Midnight Sun Herbal Health
A Complimentary and Alternative Health Practice
Calcium, Magnesium & Vitamin D
WHAT IS OSTEOPENIA AND OSTEOPOROSIS?
Osteopenia is considered a thinning of the bone mass which most often is seen in individuals over 50 years of age. While Osteopenia is not considered severe, it is a lower than normal bone density and may pose a risk for developing Osteoporosis. The difference between the two is the level of bone density. Osteoporosis may lead to increased risk of breaking bones, loss of height, “Dowager’s” hump, pain and a stooping posture.
A person is considered to have Osteoporosis when the bone density shows loss of bone mass below a certain level. Osteoporosis is diagnosed more often in women than men and the diagnosis is done after a bone density scan. Your physician will determine if you need to have an Osteoporosis screening done, called a densitometry scan (DEXA scan). This is often routinely done in women after the age of 50, the age at which menopause generally occurs, which may be a factor in loss of bone density. Other risk factors may be a diet lacking in calcium, magnesium and vitamin D and other nutrients. Additionally small boned women of Caucasian and Asian descent, family history of bone loss, smoking, lack of exercise, excess use of caffeine and alcohol, too much salt and/or sugar, phosphoric acid found in soft drinks are causes and certain medically diagnosed diseases such as Cushing’s, Hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism, unmanaged Celiac Disease and certain medication as well (talk to your doctor or pharmacist). Talk to your physician if you believe yourself to be at risk or in a high risk group.
A diet rich in bio-available calcium, magnesium and vitamin D and other important vitamins and minerals is important for bone health, but one must not overlook good nutrition for overall health as part of this. Food based nutrients are far more easily absorbed into the body than vitamins that are manufactured. While not every dish in every meal needs to be high in the nutrients that can treat Osteopenia and osteoporosis, it is desirable to design a diet rich in the appropriate nutrients. If a main dish is high in calcium it is fine to sere other dishes or sides dishes that are rich in the other nutrients. In some cases appropriate additional supplementation may be necessary. The goal is to support the body in a balanced way over time.
Weight bearing exercise can help slow or stop the development of Osteopenia and Osteoporosis and even reversing it. These exercises include walking, low impact aerobics (various kinds), weight lifting, etc. If you don’t know where to start with exercises, it is well worth it to talk to a personal trainer, who can design a program just for you and your level of ability and health situation. Stopping smoking and lessen intake of alcohol and coffee is highly advisable.
CALCIUM AND ITS ABSROPTION INTO THE BODY
What helps and what hinders
Developing and maintaining strong bones is important for everyone, young and old. As people age Osteopenia and Osteoporosis may become an issue for many. But few stop to think that the vitamins and minerals needed to create strong bones also are involved either together or individually in many other vital body functions; i.e. cardiac function, muscle function, nervous system function, ability sleep well, menstrual cramping, arteriosclerosis, kidney stones and more.
Risk factors for thinning of the bones may be a diet lacking in calcium, magnesium and vitamin D and other nutrients. Additionally small boned women of Caucasian and Asian descent may be at higher risk. Family history of bone loss, osteoporosis, smoking, and lack of exercise, excess use of caffeine and alcohol, too much salt and/or sugar, phosphoric acid found in soft drinks can be causes for loss of bone density. Certain medically diagnosed diseases such as Cushing’s, Hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism, unmanaged Celiac Disease and certain medication can be causes as well. Talk to your physician if you believe yourself to be at risk or in a high risk group.
To have strong bones there needs to be enough Calcium available from the diet or from supplementation. Calcium is absorbed from the digestive tract into the blood stream and from the blood stream into the bones and other tissues is a finely regulated process which hinges on many other body functions operating normally. While it is too complicated to go into the details here, I will outline an overview of how calcium is absorbed and what can interfere with the absorption.
In order for Calcium to effectively be absorbed into the body several things need to happen beside the intricate processes between the Thyroid, Parathyroid and the kidneys. In addition to Calcium, enough Magnesium needs to available in the diet as well. The absorption mechanism for Magnesium is similar to that of Calcium. Magnesium promotes and regulates the Parathyroid, which is essential in the regulation of Calcium in the body. A large number of enzymes also depend on the availability of Magnesium for their function. Magnesium promotes normal blood pressure, helps regulate blood sugar, helps boost immunity and aids the nervous system among other things.
Vitamin D promotes the absorption of Calcium and also Magnesium, iron and zinc from the intestinal tract, as well as the transfer of Calcium across cell membranes so it gets to where it is needed. Vitamin D also helps control the level of Calcium in the blood. A larger and very intricate process is involved in transporting calcium to the bones from the blood. When there is not enough calcium available from the diet a similar, but reverse process takes place to take calcium from the bones to back to the blood. A proper level of Calcium is needed in the blood to allow for a calm and happy nervous system, etc.
Vitamin D is available from some food items, but is also gotten from exposure to sun if a large enough area of bare skin is exposed for enough length of time. This is not now thought to be reliable way to get Vitamin D for most, since it depends on many factors, geographic latitude, season, time of day, amount of time spent indoors and size of skin area exposed. The general thinking today is that it is beneficial for arms, hands and face to be exposed for about 10-20 minutes a day, but again it depends on a number of factors.
A sedentary life will also interfere with the mineralization of bones, so it is important to get plenty of weight bearing exercise, i.e. walking, weight lifting, jogging, walking stairs, hiking, dancing, racquet sports, etc. that work against gravity. If you are sedentary but not by choice work with a physical therapist or personal trainer, who can help you set up a program. But in the end it is important to, in addition to calcium/magnesium and Vitamin D rich foods to eat a varied diet that supports the many other functions in the body, because they are important to overall body function and health.
If you are starting a weight bearing exercise program for the first time, check with your health professional first and please get help to get started in a safe way, so you can avoid injury.
Of course not everyone may need to worry about everything. If you get enough weight bearing exercise, eat enough calcium and magnesium rich foods, are reasonable with the salt, sugar, soda intake, do no smoke and do not have a history of Osteopenia/Osteoporosis yourself or from your family, and have no illness or are not taking medications that encourage bone loss, you may well be fine. Your doctor can do a bone density test which will tell you if you are at risk. But if you are worried about Osteopenia/Osteoporosis because you may be at risk, get yourself checked. Blood tests can also be performed to see if you are deficient in any of the vitamins and minerals that are necessary for healthy bones and proper health generally.
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