Can Your Lifestyle Be Causing Bone Loss?
By Deanna M. Cherrone, MD
ur bones have the job of providing a solid frame to support our organs, muscles and skin. Although we think of adult bones as being hard and un- changing, regardless of age, bones are in fact living, dynamic tissue constantly functioning and changing. Bones house minerals that the body needs for metabolic processes to keep it healthy and functioning normally. Bones can weaken and be at risk of fracture when the balance of minerals flowing in and out of bones is disturbed and too many miner- als are released without being replenished. When this equilibrium is upset, bone loss can occur resulting in osteopenia or osteo- porosis.
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Calcium is the mineral that is most often associated with bone health. It is the most abundant mineral in our body. Calcium is vi- tal for the proper functioning of our muscles, nerves and heart. It is also important for blood clotting and a variety of enzymatic processes that occur in the body at the cellu- lar level. Although it is a common belief that calcium is needed for bones to stay hard and strong, experiments have shown that when calcium is removed from bone, bone actu- ally becomes extremely flexible and twisted like a pretzel without breaking. Healthy bone also needs minerals such as phospho- rus, magnesium, sodium and potassium. Our skeleton is replaced approximately
every ten years and bone density peaks at about age thirty. If skeletal bones can outlast the body for thousands of years after death, why is it that our bones deteriorate so rapidly while we are living? Could the food we eat be contributing to problems with bone health? An interesting fact to consider is that skeletal bones can last for thousands of years in neutral pH soil or sand, but will decom- pose much more rapidly if left in acidic soil.
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It is noteworthy that osteoporosis (po- rous bone) is found much more commonly in city folk verses those that live in the coun- try. It is also found to be more prevalent in countries that have the highest dairy intake. Why is this? osteoporosis is also a fairly “new” dis-ease. Could it be that some bone loss is a normal part of aging that is now looked upon as a dis-ease so that we might treat it with medication? If we look at our lifestyle including the foods we are eating we may find the answers to some of these questions. There are a number of dietary and life- style factors that are associated with osteo- porosis. They include: gluten and dairy; poor vegetable intake (especially green vegeta- bles); poor quality protein and fat intake; in- adequate hydration; sedentary lifestyle or too much exercise; stress; hormone imbalance; medication and over the counter medication use and exposure to environmental toxins. Gluten is the protein found in wheat,
barley, rye, spelt, triticale and kamut. Gluten can contribute to bone loss in a variety of ways. For gluten sensitive or frank celiac patients the ingestion of gluten causes an inflammatory response at the intestinal border which results in a decreased ability to absorb nutrients including those impor- tant in bone health. Grains, generally, are also high in phytates. Phytates combine with minerals such as calcium and magnesium and the bond that forms cannot be broken during digestion. This restricts the absorp- tion of needed minerals which end up being “wasted” by the body. Casein (not whey) is the protein in dairy that seems to be most associated with health problems. There is also some cross reactivity with gluten such that the body will often respond to casein as it does to gluten
causing inflammation in the microvilli and decreased nutrient absorption. Most milk consumed in this country is either low fat or nonfat. The problem with removing the fat is that it upsets the balance of nutrients within milk and actually makes it more acidifying which leads to bone loss. Contrary to popu- lar belief, milk is not the perfect food. Milk from its mother is the perfect food for a calf to grow into a cow. For humans, organic, raw, unpasteurized, non-homogenized and cultured cow’s milk can have health benefits. When we examine the diets of native societies, most subsisted on a high percent- age of plant foods (not sprayed with pesti- cides) along with a small percentage of nutri- ent rich animal food (not factory farmed) and healthy fats. Because the SAD - Standard American Diet - is abundant in acidifying foods such as animal protein, sugar, grains and processed foods WITHOUT an adequate amount of fruit, vegetables and healthy fats to counterbalance the acidity, the body robs minerals from bone to balance blood acidity. The importance of plants as “bone” food cannot be underestimated. All we have to do is look at the animals with the largest bones such as elephants, giraffes and even some prehistoric dinosaurs with diets of only leafy greens.
Protein is also needed for healthy bone because is it essential for the formation of collagen which traps and holds mineral salts. Too little protein can raise the risk of bone fracture. But what kind and amount of protein is “right” for us? Vegetarians need to eat an abundance of vegetables with beans and nuts at each meal. Those who eat animal protein need plentiful amounts of vegetables, fruit and healthy fat for balance. Healthy fats are important in bone health because they are needed to transport
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