Category Archives: osteopenia

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“Osteoporosis and Hormones: The Whole Story”

My Chorale Pic

Laying down my pen

I am laying down my pen after twenty-seven years publishing Health-Light Newsletter.  I’ve left quite a legacy of print in my fifty-years of service as a health care provider and healer. I will continue posting articles from previous issues. I hope you will enjoy this one. Thank you for following me and sharing my blog articles with others. I bid you adieu with best wishes for your health and happiness.

The following article is from the Summer-Fall 2002 issue of Health Light. I first published it in my monthly column entitled “Your Body Knows Best” in the Lake Charles American Press.  I think you will find it quite informative. Enjoy!

Osteoporosis and Hormones: The Whole Story

In light of recent developments in medicine relative to hormone replacement therapy, exposing further the limitations of the medical model of health care, I thought it would be timely to write a series of articles exploring the alternative health care model and what it has to offer in this troubled area of hormonal balance and osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a condition of bone loss orchestrated by the body’s innate wisdom which has determined that some of the calcium in bones is needed elsewhere in the body, primarily to buffer rising acid in body fluids. The pH (potential of Hydrogen) of body fluids, in which all cells live, ideally is 7.2, which is practically neutral and slightly alkaline.

One of the largest determining factors of body fluid pH is the residue of digestion. Proteins and grains leave an acid-ash residue, because they require hydrochloric acid to digest them. Fruits and vegetables, for the most part, leave an alkaline-ash residue. (A chart is available at the center.)

Acid-ash has to be neutralized in the duodenum before it can be sent through the intestines. For this process, bile from the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and copious amounts of alkaline juices from the pancreas, are secreted into the duodenum as the stomach contents are emptied into it to emulsify the fats and neutralize the digestive acids.

The pancreas and liver make their alkaline juices from alkalizing minerals, such as sodium, which are stored in the body. These come from vegetables rich in organic minerals, which commercially-grown vegetables sorely lack. They are quickly used up keeping body fluids neutral for cell comfort and optimal function.

These sodium reserves become depleted in two ways: by over-consumption of proteins and grains and under-consumption of mineral-rich vegetation. When this reserve runs out, the body, in its wisdom, turns to the fluids and starts recycling sodium, such as is found in bile. When too much sodium is pulled out, causing calcium to precipitate out of solution and crystalize (contributing to stone formation), the body turns to the bones and starts re-absorbing calcium, the next mineral in line for neutralizing acids. The body’s time clock and survival mechanism kicks in and basically says, ”I can live with stones and osteoporosis, but I can’t live with my cells dying in these acidulous fluids.” Emergency measures are then taken in order to sustain and prolong life, the basic drive in all living organisms.

In his article on the subject in the July 4th issue of the American Press, syndicated medical columnist, Dr. Allen Douma recommends more calcium and protein in the diet. New evidence warrants caution in this area so that we do not consume too much acid-ash food and we balance that with lots of organically grown dark-green leafy and subsoil vegetables, such as lettuce, celery, spinach, radishes
and carrots, which are high in alkalizing minerals. Supplementation with organic minerals and barley green is an excellent safeguard measure as well.

Caution must also be taken to avoid “elemental” or inorganic calcium and other minerals (carbonates) which cannot be absorbed into the body. It’s only via the vegetable kingdom that we can receive the elements of the mineral kingdom. The vegetables chelate and arrange them in proportions we can use.

Milk is a high-protein food that takes sodium and calcium out of the body to buffer the acid it produces during digestion. All the calcium of a glass of milk is used up in this process, leaving not a single milligram for your bones.

For supplementation, calcium lactate or citrate can be safely taken. Cal-Ma-Plus, by Standard Process, what I use, is by far the best choice formula for increasing calcium levels in the bones.

Understanding Hormones and Drugs

With all the hoopla in the news lately about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), it might do us all well to review the process by which bone is replaced in the body. Over a seven-year cycle, every bone is replaced in your body cell by cell. Just how this happens is a story worth telling.

Bone replacement is done by osteoblasts, cells that generate bone tissue. Bone resorption is done by osteoclasts, which break out old bone tissue, thus making room for new. Both are essential to healthy bones. For example, if the old bone is not broken out, new bone cannot be brought in to replace it. The result is bone collapse from within, especially the long bones and spinal segments.

The hormone estrogen activates osteoblasts to produce new bone, just as it activates new tissue growth throughout the body. Progesterone, its partner, activates osteoclasts to break out old bone and stops the proliferation of issues. This is how estrogen is responsible for the production of neoplasm which forms tumors, and how progesterone helps stop and reverse tumor growth.

According to the literature that comes with them, Fosamax (alendronate) and Actonel (risedronate), two popular drugs given to “fight” osteoporosis, do so by inhibiting progesterone from activating osteoclasts. Old bone does not get taken out. New bone cells lay down on top of this chemical, now coating the bones, and form a veneer of calcium on the surface of the bones. This looks good on your x-rays and bone-density tests but is very misleading, because underneath this veneer is old bone now not being replaced by new. The result is hollow bones that will crumble under stress due to lack of internal structure and substance. The spinal segments are often the first to go in these cases where drug therapy is used. Women on Fosamax are known to have stress fractures in the spine.

This is one of many classic examples of the failure of the medical model of health care to honor the innate wisdom of the body. (For documented research on how medical prescriptions of estrogen without progesterone gave American women their breast cancer, read Dr John Lee’s book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Menopause.)

Dr. Lee, a medical physician, is doing the apologies for the rest of his profession and is busy reversing breast cancer in thousands of women, mainly by applying progesterone cream. Call the office for his video, which every woman should view, and for more details on how you can replace your HRT with natural hormonal support using herbs and nutritional therapy.

Estrogen and progesterone are made elsewhere in the body than the ovaries. Natural estrogen and progesterone can also be administered through the skin by a cream to control hot flashes. Natural Woman is the formula we use, recommended by Dr.
John Lee ($25 for a month’s supply).

Bone Production

We now know which came first . . . the chicken!  Why? Because only the chicken can make the calcium that forms the eggshell. Listen up. Chickens that lay a calcium rich egg every day, eat grains and seeds that contain very little calcium. Yet the droppings of chickens and other bird species contain substantial amounts of calcium. But why?!

A cow produces 1-3 gallons of calcium rich milk every day, yet the cow’s diet is low in calcium. Grasses are approximately .001 % calcium. But how?!

The truth of the matter is that animals and birds naturally produce up to 20 times more calcium than they ingest If a calcium block or calcium pellets are put out for animals and birds, they will not eat it Why not?!

Conditions such as osteoporosis, PMS, hypertension, depression and many others are, in part, a result of calcium deficiency. Why don’t cows and chickens have these diseases?!

Because they eat grass and whole grains, which are surprisingly low in calcium but very high in silica and other enzyme producing micro-elements. They produce the calcium they need from silica, just as we do, and it’s done by an alchemical process called
biological transmutation.

We actually manufacture bone tissue from silica and a number of other trace minerals, such as zinc, copper, manganese, fluoride and boron, along with many other trace minerals and organic minerals, which include, of course, calcium, magnesium and
phosphorus.

Dr. Louis Krevran discovered that animals and birds eat foods rich in minerals that actually biologically transmute into other minerals required for metabolic processes. Bone growth and strengthening is one of these ongoing processes. Seeds, grains, herbs and grasses are rich in organic silica. Silica is 26% of the earth’s crust. Studies have proven that animals and birds produce calcium as a terminal waste product.

Now here’s the important piece of the puzzle. Humans cannot assimilate a waste product such as synthesized calcium (carbonate) because the body does not know how to metabolize it That’s also why chickens and cows won’t eat it In fact, ingesting synthesized calcium causes the parathyroid gland to function inefficiently.

Other Dietary Considerations

Osteoporosis was relatively uncommon among the ancients of Egypt, Rome and Greece, and is also unknown among the Indians of Hunsa, Peru, Equador, Brazil and New Guinea. Their diets of herbs and botanicals, such as Equisetum and Alfalfa, were rich in enzymes, silica, iron, copper, chromium, vanadium, boron, tin, rhodium and other minerals not found in modem vegetable diets.
Equisetum is a plant containing the richest source of safe silica known to man.

Studies have proven that silica from plants can prevent osteoporosis and calcium deficiency diseases, or reverse them.

Green and garbanzo beans, leeks, strawberry, nettle, bamboo shoots, seeds, and whole grains such as brown rice, are all rich in organic silica and other micro-minerals. The Japanese have strong, dense bones because of the amount of rice they eat daily. Such whole plants and other nutrients are in the formula Bone Plants by Total Health Solutions (available at my office).

Exercise Unavoidable

As much as we would like, simply popping pills to correct osteoporosis is not enough. Changing diet and lifestyle is unavoidable, as is exercise. But how does exercise help bone growth and density ? The answer is quite fascinating. Let’s explore.

In physiology we learned that when a crystal structure of bone bends or is placed under pressure, an electrical current is generated. This current triggers the movement of electrons, which sets up small, measurable vibrations. The current, or perhaps the resulting vibrations, also stimulate cell growth and mineral deposition. Without these vibrations of electrical currents, bones begin to weaken, as we learned in outer space. Astronauts lost bone mass quickly without gravity to place needed stress on weight-bearing bones.

Exercise is essential to bone growth and strength, as it is to all the tissues of the body. Incorporate a spirit of enjoyment into your exercise program and you have creative activity that can only lead to health and strength throughout your entire body.

And now you know the whole story! Remember, your body knows best and never does anything without a good reason. Trust it. Listen to it. Honor it’s wisdom and help it with sound nutrition and natural, holistic health care.

You body already knows what it needs to restore its health. All you have to do is ask it. I can help you do that through my services. Sound nutrition and whole food supplementation go a long way in helping to release the innate healing power of the body by supporting the healing and restorative processes. Call for a courtesy consultation today.

Anthony Palombo, D.C.

(337) 802-5510

Visit my HealingTones.org blog for more inspired reading. Current theme is Human Relationships: The Law Of Balance

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Supporting Bone Remodeling

In my last post we considered the process of bone remodeling.  We saw how old bone is literally nibbled away by osteoclasts  preparing the way for osteoblasts to come behind and lay down a collagen matrix  for new bone with a fresh supply of calcium.  We also saw how estrogen regulates this process by helping osteoclasts die (apoptosis)  as they complete their jobs of resorption, thereby maintaining the ratio between these two bone workhorse cells. We looked at the roles Vitamin D and the Parathyroid hormones play in stimulating osteoclast activity and the release of calcium and phosphorus from the bones into the blood, and how they facilitate calcium resorption in the kidneys.

 So, there’s a whole lot of activity in the bone remodeling process going on daily in your body completing a cycle in 100-day, yet taking seven years to completely rebuild every bone in your skeletal system.  Basically, we have a new frame and muscular system every seven years, which is quite amazing!  I’ve now been through nine bodies and starting on my tenth one.  

We also looked at how osteopenia and osteoporosis occur when the net rate of bone resorption exceeds the rate of bone formation, resulting in a decrease in bone mass, and the role that estrogen and testosterone deficiencies play in this degenerative process.  Then we reviewed the medical approach to this condition with drug intervention. Fosamax (alendronate) is the drug of choice.  However, its mechanism of action is deceiving, to say the least, and debilitating at worst, often causing brittle bones that fracture and jaw bone necrosis in the long run. Hormone replacement therapy is also popular, but not without some risks.  

A MORE NATURAL APPROACH

This brings us to the subject of this article: Supporting Bone Remodeling.  As we saw is a previous article, bones are made up of a lot more than just calcium.  They’re made of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals and protein.  Taking calcium tablets alone, then, is not enough to feed your bones, especially if you’re taking calcium carbonate, the cheapest and most useless form of calcium on the market.  

By the way, there’s plenty of calcium in the blood stream just from the process of bone resorption, if you stop to think about it.  The key is to get it out of the blood and into the tissues and bones. We’ll talk about that shortly.  What isn’t used up as muscle fuel is recycled back into the bones.  What cannot be used at all is thrown out through the hair and nails giving them their white color. As we age the hair turns white with calcium as bone resorption is accelerated faster than the calcium can be used, as well as other reason related to mineral ratios and balance. I talk about this ratio in an earlier blog post. But I’ll cover the subject again in a future article.

Borrowing from a previous post to refresh our memories and to show that bone building is not all about calcium . . .

Minerals present in bone are: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, silica, iron, zinc, selenium, baron, sulphur, chromium, and dozens of others.  In order for bones to absorb the minerals Vitamin D must be present.  Collagen is also part of the bone and provides a matrix for bone formation.

MY RECOMMENDATION FOR BONE REMODELING SUPPORT:

1.) First, stop the leaks. Then start getting calcium into the bones. I use Biost by Standard Process Labs (SPL). Biost is a bone protomorphogen (nucleic protein molecule of bone cells).  It supplies the enzyme phosphatase which the body needs in order to metabolize the raw materials that compose bony tissue.  Phosphatase also transports calcium from the blood into the bones.  

Note: For men with enlarged prostates, (prostate hypertrophy), I use Prost-X because it contains phosphatase which also gets calcium into the prostate gland as well as the bones.  The prostate will enlarge if it lacks calcium.

2.) Feed your bones.  And what better to feed them with than raw bone meal . . . not dead and cooked commercial grade bone meal which is calcium carbonate  (good for your lily bulbs but not for your bones).  Raw bone meal has all the ingredients for bone remodeling.  I use Calcifood Wafers (SPL) when I want immediate support of raw material in severe cases of osteoporosis. Note: Dentists have used Calcifood and Biost for loose teeth with fine results because they rebuild the bone around the teeth.   

3.) A simple and daily supply of nutrient-rich whole foods that have the vitamins and minerals needed to build bones, especially dark green leafy vegetables like fresh raw spinach. This would include vegetables organically grown in mineral-rich soil.  You can tell that if they’re sweet.  It also includes at least 15 – 20 minutes of sunshine on the skin daily for Vitamin D, along with plenty of essential poly-unsaturated fatty acids (EFA’s) in the skin to give the sunshine something with which to make Vitamin D and carry calcium into the tissues. For those who don’t get enough sunshine, you can supplement with Cataplex D (SPL).

To supplement I use SPL’s multiple wholefood formulations of Catalyn, Organic Bound Minerals, Trace Minerals B12, and SUPER-EFF, a converted form of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids essential to the transportation of calcium from the blood into the tissues.

Note: EFA’s need to be converted in the liver to arachidonic acid to be of benefit. A person with a degenerative disease has a bad liver or else he wouldn’t have a degenerative disease.  So he can’t convert EFA’s to arachidonic acid.  SUPER-EFF fills the need here. 

For severe degenerative conditions in all tissues, including nerve degeneration in multiple sclerosis, muscle degeneration in muscular dystrophy,  and bone degeneration in rheumatoid arthritis, even in cancer,  SUPER-EFF is a converted form of polyunsaturated fatty acids and therefore readily useful in rebuilding these tissues. 

4.) Support for the four major endocrine players in female and male hormonal chemistry.  They are the pituitary gland, the thyroid and parathyroid glands, the adrenal glands, and, last but not least, the gonadal glands (ovaries and testes).  I use Symplex F and Symplex M  by SP with superb results. 

5.) Probably of utmost importance these days is support for the stress-response system’s central regulator, the hypothalamus.  I use Hypothalmex  (SPL) for support.   More about this below.

6.) Support the Thyroid and Parathyroid glands with iodine from organic minerals and Cal-Ma-Plus (SPL) which has parathyroid desiccate to enhance the absorption of calcium.  (Note: Soy products slow down the thyroid.)

7.) If you’re over 45 years of age, you would be wise to supplement with Betaine Hydrochloride tablets (SP).  We seem to produce less of it as we age.  Hydrochloric acid, besides being necessary for digestion of proteins in the stomach,  is essential in the assimilation and absorption of calcium, which needs a more acidic condition in the colon for proper absorption.  Betaine Hydrochloride provides that pH factor for calcium.  If you’re having “acid indigestion” take 2 Zypan (SPL) with meals and take care of those “heart burns” after meals while getting your Betaine Hydrochloride at the same time. 

8.) Herbal support for remodeling ageing bones, particularly in mature women.  I use Bone Complex by Medi-Herb (SPL subsidiary). 

9.) Weight bearing exercise to stimulate bone cell growth and calcium absorption into the bones.  Exercise at least 4 days each week.

Watch this short video clip:

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS AND ADRENALS IN STRESS MANAGEMENT

Situated beneath the brain, the hypothalamus regulates the homeostatic relationship between you and your environment, starting with the most immediate environment, your physical body with its myriad organic functions and complex chemistry that changes with every emotional upset, mental stress and physical activity.  This critical connection between your central nervous system and your hormonal glands is crucial to homeostasis, and I am deeply concerned that this singular link between environmental stress and our ability to adapt is being overlooked in our healthcare.  

Thanks to our ability to “talk” with the body through kinesiology (muscle testing), the functional health of the hypothalamus can be easily monitored.  Interestingly enough (I notice these things), since the bombing of the World Trade Center and the subsequent activation of our Homeland Security Alert system, I have noticed an increase in the incidence of hypothalamus issues in my practice.  There’s good reason for this.  It’s a consequence of chronic stress.

Fear of terrorist attacks has been hanging over our heads for ten years and we’ve become frozen in a chronic fight or flight stress response.  In chronic stress, the hypothalamus becomes frustrated confused and the adrenal glands exhausted.  Basically, we have a stress factor that won’t go away.  The hypothalamus tells the adrenal glands to pump adrenaline into the blood stream so we can fight the threat and eliminate it or else run away from it.  When we can’t personally do either, the system becomes frustrated and the glands overworked to the point of exhaustion.  Our blood stream becomes saturated with cortisol, the stress hormone, throwing our hormonal system out of balance.  When hormone chemistry becomes imbalanced, nothing is going to function normally in the body because every cell of every organ and tissue in the body depends on adrenalin. Malnutrition and severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies themselves can trigger and maintain a stress response.

What to do?

Well, there is something we can do.  First we can put a filter on our perception of the world through the eyes of the media.  Next find your centering in love and be at Home in your skin.  Home is safe.  No one can touch you there.  Even if your body got blown up you would remain safe at Home.  Home is within you, not around you.  That’s your house. 

Finally, increase your production of oxytocin, the feel-good “hormone of love,” produced in the hypothalamus with hugging, laughter and other pleasurable experiences such as listening to beautiful music and toning the vowel sound “AH,” touching and being touched by another, giving and receiving a massage, spinal adjustments and manipulation of the joints by a chiropractor or osteopath, erotic play and sexual orgasm, breast feeding if you’ve just delivered a newborn – which itself produces oxytocin and makes childbirth a pleasurable, even orgasmic, experience. Oxytocin turns off the flight or fight stress response to calm you down.  Oxytocin spray is also available, but read about its side effects online first. It appears to increase one’s trust in people, but not everyone, just those in your clan.  ” Psychologists trying to specify its role have now concluded it is the agent of ethnocentrism.” Too much of anything good seems to always have a dark side.  Less is more in most cases. 

CONSULT FOR DOSAGES AND HEALTH COACHING

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to nutritional supplementation, so I highly recommend professional guidance.  I am available by phone or email for a modest coaching fee.  My cell phone is (337) 802-5510 and my email address is tpal70@gmail.com.  Call or email me.  I’ll even supply you with supplements tailored to fit your needs – and if you are a subscriber you’ll enjoy a 10% discount on supplements. Let’s get your bones back to health and keep them dense and strong.

To your health and healing, 

Dr. Tony Palombo

Visit my other blog for inspired reading about the Significance of the Pineal Gland.