Osteoporosis is a major cause of suffering and disability among the elderly (and even among us 40-60 year olds!). The progressive thinning of the bones that occurs with aging causes millions of women to suffer painful disfiguring fractures, sometimes after only minimal physical trauma. Hip fractures are a common reason that elderly individuals end up in nursing homes and are an indirect cause of death for hundreds of thousands of people each year. My own mother suffered a horrible last few years and recently lost her fight this past Christmas. Fractures of one or more vertebrae in the spinal column turn previously tall, robust, and healthy women into “little old ladies”: twisted, frail and in pain.
Conventional medical opinion is that osteoporosis is a relentless process that cannot be reversed and that the best we can hope for is to slow down the rate of bone loss. So women do things that are supposed to help, while hoping for the best. They faithfully take calcium supplements, do some aerobic exercise, and agonize over whether the benefits of taking estrogen alone are worth the risks.
Despite these preventive measures, at least 1.2 million women suffer fractures each year as a direct result of osteoporosis. To make matters worse, the number of osteoporotic fractures seems to be increasing. More than twice as many major fractures occur now, compared with 30 years ago, and this difference cannot be explained by the aging of the population. Clearly, there is something wrong with our bone health, something that the standard medical profession has not been able to do much about. And the bombardment of our female bodies with more and more calcium just isn’t doing the trick… bones are deteriorating faster than we can prevent the loss or fix them. In fact, too much calcium can build-up in your body and CAUSE bone loss indirectly!
The nutritional approach, which makes use of dietary modifications and supplementation with vitamins, minerals, natural hormones, herbs and other naturally occurring substances, is successful against a wide range of conditions including fatigue, depression, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, migraines, skin disorders, prostate enlargement, menstrual difficulties, recurrent infections, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, etc. There is much more to osteoporosis treatment than calcium, estrogen and exercise. During the past 10 years, the number of published medical articles supporting that point of view has increased dramatically. However, virtually none of this information has made it into the standard textbooks or review articles on osteoporosis and none of it was explored by the media.
THREE MAIN POINTS
First, is the idea that certain vitamins and minerals besides calcium play an important role in maintaining bone mass and preventing osteoporosis. Deficiencies of these nutrients are probably widespread among Americans. Either because of the massive pollution of our food, water and air has increased our requirements for these nutrients or because of our typical processed diet that is depleted of many vitamins and minerals. Whatever the reason, there is now evidence that supplements with appropriate vitamins and minerals in addition to calcium is another key weapon in the battle against osteoporosis.
Second, estrogen is not the only hormone that has an important influence on the health of bones. Indeed, it may not even be the most significant hormone where osteoporosis is concerned. At least two other natural hormones produced by the ovaries, Progesterone and DHEA, have a major influence on bone metabolism. An appropriate combination of hormones is the KEY! In clinical trials, progesterone was actually found to help REBUILD lost bone!
Third, growing evidence suggests that pollution of our environment and contamination of food - particularly with heavy metals such as aluminum, cadmium, lead and tin — contributes to the development of osteoporosis. Even food additives and some prescription medications may also play a role.
The ONLY way to see accurately what is going on in YOUR body is through proper testing… Saliva hormone testing and Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis will tell you EXACTLY what is needed and wanted by your body to get it balanced. We are constantly researching this particular malady: Osteoporosis, and apply the latest research to YOU to assist you the best. Please call our offices NOW for assistance. Every day is possibly another weaker bone!