Calcium needs and Osteoporosis

I just got a great biochemistry lesson the other day about bone health and osteoporosis. I will spare you all the details, but the good news is there is an effective calcium supplement that will help increase bone density and a supplement for post menopausal women that will help in bone remodeling to prevent the weakening of bone. I will also tell you why medication like Fosamax and Boniva actually make the problem worse. (This should not come as a big surprise. I think we have all heard of drugs that were FDA approved only to be taken off the market years later because they proved to be dangerous or ineffective. Only by then it's too late for the people that had been taking them.)

Let me briefly and quickly tell you what happens as we age, and especially to women when they begin menopause. Our bones increase in density until about age 22. At this point bone density plateaus, and decreases slightly as we continue to age. (This is true for both men and women.) It is important to build good bone density and maintain it. This can be done through a healthy diet consisting of lots of veggies (especially leafy green vegetables), and weight-bearing exercise. Most of us are lacking in foods that provide enough calcium, and a supplement is highly recommended. Metagenics has a calcium supplement that consists of something called MCHC, which has been shown in controlled studies to increase bone density. Most calcium supplements on the market are not absorbed properly. Dairy is also not an ideal source of calcium. Our bodies do not absorb calcium very well from cow's milk. If osteoporosis runs in your family, you are small-framed, and/or you know you are not getting enough calcium, I would recommend a good calcium/MCHC supplement. If you test positive for low bone density, this is a must, whether you are pre or post-menopause.

Okay, so now the menopause issue complicates things. (Yes, another great thing these lovely hormones do for us women!) When women go through menopause (or if they have had a hysterectomy) it changes the way they remodel bone. So pre-menopause, the cells that build bone actually are produced more than the cells that break down bone. Post-menopause, this process flips. So our bodies produce more cells than break down bone than cells that build bone. It's easy to see how over time, this will weaken and thin the bone, as it is slowly being broken down. Ostera is a supplement that actually balances this process out, so our hormones don't cause our bodies to break down bone. So post-menopausal women should be taking Ostera, and if they already have bone thinning, they can also take the calcium/MCHC and it will re-build and strengthen bone.

Doesn't Fosamax and Boniva build bone? Well, they claim to. But this is how those medications work. They stop the cells that break down bone from maturing. So these cells indeed cannot do their work to break down the bone. But the pre-cursors to those cells are still made, and deposited in the bone. So basically a whole bunch of useless cells are being deposited in the bones, and even though they are being prevented from actively breaking down bone, they still weaken the bone just by being there and building up. These medications do nothing to rebuild bone. Dentists have figured this out, because their patients that are on these medications often have tooth and jaw fractures as the dentist is doing routine work on their mouths! I will not be surprised when these medications are taken off the market. But until then, unfortunately, doctors will still prescribe them and patients will still take them long-term, to their detriment. I would not personally ever take these medications, nor would I recommend that my family take them.

So there you have it. I do not generally like to use my blog to sell products, but this is an issue I get asked about a lot. I am confident in the quality and research that is behind Metagenics supplements, and would highly recommend them to patients who would benefit from a supplement. Please write or call me if you have any questions!