FOREVER YOUNG
THE IMPORTANCE OF BONE HEALTH
When I started researching this chapter, I had no idea how radicalized I would become about healthy bones and their crucial function in all aspects of healthy aging and disease prevention. In fact, this is one of the most important chapters in this book because, as you will learn, healthy bones are the very foundation of our immune system, and until now, we did not have the most ideal strategies to ensure that we could prevent bone loss.
Bone formation—the acquisition of bone mineral density (BMD)— peaks between the ages of 20 and 30. After the age of 35, both men and women begin to lose bone mass unless they take action to prevent it. Unfortunately, at that age few of us are thinking about our health, our longevity, or anything in between. By the time we begin to think about our bones, we may have already suffered serious damage. It seems hard to believe that this can happen so early in our lives. Often our conception of age-related bone loss is that of a person of advanced age—seventies or eighties—bent under the burden of the dowager's hump.
You need to protect your bones from an early age. If you are in your twenties or thirties and reading this chapter, you can take active steps to prevent future problems. If you are older, take heart because there are exciting new strategies that can make a significant difference now.
Regular exercise is far and away the single most important action we can take to prevent and help reverse bone loss. Unfortunately, we are raising a generation of couch potatoes and computer/video jockeys who rarely exercise. If you happen to be a small Caucasian female with a penchant for dieting, the risk of bone loss is even greater. But there is good news. According to many studies, a high-intensity exercise program prevents bone loss in early postmenopausal women with low bone density.
The Weighting Game
As many studies affirm, weight-bearing exercises have an extremely beneficial effect on bone mass and bone density. The pressure exerted on the bones during this type of exercise stimulates the building of bone. Ideally, your exercise routines will be complex and will involve the total body; in this way you can achieve the greatest benefits.
A Step in the Right Direction
In conjunction with weight training, I recommend a thirty-minute brisk walk or jog every day. My colleague Harry Preuss, M.D., and I are firm believers in the use of pedometers to encourage an active lifestyle. A pedometer senses your body motion and counts your footsteps. If you are like me, you enjoy a challenge—and a pedometer motivates me to increase my movements. Many of us spend long hours in front of computers, and wearing the pedometer reminds us of just how sedentary our lives have become. If it is 10 a.m. and you glance at the pedometer and see that it is registering a meager 200 steps and your goal is 10,000 per day, it can help spur you into immediate action. I set a goal each day and am always delighted when I exceed it. You need to take 6,000 steps per day for overall good health and as many as 10,000 steps per day for weight loss. It is never too late to start an exercise program, and consistency is always the key. Walking is a great default exercise program in that you don't need a gym; the only equipment you need is a pair of good walking shoes, and, weather permitting, walking is something you can do 365 days a year.
(CHARLES ATLAS EXERCISES NEED NO OUTDOORS, GYM, OR MACHINES - HIS COURSE IS STILL AVAILABLE - LOOK HIM UP ON THE INTERNET - Keith Hunt)
Who Is at Risk?
According to information from the National Osteoporosis Foundation posted on the National Institute of Health's Web site (www.osteo.org), the following factors can put you at increased risk for osteoporosis:
History of fracture after age 50.
Current low bone mass.
History of fracture in a close relative.
Being female.
Being thin and/or having a small frame.
Advanced age (osteoporosis is a major public health threat
for 55 percent of people 50 years of age and older; the older
you are, the greater the risk).
A family history of osteoporosis.
Low lifetime calcium intake.
Vitamin D deficiency.
An inactive lifestyle.
For women only: estrogen deficiency as a result of menopause, especially early or surgically induced. Also, women who stop menstruating before menopause because of conditions such as anorexia or bulimia or because of excessive physical exercise are at greater risk.
For men only: low testosterone levels. For both men and women: use of certain medications to treat chronic medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, endocrine disorders (i.e., an underactive thyroid, which can be helped by coconut oil), seizure disorders, and gastrointestinal diseases may have side effects that can damage bone and lead to osteoporosis.
One class of drugs that has particularly damaging effects on the skeleton is glucocorticoids (a group of steroids that have metabolic and anti-inflammatory-effects). The following drugs can also cause bone loss:
Excessive thyroid hormones
Anticonvulsants
Antacids containing aluminum
These facts notwithstanding, the news is particularly grim for women. It is difficult to overstate the importance of BMD, which is often viewed as the "gold standard" for bone health. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, BMD is decreasing in women in the United States. In 2004, Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General predicted that by 2020 (a scant decade away) half of all American citizens older than 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass if no immediate action is taken. The report concluded that Americans' bone health is in jeopardy due to increasingly sedentary lifestyles, an absence of current information about bone health (which this chapter will hope to alleviate), and inadequate nutrition. The surgeon general recommended that people of all ages ensure that they get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D, and that supplementation maybe helpful. Pointing out that people are never too young or too old to improve their bone health, the surgeon general issued a "call to action" for the development and evaluation of bone health programs that incorporated three components: (1) improved health literacy, (2) increased physical activity, and (3) improved nutrition. Though this is a vitally important initiative for everyone, women in particular need to be educated on their risks, which pose a significant threat to BMD with the passing years.
Bone loss accelerates after menopause because the female hormone estrogen, needed to maintain bone density, is greatly reduced. The lack of estrogen accelerates a process known as bone remodeling, the process in which small areas of bone are destroyed and subsequently rebuilt. Estrogen deficiency can lead to an imbalance, resulting in more destruction and less formation, which can predispose women to osteoporosis as they age. If a woman's ovaries are surgically removed, even more rapid bone loss may occur because estrogen is made primarily in the ovaries. The most rapid rates of bone loss in women occur during the first five years after menopause, when the decrease in the production of estrogen results in increased bone resorption and decreased calcium absorption. In-fact, according to statistics, women may lose as much as 3 to 5 percent of bone mass per year during the years immediately following menopause, with decreases of less than 1 percent per year after age 65. Two studies are in agreement that increased calcium intake during menopause will not completely offset menopause bone loss. Other studies show that nutritional supplements such as silicon in the form of choline-stabilized ortho silicic acid improves the bone health benefits of both calcium and vitamin D. As you will discover, specially targeted nutrients can not only slow bone loss, they can actually encourage new bone growth.
While there is an extensive and compelling body of research supporting the positive effects of calcium and vitamin D3 on bone health, a review of forty-eight studies on the effects of calcium on bone health concluded that other micronutrients are needed to optimize bone health, including vitamin K2, magnesium, and trace minerals. Vitamin C has also been reported as essential to collagen formation and normal bone development.
Healthy Bones, Healthy Heart
Vitamin K1
Many of us are familiar with vitamin K (phylloquinone, also known as phytonadione), commonly referred to as vitamin Kl, which is a fat-soluble vitamin found in foods such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, turnip greens, and other dark leafy greens, cereals, and other vegetables. Vitamin Kl makes up about 90 percent of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet and plays an important role in blood clotting. Because this is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is important to eat these foods dressed with a little extra-virgin olive oil to ensure absorption of the nutrient. Some studies indicate that only 10 percent of the vitamin Kl in foods is absorbed by your body.
Today, emerging evidence in human intervention studies indicate that vitamin Kl at a much lower dose may also benefit bone health, in particular when co-administered with vitamin D. Several mechanisms are suggested by which vitamin K can modulate bone metabolism. Besides the gamma-carboxylation of osteocalcin, a protein believed to be involved in bone mineralization, there is increasing evidence that vitamin K positively affects calcium balance, a key mineral in bone metabolism. The Institute of Medicine has recently increased the dietary reference intakes of vitamin K to 90 micrograms per day for women and 120 micrograms per day for men, which is an increase of approximately 50 percent from previous recommendations.
A new analysis by Joyce McCann, Ph.D., and Bruce Ames, Ph.D., of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute of data from hundreds of published articles dating back to the 1970s also advises that the current recommendations for vitamin K intakes be increased.
Current recommendations are based on levels to ensure adequate blood coagulation, but failing to ensure long-term optimal levels of the vitamin may accelerate bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly even cancer.
Vitamin K2: Don't Leave Home Without It!
Though this is good news, the news about vitamin K2 is even better when it comes to both bone and arterial health. Vitamin K2, also known as menaquinones, stays in the body for a significantly longer time than Kl. It makes up about 10 percent of a typical Western diet's vitamin K and can be synthesized in the gut by microflora.
Menaquinones (MK-n) can also be found in the diet: MK-4 can be found in meat; MK-7, MK-8, and MK-9 are found in fermented food products like cheese, and an especially rich source of MK-7 is natto, a popular, centuries-old breakfast dish in Japan made from steamed fermented soybeans. Because of its rather unpleasant—some might call it "slimy"—consistency, natto, said to be the food of samurai warriors, can be a hard sell to the Western palate.
Chairman of the Board Certified
My friend and colleague Stephen Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S., is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology. The buildup of arterial plaque is deadly to the healthy heart, and Dr. Sinatra continually searches for effective strategies to decrease this threat. A number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of vitamin K2 in reversing plaque in blood vessels. Vitamin K2 appears to assist in the decalcification of hard plaque formations.
Dr. Sinatra has seen outstanding progress in his patients taking the MK-7 (menaquinone-7) type of vitamin K2, which offers the following unique benefits:
Provides the most active and bioavailable form of vitamin
K2, MK-7
Helps reduce the level of calcium in the bloodstream
Supports cardiovascular health
Helps strengthen bones
Aids in calcium absorption by bones
Helps increase bone density
I recently met with Dr. Sinatra to learn even more about this remarkable nutrient. Although this is a chapter on bone health, the remarkable discoveries about vitamin K2 demonstrate the holistic nature of the body and how all systems are intrinsically linked—in this instance, bone health and heart health. This makes it difficult to compartmentalize each organ system into a neat little chapter. There is tremendous overlap among bone health, digestive health, the immune system, the cardiovascular system, and so forth. As you will discover, a great bone structure means much more than just getting us on the pages of Vogue.
Dr. Sinatra had impressive news from Dr. Cees Vermeer, a biochemist from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one of the top vitamin K2 researchers in the world. Two new studies (published in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology) by Dr. Vermeer's team of researchers have reported the following:
The first study showed that vitamin K2 is more absorbable by the body than vitamin Kl, so K2 is able to provide more support for the enzyme process that contributes to bone health—and more protection against osteoporosis. This absorbability puts vitamin K2 at greater risk of interfering with Coumadin, which is a vitamin K antagonist. Vitamin K promotes clotting, and Coumadin is prescribed to keep the blood thin by preventing clotting. According to Dr. Sinatra, new evidence from Europe suggests that Coumadin may also interfere with a vitamin K2 protein system that keeps calcium out of the arterial walls. It now appears that on one hand, Coumadin thins the blood, but on the other, it contributes to arterial calcification. Coumadin causes a deficiency of both vitamin Kl and vitamin K2. It should come as no surprise to learn that Coumadin takers suffer more osteoporosis in conjunction with more abnormal calcium deposits in other areas, such as the heart valves—in fact, twice as much as those not taking the drug. Dr. Sinatra has become extremely cautious about prescribing Coumadin because of these risks, reserving its use for only the highest-risk patients.
(MY DAD WAS ON COUMADIN FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE - HE ALWAYS MADE SURE HE HAD LOTS OF CALCIUM AND "D" EACH DAY - HE LIVED TO BE TWO MONTHS SHORT OF BEING 94 - IF I COULD HAVE GOTTEN HIM TO LOOSE HIS BIG BELLY, I BELIEVE HE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD HIS STROKE AT AGE 91, AND COULD HAVE LIVED TO BE 100 OR MORE - Keith Hunt)
To better understand the role of calcium in the body, consider this:
Normal deposits of calcium occur only in bone and teeth.
Abnormal deposition of calcium in the body occurs in three places:
the intima, the innermost layer or lining of the arteries that causes atherosclerotic plaque; the heart valves; and the medial calcification, which is the muscle layer of the arteries.
Studies also show that people with coronary disease, in conjunction with reduced blood levels of vitamin K2, show more advanced atherosclerotic plaque. It also appears that calcium is an active participant in the buildup of coronary plaque—and not the innocent bystander once supposed!
In a second study, Dr. Vermeer found that a diet high in both vitamins Kl and K2 could prevent and reverse Coumadin-induced arterial calcification in rats. The rat arteries that were studied resembled human arteries affected by common diabetic and age-related sclerosis (hardening of tissues).
Traditionally, calcification has been thought to be an irreversible end-stage process in arterial disease. There is a very real possibility that a vitamin supplement could roll back the sclerosis that destroys the arteries. Imagine what this could mean to individuals with diabetes and heart disease.
Could it be that many detrimental physical processes associated with age are not part of the so-called normal aging process? More and more, the answer is yes, and many of the pillars supporting the "carved in stone" scientific beliefs are toppling. As this information demonstrates, many of these processes can actually be reversed—and, equally important, prevented altogether.
The calcium link between arteries and bone is fascinating to me. One of the biggest tragedies of aging is osteoporosis, which predisposes us to weakness, frailty, and dangerous bone fractures, greatly limiting our mobility. Unfortunately, the calcium that belongs in our bones is transferred to arterial walls, predisposing us to cardiovascular disease and more. Adequate intake of vitamin K2 can stop this from occurring. We now have what appears to be a highly effective strategy to keep bones strong and arteries free of dangerous plaque. As you can see, strategies that can keep bones healthy have significant impact on our cardiovascular systems as well—absolutely critical information for women with each passing decade.
(MY DAD READ AN ARTICLE AT AGE 63 THAT TAKING "LECITHIN" EACH DAY, WOULD KEEP YOUR ARTERIES CLEAN; AT AGE 85 THE DOCTORS AND NURSES COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW CLEAN HIS ARTERIES WERE ON EXAMINATION, AND THEY ASKED HIM WHAT HE HAD BEEN DOING FOR SUCH RESULTS - HE TOLD THEM. I ALSO HAVE BEEN TAKING A LECITHIN TABLET EACH DAY FOR YEARS - Keith Hunt)
Although it is breast cancer that puts the fear of death into women, the fact is that women have a much greater chance of dying of heart disease. Vitamin K2 can greatly reduce your odds of developing this disease. Although heart disease was thought of as a "man's disease" in the past, it is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States, and women account for 52.6 percent of the total heart disease deaths. In 2005, heart disease was the cause of death in more than 454,000 females. Heart disease is often perceived as an "older woman's disease," and it is the leading cause of death among women age 65 and older. The fact is that heart disease is the third leading cause of death among women age 25 to 45 and the second leading cause of death among women aged 45 to 64. Remember that many cases of heart disease can be prevented!
The graph below shows how breast cancer compares with other common causes of death in women of all ages.
Diseases of heart 349, 238
Cerebrovascular diseases 86, 993
Lung and bronchus cancer 69, 078
Chronic lower respiratory disease 68, 497
Alzheimer's disease 51, 038
Accidents (unintentional injury) 41, 426
Breast cancer 41, 116
Diabetes melitus 38, 581
Influenza and pneumonia 34, 949
Colorectal cancer 26, 224
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000
Number of Deaths
TOP TEN CAUSES OF DEATH FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES
Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer xancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Mortality—All COD, Public-Use with State, Total U.S. (1969-2005), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released February 2008. Underlying mortality data provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. For more information and facts, visit the CDC's Heart Disease site, http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/.
(REMEMBER THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 2010 - Keith Hunt)
As you can see, you are eight times as likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer. Not to downplay the breast cancer risk, but you are also more likely to die from an accident than you are from breast cancer! I personally find this lack of awareness by many women about their most dire health threat a matter of great concern.
According to the American Heart Association, nearly 37 percent of all female deaths in America occur from cardiovascular disease. Many women simply do not understand the dangers of heart disease and stroke.
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TO BE CONTINUED
FOREVER YOUNG - part of chapter five
CHEESE
Dutch Treat
The Dutch countryside is dotted with beautiful brown cows grazing on lush green pasture. Many cheeses popular in the United States are imported from Holland, including Edam and Gouda. Holland is the largest exporter of cheese in the world. Its dairy industry as a whole has a turnover of around 7 billion euros—at today's exchange rate, more than $8 billion—not bad for a country about twice the size of New Jersey.
Cheese is a good natural source of K2, and Dr. Vermeer believes that cheese consumption is one reason why the Dutch have a relatively low level of cardiovascular disease.When I spent time in the Netherlands, I was surprised to be served both cheese and chocolate for breakfast! I have to confess that I enjoyed every bite.
According to Dr. Vermeer, all cheeses contain between 7.5 and 15 micrograms of vitamin K2 per ounce. Dutch researchers don't yet know why the amount of vitamin K2 varies, but they've found it to be true even within different lots of the same type of cheese produced at the same facility. "It's the same variation whether the cheese is hard or soft," says Dr. Vermeer.
Remember this key fact: milk does not contain vitamin K2; it contains just Kl. The fermentation process utilized in turning milk into cheese is responsible for the vitamin K2 content in cheese, which is the result of the specific bacteria that help ferment the cheese.
Many of us shun cheese because we fear the increase of cholesterol levels from its saturated fat content. I was delighted to discover that Dr. Sinatra, a cardiologist who takes his heart health very seriously, regularly enjoys cheese and has this to say: "You may wonder, and rightfully so, if I'm concerned about the saturated fat in cheese. To tell you the truth, I'm not. Saturated fat is a source of cholesterol, and if you eat a lot of it, your cholesterol level will rise. As you well know, I'm not a big believer in cholesterol as the sole cause of heart disease, so the fat in cheese is not a big deal for me."
Dr. Sinatra recommends 150 micrograms daily of the menaqui-none-7 (MK-7) form of vitamin K2. This is the most absorbable and active form of vitamin K, and it seems to also play a key role in managing calcium. He has also consulted with Dr. Leon Schurgers, another Dutch researcher who has studied vitamin K2 for more than thirty years. On the basis of animal studies, Dr. Schurgers believes that a 150-microgram dose of MK-7 is the minimum amount needed to build bone and decalcify arteries.
There are a lot of vitamin K2 products available that contain less than 150 micrograms of MK-7. Many are made predominantly with MK-4, a less active relative of MK-7. Read product labels closely to make sure that you're getting 150 micrograms daily of MK-7—and the benefits that come with it.
The research clearly points to vitamin K2's critical role in cardiovascular health and calcium usage in your body. There is no doubt that vitamin K2 is highly effective at directing calcium into your bones, where it is needed, and away from your arteries, where it does not belong.
Say Cheese
I love all types of cheese. However, I strongly recommend that you choose only cheeses made from the raw milk of pasture-raised animals— whether dairy cows, goats, or sheep.
One of my personal favorites is Shelburne Farms three-year cheddar. On the beautiful shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, all the milking cows in their purebred herd of Brown Swiss are raised on the farm and graze on pasture from spring to fall. Their own milk— absolutely fresh, untreated, and …..is used to make their award-winning cheese. The only other cheese ingredients are starter culture, rennet, and salt.
Though there is some controversy regarding the safety of raw milk cheeses, if they are made from full-fat, unprocessed milk from pasture-fed cows, sheep, or goats, I believe that they are safe and superior to pasteurized cheeses in many ways. The Weston A. Price Foundation has excellent information on this topic, including a wide variety of scientific papers in support of this age-old traditional way of cheese making, at www.realmilk.com.
A great many European cheeses are also made by the traditional methods, with great pride and strict adherence to ancient and whole-some methods. According to www.gourmetfoodstore.com, only the finest French and Italian cheeses earn a special certification, which I look for when I am purchasing imported cheese.
The French Paradox
We all know that "French women don't get fat." Yet the French love their wine, and they love their cheese—two reasons that could help account for their lower rates of heart disease. I also believe that the traditional European cheeses, made from pasture-raised animals, have a much healthier profile—as do Europe's milk, meat, and butter. This is the traditional method of producing these wholesome foods. Once agribusiness started tampering with these methods, the health of people began to decline as their obesity levels rose—more about this later. Whenever you read about the most famous and sophisticated French cheeses, you will usually find them certified by the label "AOC." Right away, you know that this cheese must be important to receive such recognition—even though you may not know exactly what the AOC is. First created in the fifteenth century, this French label stands for Appellation d'Origine Controlee, which means Controlled Label of Origin. This guarantees that the milk is from a specific geographical area, along with the cheese's production and maturity. It also follows a traditional method of producing the cheese, as well as storing and ensuring an optimal degree of humidity in the storage room and cheese counter. Representatives from the labeling agency inspect the cheese and its production in order to ensure that it follows these guidelines.
A Taste of Italy: Molto Bene!
The Italians have their own way of guaranteeing for maggio lovers that their cheese is of the highest quality. A cheese awarded the DOP is most special. DOP stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta, which means Protected Denomination of Origin. Similar to the AOC, the DOP guarantees that the milk for the cheese and its production are in a certain location in Italy. It is a mark of optimal quality and high standards. The methods of production must be traditional and follow fixed storage guidelines to ensure that the cheeses age correctly.
Calcium
Over the years, heavy emphasis has been placed on calcium and bone health, especially for women, even though men also experience bone loss, albeit at about half the rate of women.
Unfortunately, the messages from many health care professionals and the media regarding the importance of healthy bones almost never exceed the barest of basics: the skeleton is made for holding you up and keeping you together. Almost all data regarding the importance of calcium and bone health are referenced only in this light. This is indeed an important function of the skeleton, but it is only part of the story. This focus has fostered a popular misconception about the role of bone health in overall health and longevity.
Functional bone health encompasses much more than skeletal strength alone. A healthy skeleton does more than just lower our fracture risk. It is intimately involved with our health as an endocrine organ. As such, it performs many important functions, including the production of red blood cells, immune cells (white blood cells), platelets, various growth factors, and cytokines, any of various protein molecules secreted by immune system cells that serve to regulate the immune system. Bone health also exerts an endocrine influence on the regulation of sugar homeostasis (the state of equilibrium or balance), fat storage, energy metabolism, and more.
Bones may be the part of our body that many of us know very little about. The fact that our bones function as an endocrine organ comes... as a surprise to many of my patients. If you really wish to be Forever Young, or at least as healthy and youthful as possible, we need to place a great deal of emphasis on maintaining healthy bone mass during each decade of life.
Bone-Building Nutrition: Calcium Is Not a Solo Act
All of the research to date demonstrates that the best result achieved by any calcium supplement is to slow the rate of bone loss—not increase healthy bone density, as is the popular notion. This is a serious misconception that I am now going to remedy.
A review of the scientific literature reveals that a wide range of supplemental nutrients, in addition to calcium, can contribute to the maintenance or increasing of BMD.Nowhere is this clearer than in the recent research on the additional health benefits of calcium, vitamin D, and other bone-building nutrients. Although calcium accounts for only about 2 percent of body weight, it is essential to many life-sustaining processes that go beyond the building and preservation of bone strength. It is intimately involved in the transmission of electrical impulses that control muscles and the regulation of heartbeats. Prior to the mid-thirties, the body extracts calcium from dietary sources and stores it in bones until it is released and absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. As we age, this process appears to become less and less efficient. The body now needs more calcium than can be provided by the intake of commonly consumed foods and more than the bones can store. This results in a progressive decline in bone health with increased risk of fracture.
Our bodies are an amazing symphony of metabolic processes played out by an elaborate orchestra of anatomical and physiological members. Keep in mind that you are made up of food, air, water, and sunshine. This underscores the importance our diet has on maintaining healthy musicians to play this biological symphony. This also underscores the importance of the anti-inflammatory diet, the cornerstone of the entire Perricone program, which is critical to the health and optimal functioning of all organ systems, with bone health no exception. Bones require calcium, and a lot of it. Focusing only on calcium is like writing a beautiful symphony and having only one instrument play its part. It would be pathetically inadequate, as is calcium alone in the bone-building symphony.
The heavy emphasis on calcium overshadows the awareness and documented importance of the other minerals and proteins, involved in bone tissue production. Without protein, minerals would be unable to form the metal-loproteinase matrix necessary for bone synthesis. Without protein, bones would be brittle, fragile, and nonfunctional, and serve only as the structural scaffolding of the body. A logical conclusion is that better sources of minerals, such as protein-bound forms, naturally accompanied by a wide variety of other bone-building cofactors, might be derived from plant sources.
Plant forms of minerals could offer significant beneficial options. There is emerging evidence that plant forms of calcium and other bone health ingredients provide an alternative source of more comprehensive indigenous minerals and proteins that typically occur in a plant matrix along with other phytochemicals. Some studies have also reported positive relationships between fruit and vegetable consumption and increased BMD in adolescents as well as in adults.
A recent cross-sectional study examined the association between bone mineral status and fruit and vegetable intake in adolescent boys and girls ages 16-18, young women ages 23-27, and older men and women between the ages of 60 and 83. Using DEXA measurements of bone density, the researchers concluded that higher fruit and vegetable intakes may have positive effects on bone mineral status in adolescents and older women, especially at the spine for girls and older women and at the femoral neck for boys. Additionally, plant foods provide critical natural anti-inflammatories in the form of antioxidants. Unfortunately, maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps the heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps the bones strong. Only 1 percent of magnesium is found in our blood, but the body works very hard to keep the blood levels of magnesium constant. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Magnesium also plays a role in preventing and managing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
(THAT IS WHY TODAY YOU CAN GET "CALCIUM-MAGNESIUM" TABLETS, AND IN THE RIGHT PROPORTION TO EACH OTHER; I TAKE 2 A DAY - Keith Hunt)
Magnesium Deficiency: We Are All at Risk
According to the 1999-2000 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a significant number of adults in the United States do not consume the recommended amounts of magnesium.
Research done throughout the world shows that the U.S. RDA for magnesium is not sufficient to make up for the amount lost in bowel movements and sweat. Aggravating matters more, sports, physical work, mental exertion, competition, and other stressors all increase your magnesium requirements.
To make matters even worse, the average American diet supplies even less than the RDA. Our daily magnesium intake is seriously inadequate to maintain equilibrium in metabolic balance studies. For many people, dietary intake may not be high enough to create an optimal magnesium status, which may be protective against such disorders as cardiovascular disease and immune dysfunction.
When Can Magnesium Deficiency Occur?
If your digestive system or kidney function is compromised, it can significantly influence magnesium status because magnesium is absorbed by the intestines and then transported through the blood to cells and tissues.
The bioavailability of magnesium is reasonable, with one-third to one-half of dietary magnesium being absorbed into your body. Gastrointestinal disorders that impair absorption, like Crohn's disease, Can limit the body's ability to absorb magnesium. Such disorders can deplete your stores of magnesium and may result in magnesium deficiency.
Chronic or excessive vomiting and diarrhea may also result in magnesium depletion. It is interesting to note that healthy kidneys limit the urinary excretion of magnesium to compensate for low dietary intake. However, some medications cause excessive loss of magnesium in urine as a side effect. Also, poorly controlled diabetes and alcohol abuse cause the body to lose excessive amounts of magnesium.
What Is the Best Way to Get Extra Magnesium?
You can do so by eating a variety of whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially dark green, leafy vegetables containing chlorophyll) to increase your dietary magnesium intake. Fish such as halibut is an excellent source, as are spinach, black beans, and pumpkin and squash seeds.
Magnesium supplements may be recommended by your physician; however, taken alone, they may cause diarrhea. A more balanced approach is to take magnesium with your calcium supplement, as the two minerals work together in several ways to maintain balance. It is always best to get any mineral from a food, which is why I recommend AlgaeCal, as it naturally contains a balance of magnesium, calcium, trace minerals, and phytonutrients in a whole-food complex.
If you have low blood levels of magnesium, it is important that you have the cause, severity, and consequences evaluated by your doctor. If you have kidney disease, you may not be able to excrete excess magnesium and should not consume magnesium supplements unless they are prescribed by a physician.
Thanks to its calming effects on the nervous system, magnesium can help ease anxiety, relax muscles, promote stress relief, decrease levels of the stress hormone Cortisol, and promote a good night's sleep.
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TO BE CONTINUED
FOREVER YOUNG - from chapter five
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as an important hormone.
Vitamin D communicates to the intestines to increase the absorption of calcium by as much as 80 percent. Vitamin D is also well known for maintaining normal calcium levels. These are just a few of the extremely important functions of this essential nutrient.
Vitamin D Deficiency
In March 2006, Mayo Clinic Proceedings printed an alarming article about the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. The highly respected, author, Michael Holick of the Boston University School of Medicine, stated, "Vitamin D inadequacy has been reported in approximately 36 percent of otherwise healthy young adults and up to 57 percent of general medicine inpatients in the United States and even higher percentages in Europe. Low sunlight exposure, age-related decreases in vitamin D synthesis in our skin, and diets low in vitamin D contribute to the high prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy."
Supplemental doses of vitamin D (taken together with calcium and magnesium) and sensible sun exposure could prevent deficiency in most of the general population, according to Holick. In this section we will learn which forms of vitamin D are most effective, starting with the most natural: the sun.
Vitamin D Sources
Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D. It can provide you with your entire vitamin D requirement. Children and young adults who spend a short time outside two or three times a week will generally synthesize all the vitamin D they need. If you are older, you have diminished capacity to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight exposure. Many of us use sunscreen and/or wear protective clothing in order to prevent skin cancer and sun damage, depriving ourselves of vitamin D. In these instances it is important to consider getting your vitamin D from food and supplements. Vitamin D is unique among vitamins in that it can be provided to the body through food or by exposure to the sun. Sunshine is a significant source of vitamin D because ultraviolet rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin. I recommend spending fifteen minutes a day in the sun without sunscreen. This will increase vitamin D production, known to reduce the risk of many internal cancers as well as the risk of osteoporosis. Although sun exposure has been greatly vilified in the past decades, exposure to the sun is our most important source of this critical vitamin.
The application of sunscreen with an SPF factor of 8 reduces the production of vitamin D by 95 percent. In latitudes around 40 degrees north or 40 degrees south (Boston is 42 degrees north), there is insufficient UVB radiation available for vitamin D synthesis from November to early March. Ten degrees farther north (Edmonton, Canada), this "vitamin D winter" extends from mid-October to mid-March. According to Dr. Holick, as little as five to ten minutes of sun exposure on arms and legs or face and arms three times weekly between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the spring, summer, and fall at 42 degrees of latitude should provide a light-skinned individual with adequate vitamin D and allow for storage of any excess for use during the winter with minimal risk of skin damage.
Vitamin D Supplements
There are many health benefits of vitamin D, and, as mentioned in chapter 2 and this chapter, I recommend that we get it from sunlight. However, when this is not practical, a vitamin D supplement may be a strategy to ensure adequate levels. But what vitamin D supplement is best?
Since a large body of science shows that vitamin D works closely with calcium and magnesium, it is best to take vitamin D in combination with calcium and magnesium to maintain a proper balance. Recent literature shows that most calcium supplements have too little vitamin D to be effective. And some of them use synthetic vitamin D2. A much better form is natural vitamin D3, which stays in your system longer and with greater effect.
Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency
A deficiency of vitamin D can result in the following conditions:
RICKETS
In infants and children, severe vitamin D deficiency results in the failure of the bone to mineralize. Rapidly growing bones are most severely affected by rickets. The growth plates of bones continue to enlarge, but in the absence of adequate mineralization, the weight-bearing limbs become bowed. Although fortification of foods has led to complacency regarding vitamin D deficiency, nutritional rickets is still being reported throughout the world.
OSTEOMALACIA
Although adult bones are no longer growing, they are in a constant state of turnover. In adults with severe vitamin D deficiency, the collagen bone matrix is preserved but bone mineral is progressively lost, resulting in bone pain and osteomalacia (soft bones).
Muscle WEAKNESS AND PAIN
Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness and pain in children and adults. In a cross-sectional study of 150 patients referred to a clinic in Minnesota for the evaluation of persistent muscle and bone pain, 93 percent had vitamin D deficiency! Muscle pain and weakness were prominent symptoms of vitamin D deficiency in a study of Arab and Danish Muslim women living in Denmark. Another trial found that supplementation of elderly women with 800 IU per day of vitamin D and 1,200 milligrams per day of calcium for three months increased muscle strength and decreased the risk of falling by almost 50 percent compared with supplementation with calcium alone. This is an extremely significant finding and a compelling case for supplementation.
Risk Factors for Vitamin D Deficiency
If you are in any of the categories below, you would be well advised to get a blood test to determine your vitamin D levels.
TOTAL COVERAGE OF THE SKIN OR OVERUSE OF SUNSCREEN
Osteomalacia has been documented in women who cover all of their skin whenever they are outside for religious or cultural reasons. The application of sunscreen with an SPF factor of 8 reduces the production of vitamin D by 95 percent, creating a problem similar to that of covered skin.
DARK SKIN
People with dark skin synthesize less vitamin D on exposure to sunlight than those with light skin. The risk of vitamin D deficiency is particularly high in dark-skinned people who live far from the equator.
AGING
The elderly have reduced capacity to synthesize vitamin D in the skin when exposed to UVB radiation and are more likely to stay indoors or use sunscreen. Institutionalized adults are at extremely high risk of vitamin D deficiency without supplementation.
INFLAMMATORY BOWEL disease
If you suffer from an inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn's disease, you may be at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency, especially if you have had small-bowel surgery.
FAT MALABSORPTION SYNDROMES
Cystic fibrosis and cholestatic liver disease impair the absorption of dietary vitamin D.
OBESITY
Being overweight increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency. Once vitamin D is synthesized in the skin or ingested, it is deposited in body fat stores, making it less bioavailable if you have large stores of body fat.
A Special Message for Menopausal Women
One of the negative effects at the onset of, during, and following menopause can be bone loss. Women in these groups are more susceptible to all of the maladies associated with weakened bones due to an increase in the rate of declining bone density and the associated loss of bone health.
Getting on the Right Tract
As mentioned, our bone marrow produces both red and white blood cells. Our red blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients to every tissue in the body. Our white blood cells are the foundation of our immune system. Seventy percent to 80 percent of our lymphatic system (immune system, tissue) is located in our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The digestive system is the first and most important step in processing the nutrients we need to exist. It is estimated that the surface area of the digestive tract is similar in size to a football field. With such a large exposure, the immune system has to work overtime to prevent pathogens from entering the blood and lymph systems. On account of this function, the GI tract is the system in the body that is most at risk from foreign matter in our food and water. It is the site of important life-protecting "recognition and response" signaling and processing, both accepting and processing the beneficial food and drink while rejecting and/or disposing of the potentially toxic.
Since our bodies are composed of food processed by the digestive system, rebuilding the digestive system itself is dependent on the efficiency of this process. It is self-perpetuating, which is why the quality of food and food supplements is so important. This is also why so much of the body's lymphatic system tissue is located in the gastrointestinal tract. A healthy digestive system is essential to healthy immune function and vice versa. And a healthy digestive system is essential to good health. If our GI tract is not functioning at its best, our immune system is also struggling. As a result, declining digestive health and function lead to declining overall health. As stated previously, all of our white blood cells are made in our bones (B cells), some of which are directed to our thymus gland, the master gland of the immune system, to become T cells.
When we contemplate these intricate interactions, it soon becomes clear that the health of our bones is instrumental to our health and longevity in general. This understanding is especially important today, because there are so many toxins and contaminants in the environment and food chain. Keeping our bones and GI tract healthy is the first step to maintaining a healthy immune system, which is vital in protecting us from the epidemics and pandemics that seem to be lurking around every corner.
Red and white blood cell production alone makes maintaining optimal bone health an important requirement for optimal overall health, especially as we age. It is no coincidence that with aging, diminishing bone health is also accompanied by reduced energy, increased fatigue, an increase in digestive problems, and an increase in maladies associated with a weakening immune system. These maladies include such disorders as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, irritable and inflammatory bowel disorders, and a host of other chronic inflammatory and degenerative problems—another excellent reason to make sure your diet is rich in high-quality probiotics and foods that are not pro-inflammatory, since pro-inflammatory foods will compound these problems.
During medical school, one of the many basic science course requirements was embryology, the branch of biology that deals with the formation, early growth, and development of living organisms. As we studied the development of the fetus from conception to four months, we learned that all of the major organs of the body, as well as muscle, bone, and other types of tissue, are derived from three basic layers of tissue within the embryo. As you will recall, I learned that both the skin and the brain are derived from the same layer of embryonic tissue, which I call the brain-beauty connection. Bone cells and immune stem cells have a common origin and a functional relationship, just like the skin-and-brain connection known as the osteoimmune relationship. That functional relationship is the basis for the growing field of osteoimmunology. Consider this alarming fact: it is now known that chronic immune system overexertion leads to bone loss and can also promote muscle wasting and increased fat storage.
This unfortunate triumvirate does not have to be inevitable. Muscle wasting/loss of muscle mass in older people is called sarcopenia. As discussed earlier, I had long suspected that there was a strong link between inflammation and sarcopenia and used it as a model to measure and compare the loss of muscle mass seen in those who diet. I was not surprised to discover that patients who suffered from sarcopenia had higher circulating levels of inflammatory markers than those who experienced less loss of muscle mass, while other parameters had insignificant differences. Those other parameters, including levels of growth hormones and sex hormones, were fairly close to the same level in both groups. In simple terms, the subjects with the greatest loss of muscle mass were in an inflammatory state. Inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and cytokines such as interleukin-6, are elevated in the people who suffer the most loss of muscle mass, or severe sarcopenia.
This loss of both bone and muscle mass, in conjunction with increased fat storage, has very special disease implications that reach far beyond the obvious aesthetics. According to Navinchandra Dadhaniya, M.D., a specialist in geriatric medicine at Illini Hospital in Pittsfield, Illinois, a healthy young person's body composition includes 30 percent muscle, 20 percent fat, and 10 percent bone. A person age 75 or over may have 15 percent muscle, 40 percent fat, and 8 percent bone.
Reduced bone density, loss of bone health, osteopenia, and osteoporosis portend much greater risks to the body than the broken hip so common in the elderly. These conditions have a systemic impact, predisposing the body to other potentially very serious disorders as well. For example, in a study presented in June 2008 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, researchers from Washington University reported that maintaining bone density could be a key to decreasing the spread of breast cancer.
The Weight Loss Dilemma:
Bone Health Is the Ultimate Victim
As we have seen, dieting increases our levels of inflammatory markers, accelerating the loss of precious muscle mass, but that is not the only negative consequence. There is currently an epidemic of aging people who are either overweight or obese. This is especially true for women in the process of menopause. In our efforts to combat this global problem, we run the risk of an often overlooked yet extremely harmful consequence of weight loss: the adverse effect it typically has on bone mineral density (BMD), fracture risk, and functional bone health.
At any moment millions of Americans of all ages are dieting and struggling to lose weight by means of a wide variety of programs and plans. This is particularly true of women; many start radical diets as early as their teens and continue with erratic eating habits throughout the decades. The goal of most weight loss programs is to lose as much weight as possible, as quickly as possible. In virtually all major weight loss plans, whether based on weight loss pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, and/or calorie-fat-, or carbohydrate-restricted diets, little or no consideration is given to the kind, as opposed to the amount, of weight that is lost in spite of the adverse, sometimes life-threatening, effects dieting can have on both muscle mass and bone health. People are obsessed with scale weight, but it is not scale weight that is of primary importance. As we saw in chapter 3, "The Metabolic Miracle," we can and will actually weigh more if our bodies are well muscled, because muscle weighs more than fat.
Weight loss, including that facilitated surgically through either gastric bypass or gastric banding procedures, has repeatedly been documented as depleting bone density and increasing fracture risk.
BMD losses are particularly pronounced in middle-aged or older Caucasian women, particularly those who are thin, petite, and over 40 with a long history of dieting. This should come as a serious and startling wake-up call to women of all ages as they struggle to keep excess weight off. In a study typifying the adverse effects of weight loss, premenopausal and early perimenopausal women who were randomly assigned to a lifestyle intervention lost 3.2 kilograms (around 7 pounds) over eighteen months and experienced rates of BMD loss at the hip that were twice those of weight-stable control subjects. In another study, in spite of a daily intake of 2,000 milligrams of calcium, bone loss occurred at some sites in overweight postmenopausal women because of weight loss. The authors report that daily calcium intake of 3,400 milligrams is more likely to minimize bone loss during weight loss postmenopausal overweight women.
Therefore, evaluation of the overall risks and benefits of weight loss in overweight women should include monitoring its effects on BMD and the potential risks for osteopenia and osteoporosis, especially for women approaching, experiencing, and following menopause. Consideration should also be given to the type, duration, and intensity of physical activity that may retard BMD loss. Perhaps most important, diets need to be focused on decreasing inflammation as opposed to overall calories, as we will see in the next chapter.This means eating adequate high-quality protein, especially cold-water fish, lean free-range poultry, and grass-fed beef and lamb; fresh fruits and vegetables; and healthy fats such as extra-virgin olive oil.
You should do your best to limit your intake of starchy foods, eliminate all sugar, refined starches like white flour, and other processed grains. The prospect of avoiding foods that are so abundant might seem daunting, but you will feel so much better when you drop these foods from your diet that you will not even miss them.
(CHARLES ATLAS IN HIS COURSE "HEALTH AND STRENGTH" [STILL OBTAINABLE] SAID YOU SHOULD AVOID WHITE FLOUR PRODUCTS LIKE THE PLAGUE; ONE OF THE WORSE THINGS EVER INVENTED BY MAN IN FOOD PRODUCTION WAS THE "WHITE FLOUR" PRODUCT - Keith Hunt)
Not Just for Women
More recently, one study tested the hypothesis that weight loss in older men is associated with increased rates of hip bone loss regardless of adiposity (fat) and intention to lose weight. Higher rates of hip bone loss were found in men experiencing weight loss, regardless of body mass index, body composition, or intention to lose weight. Even among obese men (those with a body mass index greater than 30) trying to lose weight, those with documented voluntary weight reduction experienced a greater amount of hip bone loss. Loran Salamone and colleagues examined the effect of changes in body weight on BMD in normal-weight populations. They evaluated the effect of a lifestyle intervention aimed at lowering dietary fat intake and increasing physical activity to produce modest weight loss or prevent weight gain on BMD in a population of 236 healthy, premenopausal women aged 44 to 50. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analyses (DEXA) of BMD at the lumbar spine and proximal femur were made before and after eighteen months of participation in the trial. The researchers found that women in the top quartile for weight loss experienced more than three times the rate of BMD loss compared with all other women.
Alarming facts such as these inspired me to write The Perricone Weight Loss Diet, because with the right food and supplements, you can lose body fat while maintaining precious bone and muscle. As you learned in chapter 3, "The Metabolic Miracle," there is one safe, proven, and effective way to lose weight; this program will not decrease muscle or bone. In all my years of studying this topic, it has proved to be extremely effective in rapidly decreasing body fat, reducing inflammation, and improving overall health.
Almost all nutritional programs targeted at weight loss are based on various types of calorie or fat deprivation tactics, which have been shown to distress bone metabolism and health. Ironically, severe calorie restriction is also one of the only modalities shown to increase life span in animals! As contradictory as this may sound, I believe that if subclinical systemic inflammation, which is the foundation of these problems, can be reduced, body fat can safely be lost without sacrificing muscle and bone.
Studies appear to indicate that the negative relationship between reduced bone health and weight loss is affected by alterations in serum hormone levels, deficient nutritional factors, impaired energy metabolism, immune system distress, the reduction of the beneficial mechanical impact of excess weight, an increase in inflammatory markers, or some combination of these factors. Speaking of inflammation, it also appears that chronic long-term inflammation can have the effect of removing calcium from the bones, weakening and shrinking them. For women, these issues become even more pronounced with the onset and completion of menopause.
Fat Reduction Surgery and Bone Health
Though it may seem extremely radical to the average person, fat reduction surgery is very real, with more and more people who are desperate to lose weight and unable to succeed now choosing this option.
The adverse effects of weight loss on bone are being exacerbated by the tenfold increase in the number of bariatric (weight loss) surgeries performed in the United States from 13,365 in 1998 to an estimated 140,000 in 2004, a rate of increase that appears to have accelerated even more from 2004 to 2007. The American Society for Bariatric Surgery estimates that 220,000 people in the United States had bariatric surgery in 2008. Of the bariatric surgeries, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most commonly performed surgery and appears to have substantially greater detrimental effects on bone health. For example, a prospective study of twenty-five women found that following RYGB, calcium absorption declined by 24 to 36 percent. Another study of 230 subjects found that within the first year following bypass surgery, BMD had decreased by an average of 7 percent.
Clearly, the results of these studies indicate that people who have had bariatric surgery should be screened with bone density testing along with repeated evaluations of their bone health—building nutritional regimens. Research also shows that postoperative bariatric patients most often have lower vitamin D levels, increased parathyroid activity, and chronically higher rates of bone mineral loss than their unoperated-upon counterparts. Therefore, aside from increasing weight-bearing exercise, it is highly recommended that bariatric surgery patients increase their vitamin D3 intake.
I want to drive home the message that you must do everything naturally possible to enhance bone health and make it your most important health priority, especially if you are nearing menopause. For all of you who have a decade or more to go before menopause, now is the time to ensure that your bones are receiving optimal nutrition to protect them now and in the future. If you are a mother with daughters, even better, as you can start them on the road to improved bone and immune health, which will provide them with a strong, healthy body.
The Adverse Effects of Disease and Medications on Bone Health
A wide range of common diseases are known to decrease bone health, including insulin-dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, anorexia nervosa/bulimia, COPD, endometriosis, hemophilia, hemochromatosis, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, long-term immobilization, renal disease, endocrine disorders (including suppressive doses of thyroid hormones), Addison's disease, Cushing's syndrome, sarcoidosis, organ transplants, liver disease (including hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis), bariatric surgery, and more. As I have just shown, a number of these disorders are either caused or contributed to by declining bone health. So it appears that there is a vicious circle working here, and one in need of a powerful cease-and-desist order.
It is very disturbing that a number of popular medications being used to treat many of these disorders also contribute to bone loss. A significant body of research has found that a wide variety of medications are associated with reduced bone health in people of all ages. The list includes glucocorticoids and related immunosuppressants, antidiabetic drugs, lithium, Depo-Provera and other contraceptives, cyclooxygenase inhibitors, proton pump inhibitors (pharmaceutical antacids), total parenteral nutrition (this means not administered via the alimentary canal), aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, exemestane, an-astrozole), gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (Lupron, Lupron Depot, LH-RH agonists, leuprolide), immunosuppressants, anticonvulsants (phenobarbital, phenytoin), cytotoxic drugs, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which lead to the issue of stress and depression. The stress hormone Cortisol inhibits the cells that form bone. Excess Cortisol also causes many other negative effects, including the storage of abdominal fat, which you will learn about in the next chapter.
While stress and excess stress-induced depression have been shown to cause loss of bone mass, antidepressant medications have been shown to cause even further significant bone loss. This is another issue of special importance to women going through menopause, who experience a greater rate of depression and its related disorders and who are prime candidates for such medications. This could be a situation where the "cure" is worse than the disease.
In addition to good nutrition, you have to learn to manage the stress that comes with living in the modern world. That is why I have included a chapter with a full yoga workout designed to balance your body and mind.
Another recent study suggests that diabetics who are being treated with thiazolidinedione, an antidiabetic drug, provided "further evidence of a possible association between long-term use of thiazofidin-ediones and fractures, particularly of the hip and wrist, in patients with diabetes mellitus."
Taken together, the information presented in this chapter alone, which is only a small portion of what is available in the medical and scientific literature, continues to confirm that men and women should make bone health a top priority. Women especially need to improve the menopausal transition and minimize the consequences that have become so commonplace.
Now comes the good news—saving the best for last!
As you now know, the information on bone health, as stated in this chapter, is a genuine wake-up call to the importance of bone health. Almost every system of the body benefits from improved bone health. In fact, improving bone health at any age seems to be an important factor in our ability to slow the clock of aging. It is not too far a stretch to say that healthy bones are the foundation of the fountain of youth—because you can't have one without the other. But what are the best tools to accomplish this feat? Fortunately, we have some very exciting new strategies to introduce, such as vitamin K2 and AlgaeCal.
Conclusion
New and ongoing research provides exciting insights into the importance of a well-functioning skeletal system, the broader range of nutrients than calcium needed to form healthy bones, and the probable advantages of plant-form sources of minerals rich in calcium, magnesium, and a wide range of other naturally occurring cofactors.
The profound influence of bone health on overall health and well-being cannot be overstated, especially for women approaching, experiencing, and having completed menopause. Healthy bones are a foundation and prerequisite for healthy blood, strong immunity, energy, vitality, and optimal health.
The growing body of research into plant forms of minerals demonstrates that a number of different vitamins, minerals, and cofactors are needed to optimize bone health, enhance the body's immune system, and reduce the body's automatic propensity to store fat. Plant forms of minerals also contain indigenous phytonutrients that contribute to bone health. In looking to natural, "user-friendly" forms of minerals, we may have found the key to stopping bone loss while dramatically improving our overall health regardless of our chronological age.
Armed with this life-changing knowledge, you can reinvigorate, restore, and protect yourself, while giving the term "great bone structure" a whole new meaning.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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