If you’re taking them hoping to build strong bones and avoid osteoporosis you’ll be let down on both fronts.
Doctors and drug companies push the idea that the best way to treat and prevent osteoporosis is by taking lots of calcium. This simply isn’t true.
Osteoporosis isn’t caused by a lack of calcium.
Studies come to the same conclusion: calcium intake does not prevent fractures due to bone loss.
The Harvard Nurses’ Study is one of the most complete and well-conducted studies in science. The study followed 77,761 nurses. For 12 years, researchers examined the association between dietary calcium and bone fractures.
Results showed there was no protection from fractures with any dose of calcium intake. Nurses who had the highest calcium intakes actually had an increased risk of bone fracture.1
An Australian study confirms the result of the Harvard Nurses’ Study. This study also looked at the association between calcium and fracture risk. The study looked at lifetime calcium consumption in over 400 elderly participants. The study concluded that calcium consumption in early adulthood actually increased the risk of bone fractures as the person aged.2
Doctors in the UK found that calcium and vitamin D did not prevent fractures.3 Their two-year study showed that neither calcium nor vitamin D lowered the number of fractures in women over age seventy.
So, what controls bone loss? Hormones and exercise.
Bone building is hormonal. In women, estrogens are the main regulators of bone health and breakdown. Progesterone controls the rate of new bone deposition. But the most powerful bone builder in both men and women is testosterone. Testosterone is central for achieving maximal bone mass and strength.
Taking calcium supplements will give you a short-term boost in bone density, but that’s it. Over time, your hormones will work against the extra calcium and actually leave your bones more brittle than before.
Consider this: The US has the highest intake of calcium, yet our rates of osteoporosis are the highest in the world. Countries with lower intakes of calcium have lower rates of hip fracture and osteoporosis.4
Maintaining healthy levels of hormones in your body is one way to keep your bones strong.
There is an easy and inexpensive hormone precursor shown to improve the levels of other sex hormones. It’s called DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone). It is involved in the manufacturing of most major sex hormones in the body, like estrogen and testosterone. DHEA treatments are becoming more common.
You can get it over the counter but I don’t advise anyone take DHEA without having their blood levels checked. You will have to ask your doctor to measure it.
Physical inactivity will also lead to weakening of your bones. Your bones need to bear weight in order to become strong. When you do weight bearing activities, you are telling your bones that they must become strong in order to continue these activities.
You do this by encouraging them to push more weight. Challenging your muscles and bones with weight bearing exercises is crucial. Walking, cycling, weight training or playing tennis or golf will help.
In spite of what you hear on TV, calcium supplements have little to do with the strength of your bones. If you want strong bones for life, here are six things you can do right now:
Exercise: The best to increase bone density and reduce fractures is body weight exercises (like calisthenics) and resistance training. Make a habit of doing these exercises two or three times a week. Thirty minutes of walking a day will lower your risk of fracture by 30 percent.4
When you exercise, your muscles pull on your bones. This pressure creates a challenge that your body responds to by increasing bone density. This will ensure that you stay mobile and independent.
Skip calcium supplements: Get your calcium in your diet. Eat a variety of small fish, dark, leafy green vegetables, almonds and cashews, or dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt. You should be aiming for about 400 mg per day.
Take a vitamin D supplement: I recommend 400 IU per day. It helps your body absorb calcium and maintain bone density. Without vitamin D, calcium supplements are worthless. The best source of vitamin D is the sun – 10 to 15 minutes of exposure a day should be enough. During the winter, take cod liver oil. It’s by far the best supplemental source of vitamin D.
Eat your greens: Vitamin K found in dark leafy greens regulates calcium while stabilizing bones in addition to regulating blood clotting. Eat at least one serving of green vegetables like spinach, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts or broccoli every day. One study found people eating just 0.1 milligrams of vitamin K daily (about one large serving of greens) were 30% less likely to break their hips than people who ate less than that amount.
Another university study showed that vegetables and herbs improve your bone metabolism. Researchers found that rats that missed out on their veggies had much lower bone density.5 Another showed that fruits and vegetables increase your bone density. The same study found that dairy products did nothing.6
Eat foods rich in B-complex vitamins: Your body also uses a variety of B vitamins in bone building. The best sources are liver, eggs, lean meats, yeast, fish, raw nuts, asparagus, broccoli and bananas.
Get a blood test: A simple blood test will tell you how your hormone levels affect your bone health. This is the best way to determine the health of your bones and your risk for fracture. Women may need to take natural progesterone. For both men and women testosterone is the most powerful controller of your bone density.
Al Sears, MD
1 Freskanich D, et al., Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study American Journal of Public Health 1997 Jun; 87(6): 992-997
2 Cumming RG, et al., Case-control study of risk factors for hip fractures in the elderly American Journal of Epimediology 1994 Mar 1; 139(5): 493-503
3 Grant AM, et al. Calcium/vitamin D not effective for secondary prevention of fracture. Lancet 2005; 365:1621-1628.
4 Willett W. Calcium: too much of a good thing? Report from the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Roundtable.
5 Effect of vegetables on bone metabolism. Nature. September 23, 1999; 401(6751):343-4
6 Dietary influences on bone mass and bone metabolism: further evidence of a positive link between fruit and vegetable consumption and bone health? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 71, No. 1, 142-151, January 2000.
I saw some videos the other day about arm wrestling and broken arms. I wrote a post suggesting that the bone density problems that are now so popular are a modern problem because physical exertion has become less of a part of daily life, but also because of a medication and processed food way of living (especially now with aspartame, MSG, etc.). No doubt, the Vegan fad, etc. (absence of dairy) also contributes to the loss of bone density.
I always thought that the calcium explanation was too much of a 'wives tale' based on the simplistic observation that bones contain calcium (nobody is willing to disagree about calcium because it's politically correct to jump on the "calcium" bandwagon).
It would seem that loss of bone density is simply the adult form of rickets.
"that the bone density problems that are now so popular are a modern problem because physical exertion has become less of a part of daily life, but also because of a medication and processed food way of living (especially now with aspartame, MSG, etc.)
Sorry, but I strongly disagree with...............
"the Vegan fad, etc. (absence of dairy) also contributes to the loss of bone density".
"Calcium is an essential mineral. According to Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "Milk, in particular, is poor insurance against bone breaks ....the healthiest calcium sources are green leafy vegetables and legumes. ... You don't need to eat huge servings of vegetables or beans to get enough calcium, but do include both in your regular menu planning." http://www.milksucks.com/osteo.asp
This is true to an extent.....Osteoporosis does not just depend on how much calcium you consume. Just as Chrisb1 has stated, studies find no evidence that taking calcium no matter how high the dosage will actually reduce bone fractures. The key to maintaining strong bones is in exercise and Particularly diet, but the truth is that you have to understand homeostasis to be able to understand why Osteoporosis occurs, when we consume excessive amounts of Animal proteins(high in the SAD), our blood becomes acidic, this is proven fact (please refer to my research paper below). in order for your body to keep your blood PH at a stightly alkaline PH, it dissolves Calcium from your bones, this enters the blood stream and neutralizes your blood's acidic PH caused by the Animal Proteins. the calcium is then filtered through your kidneys and is lost in your urine....so the truth is, you don't need to consume calcium pills, because it is not how much calcium you consume, it is how much you lose in your urine! because of excessive Animal Protein intake.
also, Milk does not build strong bones, it is liquid animal protein. It also increases Cancer risks, that why the U.S. has highest rates of Osteoporosis, and we drink some of the highest amounts of milk. Milk does not build strong bones! it actually does the opposite..causes calcium loss!
I have research this, and it is easily understood.
please refer to my technical research paper below on Milk consumption:
Lack of magnesium and phosphorous are much more likely to contribute to weak bones than lack of calcium, though I would have to opine that calcium does have a role to play when combined with magnesium and other important nutrients and measures.
For my own take on natural ways to help maintain and build strong bones, may I suggest:
Talk about pop culture! Any little article can sway them from left to right with any easy read! Are there any standards for common sense at Curezone anymore? You people should make up your minds on these things, adding confusion to the healing process is not productive!
JustinL,
if you would like to expand on your comments and be a little more specific please.....................
"Talk about pop culture! Any little article can sway them from left to right with any easy read! Are there any standards for common sense at Curezone anymore? You people should make up your minds on these things, adding confusion to the healing process is not productive!"
Really great suggestions as after understanding these natural ways to cure the bones from this ailment, my mind is totally changed and I will suggest these tips to all old people in my surroundings.
At my home, my old grandma also used to take of various medicines for the treatment of bones.
But I want to ask one question that whether these medicines available in the market are totally useless?
Is this wastage of money? Or these medicines are helpful in some ways?
Which should be the most preferred way for the treatment of osteoporosis--- natural or natural?
I want answer to this query very seriously as possible.
And I will be very glad to obtain prompt response from the members of this prestigious forum.
fooodin,
the preferred treatment for osteoporosis?
This is a nutritional problem and therefore resolved nutritionally.
Weight-bearing exercise is also vitally
important...........................
"Poor physical fitness: Our bones are continually dissolving old bone tissue and rebuilding new bone. Interestingly, our bone strength is directly proportional to our muscle strength. Bones, like muscles, respond to stress by becoming bigger and stronger, and, like muscles, bones weaken and literally shrink if not used. It is essential to exercise, and, in particular, to exercise the back. Studies have found that a back-strengthening exercise program can provide significant, long lasting protection against spinal fractures in women at risk for osteoporosis."
Nutrients act in unison in the prevention of most diseases such as Osteoporosis, but lifestyle changes can also have a huge impact not only on bone health, but general health as well.
While exercise is generally good for the health. As for osteoporosis most specailly for advanced stages should be monitored and recommended by your health provider. There are exercises that can cause injury such as bone fracture if not done properly. HIgh impact exercises are not recommendable. Check this article for exercise and food for osteoporosis additional information.
Until I was 30, I grew up on a diet that consisted mainly of dairy (milk) and ground beef (I also rode the bicycle at the very least 20 miles a day). The next 25 years were dominated by fast food, junk food, no vitamins, minerals or supplements, 18-20 hours a day at work, average 3 hours sleep per day, at least 8 cups of coffee per day with 5 spoons of sugar, and heavy smoking, yet I'm in perfect health. For the last 5 years, with the coffee I make at home, I go through about 4 to 5 pounds of sugar per month and eat horribly. Yet, I'm in perfect health.
I think that all this research is only THEORETICAL (if you're aiming for the 'perfect health award', then dairy might not fit the equation well).
Sure, I've heard many bad things about dairy, but the overall benefits of avoiding dairy would seem exclusive to a small segment of society that needs to overcome an impaired metabolism/body chemistry (lactose intolerant affects nutrient utilization?).
My bias is completely unscientific and any professional number crunching is irrelevant TO ME, but what attracted me to the idea of alternative medicine is that the foods provided by the creator are perfectly fit for healing the human body. I can't see how dairy is an exception.
In my unscientific understanding, I see many people use cleanses and flushes to an extreme and never let the body stabilize. I view the research as also being carried to an impractical absurdity.
How is it that alternative medicine/health can heartily promote natural food EXCEPT dairy? Isn't dairy NATURAL?
Dairy is made from cows milk which was designed by Nature to feed the offspring of cows in their weaning period: much in the same way that human milk is designed for weaning their own offspring, and only for a short period of time.
Your diet history will be prone to health-related problems eventually, and where most if not all would agree here that a history of junk-food consumption is invitational to serious disease, sooner if not later.
To my understanding, cow's milk is not exclusively a "lactation" milk (mother's milk). It has been a staple of ancient cultures/tribes and is still used by tribes all over the world, not simply modernized/civilized cultures.
This one misunderstanding that cow's milk is fit for lactation only is a flawed/invalid reference point for modern research.
Cows don't give milk only for a certain amount of time after giving birth. It is not "lactation"/weaning milk.
Whatever your point of view regarding the use of milk, humans are an exception in the natural world for consuming milk past infancy, despite the fact that more than 75% of adult humans who are lactose intolerant, a characteristic that is more prevalent among individuals of African or Asian descent.
The sugar lactose is found only in milk, forsythia flowers, and a few tropical shrubs.
The enzyme needed to digest lactose, lactase, reaches its highest levels in the small intestines after birth and then begins a slow decline.
T. Colin Campbell, professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, also questions dairy's place in the dietary guidelines. "I like dairy. I grew up on a farm. But one has to look at the facts," he says. "Dairy has been considered a health food, and that's an unfortunate myth."
Campbell's views come from observations he and his colleagues made during a series of nutritional studies that began in 1983 and are collectively known as the China Study. In these studies, Campbell found that Asians, who consume far less dietary calcium than Americans, have one-fifth the bone fracture rate of Americans.
"Those countries that use the most cow's milk and its products also have the highest fracture rates and the worst bone health," Campbell says. He details the results of his work in a new book called "The China Study."
In Asian countries, people can get all the calcium their bodies need from plant sources such as leafy green vegetables, Campbell says.
Americans have weak bones not because they drink too little milk but because they drink too much, Campbell says. Animal protein, such as the protein in milk, makes blood and tissues more acidic, and to neutralize this acid, the body pulls calcium, which is a very effective base, from the bones. Because dairy products contain substantial amounts of animal protein, drinking milk actually robs the bones of calcium, he says. The more meat and milk Americans eat, he says, the more calcium they need to consume to process that protein". http://www.vegsource.com/video/colin.wmv.htm
So there you have it.
The only industry that will tell you that milk is good for you is the Dairy Industry: because they sell the stuff.
It is of course your choice whether to consume milk or not, but I would personally prefer not to be susceptible to the many diseases that are linked to its consumption.
"Cows don't give milk only for a certain amount of time after giving
birth....."
Neither do humans. Wet nurses have been around since the beginning of
time and have only fallen out of favor since the era of bottle formulas. A
wet nurse is perpetually giving milk - just like a cow, and there are still a
few out there in the USA. The ability of a human woman to remain in
lactation is not limited to "a certain amount of time after giving
birth." In fact, human females can induce lactation - even if they
have never given birth.
#107689,
lactation depends on supply and demand, where suckling stimulates the production of colostrum and then milk, so if the demand is absent then the milk will eventually "dry-up".
It is generally considered to be the ideal nutrition for the newborns of the same species and thereafter, until such time as the offspring is weaned and they can take solid nourishment.
However, this is a digression from the original discussion, in that cows milk and dairy products are not an ideal food for humans: cows milk is for calves and human milk is for humans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYpafipJyDE&feature=related
"There is a colossal amount of information linking the consumption of dairy products to heart disease, cancer, arthritis, migraine headaches, allergies, ear infections, colds, hay-fever, asthma, respiratory ailments, and a multitude of other problems, as documented by Hannah Allen, Alec Burton, Viktorias Kulvinskas, F M Pottenger (Pottengers Cats), Herbert M Shelton, and N W Walker, among others.
"Let's get right to it. I will ask you a question that I wish for you to answer strictly from common sense. Cows don't drink cows milk, so why do humans?
What in the World are humans doing drinking cow's milk?
If a grown cow was offered milk, it would sniff it and say, "No, thanks, I'll have the grass."
Think about it. Could our creator possibly have set things up in such a way that the ONLY species on Earth to drink cow's milk would be human beings?
Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, "What's he talking about, calves drink cow's milk!" EXACTLY! Cow's milk was designed and created for one purpose and one purpose only: to feed the young of the species.
No animals drink or want to drink milk once they are weaned. Of course, I am not talking about domesticated animals, who have been perverted from their natural inclinations.
During the initial phase of life it is the invariable practice of ALL Mammals to take the milk of their Mothers; then they are weaned and spend the remainder of their lives sustained by other foods. Nature dictates that we are to be weaned at an early age. Humans, on the other hand, teach that after a Mother has performed her nursing, the cow should take over. Have you ever seen a human nursing off a cow?........."
FIT FOR LIFE by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond Pages: 105, 106.
If any adult wishes to partake in lactation and the "benefits" thereof, they are welcome to it.
Usually Dairy is considered as pretty Healthy (depends on who you're talking to) but lately I'm hearing that they're sneaking ingredients into the milk that shouldn't be there. I have stopped drinking milk for awhile now but still eat cheese occasionally (I know, made from milk but I still like the taste, hard to completely give up.)
cows milk,with its high gluten content and not very bioavailable calcium, is not healthy food.
most calcium in supplements adds to calcium arterial plaque not bone density.something nobody needs.
SOME older people(and a few not that old) for a variety of dietary and personal metabolism reasons have a hard time getting calcium from their diet,even with vit d3 and magnesium.
like the problem i have with my mom.she eats pretty good,being from that generation that ate vegetables instead of pizza(children did not run the family then,like now-most of the married men i know are just a slab of meat and a paycheck)........geez.....back to calcium...
but with her increasing lack of stomach acid due to oldage, and 10-20 other age related reasons(that don't affect everyone to the same degree),her bones are losing their calcium.
and i tell her all the good things she should eat and all the vitamins and stuff she should take,and she'll do some of them.
but she's not going to take a handfull of supplements like i do 3x a day(most women have a real hard time taking pills for some reason),or go on a raw food diet,only sooo much she'll do there.
she says at 83 food and cards are all she has, and i understand that.
so i have her on strontium supplements.no, not strontium 90 from a-bombs.
with calcium,strontium is the other main essential mineral in your bones. it is easily bioavailable in a supplement and also helps to modulate the calcium-potassium- magnesium equation.
it has solved the osteoporosis problem in my osteo people.
and she will take one more small pill.
and i can go on working on her health in other areas.
This article is soo true. Try natural sources of calcium. They are the only ones that are absorbed in the right quantities into our system. Try natural healing foods for Osteoporosis: get this book at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AMLucas
When we start listening to studies from Harvard University med centers we may as well take nutritional advice from a cafeteria line cook at a prison. I'm amazed so many here give
any credence at all to an article like this.
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Calcium Supplements Do not Build Strong Bones. 
