead of taking up calcium and other minerals to build themselves up, as they do in earlier years, bones now begin let go of those important minerals faster than they can be replenished. Menopause only speeds the rate of bone loss. By age 50, one in four Canadian women will have osteoporosis, or “po- rous,” brittle bones. By age 70, many will have lost up to 50% of their peak bone mass. Now for the good news: While some degree of bone loss is inevitable, you do have opportunities to take control over its rate and severity, and ultimately, how dramatically it will affect your life. Osteoporosis is preventable for the vast majority of women, and may be stabilized and even improved for those already diagnosed. Research indicates that the right lifestyle and nutrition choices can make a profound difference in the outcome of your bone health – but early action is vital to avoid the pitfalls of osteoporosis. As Dr. Robert Arking notes in e Biology of Aging, “e state of our bones is a good reflection of the manner in which we have lived and will live.” Critical Mass Studies show that people with higher bone density at that critical peak period have far fewer fractures later in life compared to those with lower peak bone mass. If you’re still young enough to add to that peak bone mass and you’re reading this, you’re in the minori- ty. Most women don’t even think about bone health until they near menopause, at which time they may have a lot of catching up to do depending on their past lifestyle and nutrition choices. One of the most important of these is regular exercise. Research clearly indicates that fitness is a major determinant of bone density, and that just one hour of moderate physical activity, three times per week, can help prevent bone loss and even increase bone mass in postmenopaus- al women. Nutrition is the other major factor in preserving bone health, through both food and dietary supplement choices. For pre- or post-menopausal women, where bone density is already in decline, the effect of poor dietary choices can be devastating, and literally de- bilitating. Bone Basics Before we list the top nutritional bone-builders, it’s important to understand more about bones. Bones are vital structural organs formed of both living tissue and inorganic minerals within a “bone matrix.” e organic tissue is primarily collagen, which gives bones their form and flexibility. e minerals stored in bone include calci- um, phosphorous, magnesium and manganese. ese minerals give bone strength and density, and are stored there for use in other bodily functions as needed. As strong and sturdy as they seem, bones are actually in a constant state of flux. In an ongoing process called “remodeling,” bones re- move and then add back about 7% of their entire mass every week! As mentioned, the bone remodeling we do in our first few decades is very efficient; that is, the rate of new bone formation meets or ex- ceeds the rate of bone breakdown. However, this efficiency does not last. Eventually the amount of material broken down in bone remod- eling exceeds the amount being replaced. BONE The By David J. Wirth, MA How to avoid the pitfall of osteoporosis BALANCE
Transcript
If you’re a female over 30, there’s some good news and bad news about your bone health. First the bad news: Sometime in the first few decades of life, bones reach their peak mass and strength, and from there, naturally begin to decline. Instead of taking up calcium and other minerals to build themselves up, as they do in earlier years, bones now begin let go of those important minerals faster than they can be replenished. Menopause only speeds the rate of bone loss. By age 50, one in four Canadian women will have osteoporosis, or “po-rous,” brittle bones. By age 70, many will have lost up to 50% of their peak bone mass. Now for the good news: While some degree of bone loss is inevitable, you do have opportunities to take control over its rate and severity, and ultimately, how dramatically it will affect your life. Osteoporosis is preventable for the vast majority of women, and may be stabilized and even improved for those already diagnosed. Research indicates that the right lifestyle and nutrition choices can make a profound difference in the outcome of your bone health – but early action is vital to avoid the pitfalls of osteoporosis. As Dr. Robert Arking notes in The Biology of Aging, “The state of our bones is a good reflection of the manner in which we have lived and will live.”
Critical MassStudies show that people with higher bone density at that critical peak period have far fewer fractures later in life compared to those with lower peak bone mass. If you’re still young enough to add to that peak bone mass and you’re reading this, you’re in the minori-ty. Most women don’t even think about bone health until they near menopause, at which time they may have a lot of catching up to do
depending on their past lifestyle and nutrition choices. One of the most important of these is regular exercise. Research clearly indicates that fitness is a major determinant of bone density, and that just one hour of moderate physical activity, three times per week, can help prevent bone loss and even increase bone mass in postmenopaus-al women. Nutrition is the other major factor in preserving bone health, through both food and dietary supplement choices. For pre- or post-menopausal women, where bone density is already in decline, the effect of poor dietary choices can be devastating, and literally de-bilitating.
Bone BasicsBefore we list the top nutritional bone-builders, it’s important to understand more about bones. Bones are vital structural organs formed of both living tissue and inorganic minerals within a “bone matrix.” The organic tissue is primarily collagen, which gives bones their form and flexibility. The minerals stored in bone include calci-um, phosphorous, magnesium and manganese. These minerals give bone strength and density, and are stored there for use in other bodily functions as needed.As strong and sturdy as they seem, bones are actually in a constant state of flux. In an ongoing process called “remodeling,” bones re-move and then add back about 7% of their entire mass every week! As mentioned, the bone remodeling we do in our first few decades is very efficient; that is, the rate of new bone formation meets or ex-ceeds the rate of bone breakdown. However, this efficiency does not last. Eventually the amount of material broken down in bone remod-eling exceeds the amount being replaced.
BONE The
By David J. Wirth, MA
How to avoid the pitfall ofosteoporosis
BALANCE
COLLAGENStronger than steel, collagen is the “fabric” of all connective tissue in the body. We hear about how important collagen is for smooth, healthy skin and even for flexible joint cartilage, but very little about its vital role in bone health. In fact, supplying collagen to aging bones appears to be as important as getting adequate minerals. Scientists from the University of Texas found that age, collagen status and bone brittleness are interrelated. Looking at bones from baboons which died from natural causes, the researchers found a 15% increase in damaged collagen in the bones of the oldest baboons, compared to the youngest, which corresponded to a 40% decrease in bone toughness. “We tend to think of bone in terms of stiff ceramic-like structure,” said researcher C. Mauli Agrawal. “But bone is a mixture of mineral and collagen. The ability of bone to sustain a sudden blow could be related as much to the protein content of the bone as to the amount of bone mineral.”Our own ability to produce and retain collagen also decreases as we age. This collagen loss is measurable because its breakdown produces a protein marker that is excreted in the urine. Studies show this excre-tion doubles after menopause and that levels are higher yet in those with osteoporosis. Supplementing with collagen is vital for bone health. Research ver-ifies that liquid oral collagen supplementation can slow and stabi-lize the rate of collagen breakdown in humans, and animal research suggests that administering collagen may also improve bone mineral density. Other ways to help offset collagen loss include increasing the intake of vitamin C and silica (silicon), both of which are required for the body to keep producing its own collagen.
CALCIUMCalcium is another key bone nutrient. Good sources of calcium in the diet include sea vegetables, tofu, kale, spinach and other greens, which also contain bone-friendly vitamin K. Many people think of dairy foods as a preferred calcium source, but this belief is disputed. In fact, hip fractures occur at higher rates in countries with the high-est dairy consumption. Data from a study on almost 80,000 women indicated that those who drank two or more glasses of milk per day had almost two times the rate of hip fracture compared to women who seldom drank milk. Most people obtain from 500 to 700 mg of calcium per day from a typical diet and absorb 25 to 50% of it – not enough to offset bone loss. To preserve bone mass, a daily calcium supplement is a must, and the type of calcium is important. More and more nutrition experts suggest avoiding calcium carbonate due to low absorption, especially among those with low stomach acid –
which includes many postmenopausal women. Chelated forms of calcium, such as citrate, gluconate and malate, have nearly double the absorption rates as carbonate and are preferred in supplements. By far the most well known and revered bone nutrient, calcium lives up to its glowing reputation. Supplementing with calcium can slow bone loss from 30 to 50% and significantly reduce the risk of hip fractures. In a recent study, calcium supplements reduced the risk of all fractures by an astounding 72%; however, no difference in frac-ture rates was observed once supplementation stopped! The finding underlines the importance of finding a quality bone support supple-ment and sticking with it, day after day.
MAGNESIUMThis multi-faceted mineral is often paired with calcium because it regulates calcium metabolism and converts dietary vitamin D to the active form necessary for calcium absorption. Many of us are defi-cient in magnesium, mostly due to over-processing of food. Those with osteoporosis have lower levels of magnesium in their bones, and exhibit other signs of deficiency of this important mineral. Common signs of low magnesium include fatigue, twitching eyelids, muscle spasms, irritability and insomnia.
Osteoporosis: The Silent KillerOsteoporosis occurs when bones lose too much of their collagen matrix and supportive minerals, too quickly. They become porous, less dense, more fragile, and increasingly prone to fractures. The decline in bone health is usually most pronounced in the hips, spine, ribs and wrist. Oste-oporosis is often referred to as a “silent disease” because most sufferers are unaware they have a problem until a fracture occurs.
While a bone fracture may not sound like a terribly serious health problem, the truth of the matter is startling. Many are surprised to learn that more women die each year as a result of osteoporotic fractures than from breast and ovarian cancer combined. It is not the fractures (which are often in the hip) that are deadly in themselves; rather, the serious complications that often follow fractures frequently lead to death. Yet osteoporosis is a preventable disease in the vast majority of cases, if the right steps are taken. Here are some of the top nutrients to help you on the path to optimal bone health and beyond to fracture-free golden years.
• In 2005–2006, there were 28,200 hospitalizations for hip fractures across Canada.
• The majority (88%) involve patients aged 65 or older.
• 80% of hip fractures are osteoporosis-related.
• 20% of hip fractures result in death. Of those cases that
survive, 50% will result in disability.
• Over 30% of all women and 17% of all men will fracture a hip in their lifetime.
Sources: Osteoporosis Canada; Canadian Institute for Health Information; Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
Hip Fractures by the numbers
• In 2005–2006, there were 28,200 hospitalizations for hip fractures across Canada.
• The majority (88%) involve patients aged 65 or older.
• 80% of hip fractures are osteoporosis-related.
• 20% of hip fractures result in death. Of those cases that
survive, 50% will result in disability.
• Over 30% of all women and 17% of all men will fracture a hip in their lifetime.
Sources: Osteoporosis Canada; Canadian Institute for Health Information; Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
Some experts believe that magnesium is just as important as calcium in maintaining bone health. Indeed, studies indicate gains in bone health in both younger and older people. Researchers reported that magnesium supplements boosted bone mineral content in girls aged 8 to 14 years who had low dietary intakes of magnesium. In another study involving 2,000 elderly volunteers, researchers found that for every 100 mg per day increase in magnesium intake, there was a 2% increase in whole-body bone mineral density.
VITAMIN DVitamin D is necessary to get calcium absorbed into the small intes-tine and through to the bloodstream. It also inhibits inflammatory immune factors that can pull calcium from bones. Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because it is produced naturally when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Research suggests, however, that even people who receive abundant sun exposure can still have low levels of vitamin D. Seniors who spend most days indoors and those with darker skin pigmentation are also likely to have low vitamin D levels, which hampers calcium absorption and puts bones at risk. Studies show that even taking vitamin D alone can reduce the annual rate of hip fracture by more than half and improve bone density. Re-sults from studies in which people take a combination of calcium and vitamin D are even better. Vitamin D-rich foods include cold-water fish (mackerel, salmon, herring), egg yolk and green, leafy vegetables.
SILICONAs noted, silicon is necessary for the production of collagen in the body, including the bones. Researchers have found that enriching tissue samples with silicon increases collagen production by more than 200%. However, dietary levels of this mineral have declined in the last decades. Worse yet, our serum silicon levels naturally decline as we age. Without adequate silicon, an enzyme involved in the for-mation of collagen cannot function properly. Supplementing with silicon (or silica) can help make up for what is lacking in our foods and declining in our bodies in order to maintain bone collagen. Re-searchers from the UK recently looked for a link between silicon and bone mineral density in about 2,800 people. They found large differ-ences in density between the highest and lowest intakes of silica. The researchers believe that silica helps trigger the deposition of calcium and phosphate, reducing the number of bone-destroying cells and in-creasing the number of bone-building cells.
BORONFound in highest concentrations in our bones, boron is a trace min-eral that acts as a kind of coordinator for the other major bone-build-ers, including calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. It appears to help soften the effects of deficiencies in both vitamin D and magnesium while decreasing the amount of calcium and magnesium lost in urine. Some food sources of boron include avocados, cherries, grapes, al-monds, peanuts, hazelnuts, scallops, mussels and clams.
ZINCResearch shows zinc stimulates bone formation and inhibits bone loss. Low zinc levels are linked to weak bones, especially if the de-ficiency occurs during growth spurts such as in adolescence. Inter-estingly, this mineral does double duty for bone health: it activates bone cells to properly deposit calcium, while also stimulating the pro-duction and renewal of collagen. Food sources of zinc include meat, chicken, beans, nuts and oysters.
For women over 30, dealing with declining bone mass is a bit like rid-ing a bike with a punctured tire. You can’t get a new tire, but as long as you patch it carefully and keep it pumped up with enough air, that bike will still get you where you need to go. But ignore that persistent leak for too long and you may end up stuck on the side of the road – or even worse, sprawled in the ditch after a hard fall!
To avoid or address osteoporosis, take the time now to assess your diet and exercise habits in terms of how they may help or hinder your bone health. Seek out some or all of the bone-building supplements listed, look for quality and convenience, and commit to a daily, long-term supplement plan to maximize bone mass and enjoy strength and mobility as you age.
Available exclusively at fine health food retailers.
The information in this flyer is intended strictly for research and educational purposes, not as a diagnostic tool or a prescription for any ailment.
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