The benefits of bone density testing – from the wise woman way

BUILDING BETTER BONES

Your bones are constantly changing... and after the age of 35, it becomes more difficult to make new bone cells. Although this article focuses on menopausal women, the information is useful for men. Susun Weed uses four healing steps to discover new ways to think about our bones.

 CALCIUM 

"Osteoporosis is less normal in nations that consume the least calcium. That is an undeniable reality." - T. C. Campbell, Ph.D. The organic chemistry of nourishment. 

Stage 1: Accumulate data 

Calcium is without a doubt the main mineral in your body. Calcium makes up the greater part of the all-out mineral substance in your body. Calcium is fundamental for the customary pulsating of your heart, your digestion, the working of your muscles, the progression of motivations along your nerves, the guideline of your cell films, the strength of your bones, the the soundness of your teeth and gums, as well as your indispensable blood coagulating instruments. Calcium is so fundamental for your the life that you have an organ (parathyroid) that screens the degree of calcium in your blood and discharge chemicals to guarantee ideal calcium levels. 

At the point when you consume more calcium than you use, you are in sure calcium balance: the extra usable calcium is put away in your bones and you gain bone mass (insoluble or unusable calcium can be discharged or put away in delicate tissues or saved in joints). At the point when you consume less calcium than you use, you are in bad calcium balance: the parathyroid organ creates a chemical that discharges calcium stores from your bones, and you lose bone mass. 

To guarantee a positive calcium equilibrium and fabricate solid, adaptable bones for your menopause process, make certain to: 

· Eat at least three calcium-rich food sources a day. 

· Keep away from calcium bad guys.

 · Use synergistic food sources to build the viability of calcium.

 · Stay away from calcium supplements.

 Step 2: Nourish & Tonify 

· What do we need to make strong flexible bones? Like all tissues, bones need protein. They need minerals (not only calcium but also potassium, manganese, magnesium, silicon dioxide, iron, zinc, selenium, boron, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, and dozens of others). And to use these minerals, good fats, including oil-soluble vitamin D. 

· Many menopausal women I meet believe that protein is bad for their bones. It is not so. Utah State University researchers who examined the diets of 32,000 postmenopausal women and found that women who ate the least protein were most likely to have a hip fracture; and eating extra protein accelerated the healing of hip fractures. 

· Acids produced by protein digestion buffered by calcium. A traditional diet combines foods rich in calcium and protein (eg seaweed with tofu, tortillas made from limestone ground corn with beans, and melted cheese on a hamburger). Herbs such as seaweed, St. Nettle, oat straw, red clover, dandelion, and comfrey leaf are rich in protein and also provide plenty of calcium. Foods like tahini, sardines, canned salmon, yogurt, cheese, oatmeal, and goat's milk offer us the protein, generous amounts of calcium, and healthy fats that our bones need. If you crave more protein during menopause, follow that urge. 

CAUTION: Unfermented soy (e.g. tofu) is particularly harmful to bone health because it is rich in protein, deficient in calcium, and is also a calcium antagonist. 

· Bones need a lot of minerals, not calcium, which is brittle and inflexible. (Think chalk, calcium carbonate, and how it breaks.) Avoid calcium supplements. Focus on getting plenty of calcium from herbs and foods and you'll get the minerals you need for strong bones.

 Step 3: Stimulate/Soothe 

· Beware of calcium antagonists. Some foods interfere with calcium use. For better bones, avoid consistent use of: 

- Greens rich in oxalic acid, including Swiss chard, beet greens, spinach, and rhubarb. 

- Unfermented soy products, including tofu, soy drinks, and soy burgers. 

- Foods rich in phosphorus, including carbonated drinks, white flour products, and many processed foods. (Teenagers who drink soda instead of milk are four times more likely to break a bone.) 

- Foods that produce acids requiring a calcium buffer when excreted in the urine, including coffee, white sugar, tobacco, alcohol, nutritional yeast, and salt. 

- Fluoride in water or toothpaste. 

- Fiber pills, bran is taken alone, bulking laxatives. 

- Steroid medicines, including corticosteroids such as prednisone and asthma inhalers. (Daily use reduces spine bone mass by up to ten percent per year.) 

- Restricted calorie diets. Women who weigh the least have the most bone loss during menopause, and "neither calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, nor estrogen" slow the loss. Among 236 premenopausal women, all of whom consumed similar amounts of calcium, those who lost weight by cutting calories lost twice as much bone mass as women who maintained their weight. 

· Although chocolate contains oxalic acid, its levels are so low that they have only a negligible effect on calcium metabolism. An ounce/3000 mg of chocolate packs 15-20 mg of calcium; an ounce of cooked spinach, 100-125 mg of calcium. Bittersweet (dark) chocolate is a source of iron. Recent research has found that chocolate is very healthy for the heart. As with any stimulant, daily use is not recommended. Chocolate is an important and useful ally for women. The guilt of eating it and the belief that it is damaging to your health interferes with your ability to hear and respond to your body's wisdom. If you want to eat chocolate - do it, and get the best. But if you do it every day - eat more weed. 

· Excess phosphorus accelerates bone loss and demineralization. Phosphorus compounds are second only to salt as food additives. They are found in carbonated drinks, soda; white flour products, especially if they are "enriched" (bagels, cookies, cakes, donuts, pasta, bread); canned meat (bacon, ham, sausage, lunch meat and hot dogs); Breakfast cereals from supermarkets; Preserved fruit; processed potato products such as frozen French fries and instant mashed potatoes; processed cheeses; instant soups and puddings. 

Step 4: Use Extras 

· I wish you weren't taking calcium supplements. They put you at risk and don't prevent fractures. A study in Australia that followed 10,000 white women over the age of 65 for six and a half years found, “Calcium supplement use associated with an increased risk of hip and vertebral fractures; the use of Tums antacid tablets has been associated with an increased risk of fractures. proximal humerus." 

· If you insist on supplements, go for calcium-fortified orange juice or crumbled calcium citrate tablets. Chewable calcium gluconate, calcium lactate, and calcium carbonate are acceptable sources. Dolomite, bone meal, and oyster shell are best avoided as they usually contain lead and other unwanted minerals. 

· For better bones, take 500 mg of magnesium (not citrate) with calcium. Better yet, wash down your calcium pill with a glass of herbal tea; which will provide not only magnesium but also many other bone-strengthening minerals. 

· Calcium supplements are more effective in divided doses. Two doses of 250 mg, taken in the morning and evening, actually provide more usable calcium than a 1000 mg tablet.