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Head Off Osteoporosis
Head off osteoporosis before you break a bone.
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones. It happens when you lose too much bone, make too little bone or both. As a result, your bones become weak and may break from a minor fall or, in serious cases, even from simple actions, like sneezing or bumping into furniture.
Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” If you look at healthy bone under a microscope, you will see that parts of it look like a honeycomb. If you have osteoporosis, the holes and spaces in the honeycomb are much bigger than they are in healthy bone. This means your bones have lost density or mass and that the structure of your bone tissue has become abnormal. As your bones become less dense, they also become weaker and more likely to break. If you’re age 50 or older and have broken a bone, talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider and ask if you should have a bone density test.
What causes osteoporosis?
- Genetics
- Prescription drugs
- Drinking soda and alcohol
- Eating a diet heavy in animal protein
- Not enough sun
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Menopause
What osteoporosis looks like.
Genetic, well you can’t do anything about that. If you were lucky enough to be born with thin bones that look great in clothes, but in the long run and while you age, you will be at greater risk for osteoporosis.
Drinking soda and alcohol is like drinking poison for your body. Soda contains phosphoric acid, which interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to osteoporosis, cavities and bone softening. Phosphoric Acid also interacts with stomach acid, slowing digestion and blocking nutrient absorption. Yikes! Research shows that chronic heavy alcohol use, especially during adolescence and young adult years, can dramatically affect bone health and increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life.
Calcium is an essential nutrient for healthy bones, and alcohol is its enemy. “Alcohol has multiple effects on calcium,” says Primal Kaur, MD, an osteoporosis specialist at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia. “The bones deteriorate because not enough calcium is getting into bones — and the body is leaching it away from bones.”
Prescription drugs can cause havoc on your ones. I personally take Triosint for thyroid hormone replacement which puts me at a higher risk for osteoporosis. But what can I do? My thyoid is not producing anymore of the hormone, and I need it to survive. I will have to make certain not to add anymore risks and I do not drink alcohol or soda. What prescription drugs are you taking and do they cause osteoporosis?
Eating a diet high in animal protein is detrimental to your health. I don’t know where this fad of high protein diets came from. People now think they cannot survive without drinking a protein shake. What the heck for? The largest animals in the animal kingdom do not eat meat or drink protein shake. It is just another example of people falling for advertisements by companies that want to make money.
Your body needs to stay alkalized to survive. A 7.0 is the prefect level if you test with a PH test strip. When you eat protein which is acidic, your body must react by leaching your bones of calcium to alkalize your blood. Keep on eating protein in mass quantities and you will be causing osteoporosis. (Click here for a great way to keep your drinking water alkaline.)
Vitamin D is vital for strong bones. People are now scared to go out in the sun without sunscreen but you need sun daily for a good dose of Vitamin D. If you live in the northern state or above the 39th parallel you most likely need to supplement with a vitamin D3 supplement. Here is a great gel cap that uses olive oil instead of GMO soy as a filler.
Smoking is bad for bone health. Studies have shown a direct relationship between tobacco use and 
decreased bone density. Analyzing the impact of cigarette smoking on bone health is complicated. It is hard to determine whether a decrease in bone density is due to smoking itself or to other risk factors common among smokers. For example, in many cases smokers are thinner than nonsmokers, tend to drink more alcohol, may be less physically active, and have poor diets. Women who smoke also tend to have an earlier menopause than nonsmokers. These factors place many smokers at an increased risk for osteoporosis apart from their tobacco use. (Source) http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/bone/Osteoporosis/conditions_Behaviors/bone_smoking.asp
A sedentary lifestyle will cause an increase risk for osteoporosis. Every time you walk sends a message to your bones to build more bone. Weight bearing exercises are another way to pump up your bone mass. Laziness causes bones to weaken. A 30 minute walk a day is a good way to ward off osteoporosis.
Women have a higher incident of osteoporosis once they are postmenopausal because they are no longer producing estrogen that protects their bones from osteoporosis. The same goes for younger women that do not have periods, usually caused by chronic dieting and not eating enough calories. There are thin 30 year-olds that have the bones of an 80 year-old.
What can you do if you already have osteoporosis?
Your doctor may prescribe one of the prescription drugs such as a bisphosphonates, denosumab (Prolia), raloxifene (Evista), and teriparatide (Forteo) which can help prevent fractures in women with osteoporosis; however, they pose a risk of side effects. I met one woman that was taking an oral prescription drug for osteoporosis and it damaged her esophagus to the point that she could not eat solid food. My neighbor had an injection every year of an drug that caused severe bone loss in her jaw. I would recommend talking to your doctor about the benefits vs. the risks and determine then if it is the right prescription drug for you.
Hormone replacement therapy is used to replace the estrogen no longer produced in the postmenopausal woman which in turn is thought to slow down the loss of bone mass. However, there is worry about the risk in increase in cancers, particularly breast and ovarian, with hormone replacement therapy. I was in the doctor’s office and read an article that there is still an increase risk if you use hormones made from plants. (Other estrogen drugs such as Premarin are made from pregnant horse urine.) I admit, I tried a natural formula of estrogen and progesterone made at a compounding pharmacy that I applied 2x a day on my arms, but I stopped refilling the prescription due to my concerns about the risks. I think that it is a personal decision that you and your doctor should decide.
Natural treatments would be to:
- Walk everyday
- Stop smoking, limit or eliminate alcohol and soda
- Take a good D3 supplement along with calcium and magnesium
- Eat a good diet of mainly fresh vegetables and fruit
Here is my some books I recommend for healthy bones.
My Excellent Memory Came Back
My excellent memory came back. That’s right. I found out that losing my short-term memory was not an age related thing for me as everyone had told me. It’s back and my mind is sharper than ever. Hey, I passed the Florida Real Estate test and that right there tells you something. Boy, that is a hard test. I actually had to study for it.
Before in my younger days, I always had an excellent memory and could remember people’s names and details about them like their birth dates and favorite color; things most normal people couldn’t do. I also never made lists. I could stop at a grocery store and remember everything I needed to pick up without a list. To Do Lists where all in my head.
I could shock people when I said things as-remember that time we hiked to the Cascades and you got stung by that bee?- and the person I was talking to would have no recollection of the event.
Of course, having a great memory is not a good thing for my husband because like a hard drive in my brain, I stored everything he did that I felt was an assault on our relationship…and you know how that goes. I’ve learned to back-off on that one.
Yes, I relied on my quick wit and brain storage capability through my life so when I hit my 50’s and to my horror, I started forgetting things. Where did I put my cell phone? Where did I park my car? Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about calling that person back. I complained to a friend about my failing memory when he told me…it’s inevitable; a fact of old age. Nooooooo!
As the years progressed my short-term memory got worse. I was constantly searching for paperwork, sunglasses, car keys, and my handbag. There where days I couldn’t remember my own phone number or social security number. I would walk into rooms not remembering why I walked in and go to Google on my laptop forgetting what I wanted to search for. Does any of this sound familiar?
People suggested that I try supplements like Omega 3 but that never worked. I started placing Post It notes all over the house and write down in a notebook what I had done that day. Was this the beginning of dementia? I missed my great memory.
If some of you are following me on Facebook, Twitter, or one of my blogs, you know that I have become a rather health enthusiast. I have cleaned up my diet by “eating clean” which means I try to eat raw vegetables and foods with the least ingredients, and over time I have regained my memory. That’s right, it is reversible and I now have a sharp as a tack memory. I owe it all to giving up sugar, eating low glycemic foods (limit pasta, potatoes, crackers, bread), and reducing my alcohol intake to maybe a cocktail once every three months. Most of the time I will walk around with a glass of sparkling water at a social event. The fog that was creeping into my brain is gone. GONE!
The other day, I was at my hairdresser’s. She was putting highlights in my hair and I remembered that the last time I was there, a month ago, it was her 50th birthday. She had a friend sitting in a chair waiting for her to finish with me (I was her last appointment that day) and they were going to start celebrating by going to a couple of clubs. She was pretty excited and they opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
A month later I am back in her chair and I asked her how was her birthday celebration? She had a blank look on her face. I said trying to jostle her memory, “Ted was here and you two were going to go out and bar hop.” She said she couldn’t remember what they did and admitted that her short-term memory was terrible. She attributed to getting older. I let it pass then I asked her if she had remembered to order this product I asked her to order. She said she forgot. Then later someone asked her to recommend the plumber that my hairdresser had just used and she couldn’t remember his name and couldn’t find the number in her phone. I’d say her memory was terrible and she was heading for early dementia.
I said to her let me guess, you eat a lot of sugar? She said no I am not a big sweet eater. Okay, then I guess you eat a lot of pasta, bread and potatoes. She said yes and why? Those are high-glycemic foods that I found that when I eliminated them I improved my memory. “Oh, I wouldn’t know what else to eat. That’s all I eat. Pasta, pretzels, bread, and I don’t like vegetables,” she said. I already knew she loved to go to the bars because every time I am there she is telling me some story about her latest funny bar episode. Do you want to be like her or like me?
Eat your veggies!
Here are some suggestions if you want to get your short-term memory back:
- Balance your blood sugar with a whole foods, low glycemic diet
- Exercise daily — even a 30-minute walk can help
- Deeply relax daily with yoga, meditation, biofeedback, or just deep breathing
- Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement
- Take extra vitamin B6, B12, and folate
- Take vitamin D3 (I do 5k per day.)
- Treat thyroid or low sex hormones (I use bio identical hormone cream I apply to my arm)
- Get rid of mercury through a medical detoxification program
- Don’t drink alcohol
- Juice daily to increase your vegetable intake
- Eat simple foods or with the least ingredients
- Play games on the computer that challenge your brain
- Read everyday for enjoyment
- Write in a journal
- Take a class at the local college
- Pick a new hobby
- Get a good night’s sleep-read my book on Amazon.com The Insomnia Cure: How I Kicked Insomnia Out of My Bed by Terry Ryan
Now there are some drawbacks to having a great memory and here it is. Everybody wants to use your brain. I am constantly finishing peoples sentences for them and finding their car keys. Oh yea, it can become tiresome.
Do not eat this
Terry Ryan is a blogger and health enthusiast.
D5 Creation