2010/04/07
Published
In part A we discussed the limitation of a bone density test and how you can find out on your own if you are actually continuing to loose bone! Immune Matrix has found that even those put on prescription medications for osteoporosis will not necessarily have their bone loss halted. We also discussed how lifestyle, diet, toxic exposure and medications can contribute to bone loss. Here, we will discuss how certain conditions contribute to bone loss and what you can do to help stop it.
HORMONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO BONE LOSS
Vitamin D and Bone Health
Your vitamin D level is crucial for healthy bone. Ask your doctor to order a blood test to determine your vitamin D level. Read our article about vitamin D and what it means to have optimum levels to your immune and bone health. Without sufficient levels of vitamin D you are unable to use the calcium that you take in from your diet to rebuild bone and will store it in the form of bone spurs and other calcifications in the body accelerating the calcification of your arteries, joints and connective tissue.
Can Silent Heart Disease Contribute to Bone Loss?
Elevated homocysteine (as determined from a blood test) will interfere with the collagen used in rebuilding and maintaining bone. This is one mechanism of how silent heart disease contributes to osteoporosis. Homocysteine also tends to increase in menopausal women.
A simple remedy in a majority of cases for elevated homocysteine is to take in sufficient folic acid. The best form is 5-tetra-hydroxy-folate. We are all deficient to some degree in folic acid because our food is deficient in this nutrient. Folic acid is also an essential ingredient necessary for efficient detoxification of the liver in the methylation pathway. Insufficient folic acid means insufficient detoxification. Folic acid also plays an essential role in maintaining a strong immune system. Because of the importance of folic acid in key metabolic processes, even small deficiencies have great impact on bone health. It is best to take folic acid with B12. Immune Matrix gives its patients Beyond B12, which contains 5-tetra-hydroxy-folate and B12 in sublingual tablets. Its is very bio-available and is available online at www.immunematrix.com.
Can Digestive Disorders Contribute to Bone Loss?
Even if one is taking a mineral supplement, if you suffer from low stomach acid, or have acid reflux, your ability to break down and digest minerals can accelerate your bone loss. Healing your acid reflux is essential, and suppressing stomach acid with over the counter and prescription medications will continue to inhibit your digestion and absorption of alkaline minerals, leaving you vulnerable to the progression of bone loss and the development of osteoporosis.
How Does Menopause Contribute to Bone Loss?
Progesterone enhances new bone formation more than estrogens, which merely inhibit resorption of old bone, a very important distinction. As a woman ages she stops ovulating and therefore without ovulation, she stops making progesterone. Progesterone is essential for the absorption of estrogen in the body and for bone formation and repair. If progesterone is not taken to replace its loss, its absence will contribute to hot flashes and insufficient bone repair. Testosterone and DHEA also play key roles in proper bone health and should be considered part of any healthy natural hormone replacement program. Future articles will go into greater detail on aging and hormone decline, as well as hormones and fertility.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO CORRECT BONE LOSS
Can I Just Take More Minerals?
Everyone hears the phrase “take more calcium!” to prevent osteoporosis. However, calcium alone and too much calcium without regard to the balance of hormones, vitamin D and alkaline minerals can create additional problems for the body. Therefore, taking more minerals, especially calcium can throw off one’s mineral metabolism. Excess calcium will result in your body making bone spurs, aggravating fibromyalgia pain, aggravating kidney stones, as well as neurotransmitter balances leading to imbalances in brain chemistry affecting mood, focus and anxiety especially for those with immune sensitivities as seen in ADD, ADHD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis, hyperthyroid and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lyme disease, lupus, and MS.
The first thing you need to do is to determine your relative levels of your minerals stores.  Everyone’s metabolism, hormone levels and immune system is different. These three factors significantly impact one’s daily mineral’s needs. Therefore, what your body needs can be completely different from your neighbor! In addition, certain stressors, such as heavy metals, environmental toxic exposure, and metabolic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, sugar metabolism inefficiencies, syndrome X, adrenal fatigue all change the ratios of specific minerals our body requires.
A simple objective test to establish a baseline evaluation is an excellent place to start; the hair test. It’s a simple kit you do at home and mail to the lab that will show the state of your mineral absorption within the last three months. It will give you a general idea of which minerals you are most deficient in and the relative ratios that you should be aiming to have. A hair kit is available online at www.immunematrix.com (Doctor’s Data Hair Elements SKU: SKU17491). This test will also help you to determine the effectiveness of the current supplement program you are taking. As you are now beginning to see, our mineral metabolism goes far beyond maintaining strong bones!
What If Vitamins & Supplements Make Me Feel Sick?
As discussed in our other articles, immune sensitivities can affect and throw off our metabolism of key minerals essential to liver detoxification. If you find that you are sensitive to certain vitamins and mineral blends, the first culprit to look at is the fillers in the capsule, the second culprit is the synthetic nature of the vitamin, a petroleum byproduct. You get what you pay for and if you are buying a cheap vitamin supplement, your body will have to work harder to extract and absorb the nutrients from your supplement. Synthetic vitamins are cheap but they are the molecular opposite of what the body needs. The body has to break down and convert the vitamin, especially synthetic B vitamins in the liver. This puts added stress on your liver and increases your need for methylation support supplements such as magnesium, selenium, B12, B6, lithium, chromium, zinc, manganese and other trace minerals.
A doctor’s grade vitamin/mineral supplement is more potent than what is sold over the counter and is more reliable in terms of its purity and bio-availability. Immune Matrix tests all its recommended supplements for outcomes and has found one mineral supplement producing exceptionally good results in those with digestive disorders, those that are heavy metal toxic and having immune sensitivities. BAM was specifically designed to meet the body’s needs for detoxification, and is available online at www.immunematrix.com (BAM – Beyond Any Multiple – 180 tablets SKU: SKU16160). However, a broad based mineral supplement alone may not be sufficient for those with metabolic challenges to absorbing minerals.
An immune driven imbalance of minerals will manifest as someone having problems with sulfur. They might become sensitive to red wine. It might give them headaches. They might be unable to take sulfur based drugs. They may dislike sulfur based foods such as egg yolks, garlic or onions. They may have fibromyalgia. They may be unable to eat dark green leafy vegetables. These are some signs of immune system interference with mineral breakdown and absorption.
When the body cannot break down mineral salts, the form of minerals we digest from dark green leafy vegetables, these salts can become stored in the body and cause kidney stones, or other calcifications in the body that can cause muscle pains, and imbalance our mineral reserves leading to restless leg, anxiety, increased sensitivity to pain, and bone de-mineralization.Â
Chronic immune inflammation will over time impact our calcium and other alkaline minerals absorption, essential to maintain and rebuild bone. For more information, read our articles about the detoxification pathways, and sulfur metabolism and minerals.
Many patients need the assistance of cell salts such as in Schussler salts. These minerals mixes are very bio-available and assist the body to absorb mineral supplements. Immune Matrix has found clinically that when a patient has problems absorbing minerals, the addition of Schussler salts, along with balancing vitamin D, K, and supporting the methylation pathway results in stopping bone loss markers. This is a remarkable find and an easy remedy to add to one’s supplement regime. It is suggested that you test your supplement program in three months with a new hair test and DpD test to monitor your progress. Taking charge of knowing your body’s bone loss marker will empower you to make easy lifestyle and supplement changes to prevent or halt the progression of osteoporosis.
Please note:
Information on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication or other treatment.
