Bones :: Health and Disease :: Bones, Joints, and Muscles

> Health and Disease > Bones, Joints, and Muscles > osteoporosis

Bones
by author Lorna vanderhaeghe

Adults have been well-educated on the benefits of calcium and magnesium for bone health, specifically for the prevention of osteoporosis, a crippling bone disease that leads to bone destruction.

Most still don't realize that our bones provides more than the hard coat-hanger that supports and protects the other body organs and tissues. The components of bone are also the body's gatekeeper of calcium.

Calcium and magnesium are pivotal to hundreds of functions in the body, including hormone regulation. They keep nerve impulses flowing, muscles contracting and blood clotting. Even tiny deficiencies of calcium will cause anorexia, depression, vomiting and muscle cramps–like those leg cramps we experience in the middle of the night.

In Carl Germano's book, The Osteoporosis Solution, he states "that because of calcium's crucial role in the body's functions, the regulation of calcium levels in the blood is a highly specific task that is entrusted to the osteoclasts and osteoblasts of bone." He thinks of bone as a calcium bank. When the body needs calcium it withdraws what it needs from bones. You should make regular deposits of calcium through diet or calcium supplements. If you don't, your bone calcium store will become bankrupt and osteoporosis and some of the other conditions mentioned earlier will ensue.

Stress, over-exercising and inadequate nutrition all seriously deplete the body of calcium. When we are under stress, cortisol (our stress hormone) tells the immune system to release factors that cause calcium to be pulled from bone. Stress reduction is paramount to bone health.

Inadequate nutrition and eating too much sugar will also deplete calcium from bones. Calcium is essential to wellness. Eat plenty of dark green, leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, as they are very rich in calcium. There is no need to exercise excessively. Weight-bearing exercise and walking are excellent for bone health. To ensure that your calcium bank is full, take a calcium/magnesium supplement everyday.

Lorna Vanderhaeghe is a health journalist, former editor-in-chief of Healthy Living Guide and award-winning author of The Immune System Cure, published by Prentice Hall.

Source: alive #209, March 2000

Special Advertising Feature

The Bone Balance - Special Advertising Feature provided by Naka
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.

Bone Up on Bone Disease
In North America, osteoporosis continues to be the single most common bone disease, with 40 per cent of all white women developing it in their lifetime. Yet in several other countries throughout the world, almost no one develops it.

Bone Building 101
By the age of 50, the average Canadian woman has a 40 per cent chance of suffering at least one fracture caused by brittle bone.

Bones for Life
The word osteoporosis comes directly from Latin, meaning "porous bones." Not a desirable condition. Bones need to be dense and solid in order to support an active, healthy body. Porous bones are brittle, fragile, liable to break without warning, to shrink in size over time and create long-term pain and misery.

Battling Bone Loss
Yes, you can prevent bone loss! Contrary to popular belief, osteoporosis is not an unavoidable side-effect of menopause and aging. Bone is living tissue that continuously renews and regenerates itself. Old bone cells break down and new ones are built.

9 Myths Of Osteoporosis
Sally, a 51-year-old teacher, came to my office for the first time after she had seen her regular physician. "I am concerned about my bones," she explained.

The Battle for Your Bones
As more and more North Americans are affected by osteoporosis, the disease has received increased attention by media and medical researcher.

Strong Bones for Life
If you've been watching the news, you've probably seen the grim statistics on osteoporosis, a heartbreaking condition that forces more people into nursing homes than almost any other.

Anti-Aging Tips for Women
For decades, use of equine and synthetic hormones has been the standard treatment for common menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, depre.

Osteoporosis Prevention
The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, which had placed healthy post-menopausal women on long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT), was suddenly .

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a silent killer, a degenerative disease involving the slow degradation of bone mass and integrity. Nutrition is paramount, for it is from food that we acquire the nutrients necessary for building strong bones, maintaining them throughout the life cycle and preventing debilitating diseases.

Spring Into Your Autumn Years
People with a positive attitude toward aging can adjust very well when individual circumstances change. Their positive outlook allows them to adapt to the inevitable physical and biochemical changes of the body that are associated with the natural processes of aging. With a healthy outlook on the golden years, even unpredictable setbacks and disabilities can be managed successfully.

Stay Strong, Stay Young

Bone Health: Beyond Calcium
You probably don't think much about the health of your bones until you see an older woman making her way slowly down the street, stooped nearly in half, gingerly tapping her cane ahead of each step.

Good to the Bone
The Osteoporosis Society of Canada estimates 1.4 million Canadians suffer from osteoporosis, and more women die every year as a result of osteoporotic fractures than from breast cancer and ovarian cancer combined.

Alkalinity
Your brain and body are extremely sensitive to the slightest change in the pH level of your body's vital fluids. A pH of less than seven is considered acidic, and more than seven is considered alkaline.

Preventing Osteoporosis
While we think of a stooped-over old woman as symbolic of osteoporosis, this debilitating disease occurs over a lifetime. If either parent or any of your siblings have had an osteoporotic fracture, your risk for the disease is doubled, but that doesn't mean it's inevitable.

Breaking Bad Bone Habits
Preventing and treating osteoporosis involves more than simply taking a calcium supplement or having three servings of dairy per day. There are a number of risk factors that you can't do anything about. The other risk factors for osteoporosis, however, can be modified through diet and lifestyle changes to significantly reduce their impact.

Breathe Easier With Better Air

BMD Tests

Mediterranean Diet Good for Heart Disease and Cancer

More Than Minerals
We need certain minerals to build and maintain bones. Calcium is the headliner, of course, while magnesium takes second billing. Silicon, boron, and selenium help boost bone mineral density while zinc, copper, and manganese work in tandem with enzymes to manufacture bone tissue.

Bending Eastward
Until we break a bone, suffer from bone pain, or experience other bone issues, we may not spend much time thinking about the important structure that supports us every day. Yet the bone disease, osteoporosis - thinning of the bones - affects one in four women and one in eight men over age 50.

Lycopene & Bone Health
Osteoporosis is known as the silent disease. This metabolic bone disease occurs primarily in women over the age of 50 due to estrogen loss at menopause. It not only affects one in two women-it also affects one in four men.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis affects 1.4 million Canadians and is occurring at a younger age than ever before. Why? There is some preliminary evidence that one factor may lie in diet.

Mineral Ascorbates
Burgeoning rates of geriatric conditions such as osteoporosis have sparked an interest in mineral supplements and their absorption rates. But which mineral forms are best, and how do we get the most bang for our buck from mineral supplements?