487 Fitbit Data Study [3 Sept 2018]

Do you wear a Fitbit? One of those wrist bands that records your heart rate, activity and sleep? Millions of people do and Fitbit recently looked at 150 billion hours of data to see what it could tell us about our health. Since this only includes people who own a Fitbit, the data may not apply to everyone. And relax, the data is anonymous – the researchers know your location, gender, age, height, weight, activity level, sleep habits, and continuous pulse rate, but not your name.

From previous studies we know that resting heart rate (RHR, measured in beats per minute) is a significant measure of our overall health. Most people fall in the range of 60 to 100, with athletes 40 to 50. The Copenhagen Heart Study found that, compared to someone with an RHR of under 50, your risk of death from heart disease is twice as high if your RHR is 80 and three times as high if over 90. A study from China found that for every RHR increase of 10, the risk of developing diabetes increased 23%.

This is what the Fitbit study learned:
• As we age, our RHR increases to a peak about age 40-50, then continuously declines from there for unknown reasons.
• On average, women have a higher rate than men, by 5 beats at age 20, and 2 to 3 beats from age 35-80. This is because women have smaller hearts.
• The optimal Body Mass Index (BMI) for heart function seems to be 20 to 25. RHR increases with increasing BMI above or below that range.
• RHR decreases with exercise (no surprise). After 300 minutes a week (an hour daily for 5 days), however, the decrease is small.
• The reduction in RHR from exercise declines with age. Increasing activity by 3 hours a week will lower your RHR by about 7 beats in your 30s, 40s and 50s, but only by 4 beats in your 60s and 3 beats in your 70s. Still, this shows that getting more active is beneficial at any age.
• Sleep lowers your RHR but only to an average of 7 hours after which it rises again. So get your sleep, then get out of bed and get moving!
• There are other unknown factors affecting heart rate. For the same activity level, the average RHR in the USA is 3 beats higher than Italy, and Canada is 2.5 beats higher than Ireland. Perhaps it’s our junk food diet?

See "Fitbit's 150 billion hours of heart data reveal secrets about health" by David Pogue, yahoo Finance, 27 Aug 2018 for more details and graphs that reveal these trends.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

472 Preserving Muscle [21 May 2018]

A few weeks ago [#470 Nutritional Support for the Elderly] I mentioned several supplements that help preserve or rebuild muscle in the elderly. Let’s take a closer look at these.

The first is protein powder. Whey works best and is fine for nearly everyone even those with dairy issues. A whey protein will increase muscle, improve liver and kidney function, and increase white blood cell and lymphocyte count (reducing colds and flu infections by half).

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are special amino acids that do not require processing in the liver so can be used without stressing the liver or kidneys. They are particularly beneficial in preventing muscle loss in elderly or ill people and in enhancing healing of injuries including burns. BCAAs are available in tablet or powder form.

We usually think of creatine as a supplement for athletes and body builders but it is also beneficial for maintaining muscle in the elderly. Dr. Philip Rouchotas believes everyone over 70 should be supplementing with creatine daily. It will even prevent muscle atrophy in a limb that is in a cast from a fracture. Creatine is especially beneficial for neurodegenerative diseases. It will slow the progression and improve survival in ALS, and in Parkinson’s will improve upper body strength, improve mood, and most significantly slow the requirement for increasing doses of dopamine. A low dose of 2.5 g per day is perfectly safe for the kidneys.

Exercise, both aerobic and resistance, is essential in building and maintaining muscle, but without the above nutrients will not be nearly as effective. In one study adding whey protein doubled the amount of muscle gain from resisted exercise. Exercise of course has many other benefits which I have previously discussed including cancer prevention [#361] and increased life expectancy [#420].

But building muscle is only half the equation of strength. The other half is energy, which is produced in the mitochondria of our cells. B vitamins (or a good multi), coenzyme Q10, and Acetyl-L-Carnitine will all improve energy in the elderly; see my articles on mitochondria for more on these.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

464 Heart Health Protocol [26 March 2018]

A recent webinar by Dr. Philip Rouchotas, a naturopathic doctor practicing in Bolton, Ontario, described his protocol for heart health. This would be particularly beneficial for someone who has had a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease.

The base of the protocol is the Mediterranean Diet, with minor modifications. The landmark study published in 1999 found an amazing 56% reduction in all-cause mortality over 4 years compared to the diet recommended at the time by the American Heart Association. It contains plenty of vegetables and fruit, plus olive oil (2 tablespoons per day), and nuts (¼ to ½ cup per day of almonds, walnuts, pistachios). For meat it recommends fish frequently, poultry in moderation, and red meat occasionally.

Exercise: at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise (like walking) 5 times per week. A meta-analysis found that for people with heart disease, exercise reduced all-cause mortality by 24%, along with many other benefits.

Fish oil: 1,000 to 2,000 mg of omega 3 (EPA + DHA) daily. A large study from Italy published in Lancet in 1999 found that in heart attack survivors, 850 mg of omega 3 reduced sudden coronary death by 45% and all-cause mortality by 25%. A 2006 Japanese study found that 1800 mg worked even better.

CoQ10: 200 – 300 mg daily, divided. CoQ10 supports the mitochondria which create the energy which powers our muscles (and the heart is our most important muscle!). A large study in 2014 found that over 2 years 300mg of CoQ10 reduced cardiovascular deaths by 43% and all-cause mortality by 42%. A 2007 meta-analysis found that CoQ10 lowered systolic blood pressure by 16.6 and diastolic by 8.2, making CoQ10 the single most important supplement for blood pressure.

N-Acetyl-Carnitine: 1500-2000 mg daily, divided. This form of the amino acid carnitine also supports our mitochondria. Many human trials show benefits for cardiovascular health including faster healing from a heart attack and improved heart function.

Plant sterols: 1500-2000 mg daily, divided. A meta-analysis found that plant sterols reduced LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) by 10-14%, almost half of the 30% reduction expected from prescription statin drugs.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

420 Two Preventable Risk Factors [15 May 2017]

Preliminary data from a study by the Cleveland Clinic and NYU School of Medicine showed that obesity has recently overtaken smoking as the top cause of preventable death in the USA (I expect Canadian data to be similar). This change is due to a 21% decrease in smoking and a 38% increase in obesity over the last decade.

The study found the preventable factors that caused the most loss of life-years were, in decreasing order: obesity, diabetes, tobacco use, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Obesity resulted in 47% more life-years lost than smoking. Glen Taksler, PhD MD, concluded “These preliminary results continue to highlight the importance of weight loss, diabetes management, and healthy eating.”

A previous study from Europe found another risk factor, also preventable, that is even more significant than obesity in predicting all-cause mortality (but wasn’t looked at in the Cleveland study). Exercise.

The study, out of Cambridge University, followed 334,000 men and women of around age 50 for a period of 12 years. Obese people were 3.7% more likely to die, but those who didn’t exercise, regardless of weight status, had a 7.3% higher risk of death, more than double that for the obese. Lack of exercise turned out to be the single deadliest risk factor in the study, which also measured smoking and alcohol consumption. The good news is that even 20 minutes a day of moderate exercise (about what I get on my paper route) will measurably reduce that risk. More, of course, is better.

The lesson from these two studies is that to live a longer and healthier life, lose that excess weight, and get moving.

At our weight loss clinic here we have a device called the Body Composition Analyzer (BCA) which measures your body fat, lean mass, and hydration, and estimates your risk category. Drop in for a free analysis. Should you decide to safely and easily lose 10 or more pounds of fat, we can help.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

407 Tom Brady and his Guru [13 Feb 2017]

Did you see last Sunday’s Super Bowl game? I’m not a sports fan by any stretch but a news item about winning quarterback Tom Brady’s masseur-trainer caught my eye.

Tom Brady, at 39, played one of the best ever NFL football games and walked off the field feeling great. In his own words “I never hurt. My arm never hurts, and my body never hurts. I know how to take care of it…”

It wasn’t always that way. Brady had two knee surgeries and a serious infection in 2008. His shoulder hurt too. Brady confesses “When I was 25, I was hurting all the time, and I could never have imagined playing this long” [17 seasons].

Then he met Alex Guerrero and hired him as his personal masseur and trainer. Besides regular massage treatments Guerrero advised Brady on which exercises to do and which to avoid, with emphasis on keeping the muscles strong and pliant. Then there’s diet and supplements. Brady avoids “inflammatory foods” including dairy, white sugar and white flour. He satisfies his craving for sweets with foods like avocado ice cream. He also practices meditation and yoga.

A little background on Alex Guerrero is in order here. In 2003 he was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for unsubstantiated health claims for his product Supreme Greens and for calling himself “Dr. Alejandro Guerrero”. The study he used to market the product turned out to be a sham, and he was not, and is not, a doctor of any kind. He was investigated again in 2011 for promoting a new product, NeuroSafe, as an aid to recovery from concussion. I make no excuses for this – if you make health claims for a product, you need the science to back them up. I don’t know what’s in NeuroSafe – it could have helpful ingredients (see my article #331 Traumatic Brain Injury, Aug 2015) – but again you need the research to prove it.

Other trainers and the NFL medical staff consider Guerrero a quack and aren’t pleased with Brady’s decision to ignore their advice. But I believe that if he hadn’t made the changes he did, he would have been retired years ago with injuries that would still be causing him pain today. And you can’t argue with Sunday’s results.

Whatever our age and game in life, good nutrition, proper exercise and regular massage treatments should go a long way to keeping us pain free for life.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

403 Humic & Fulvic Acids [16 Jan 2017]

I have a rather unique supplement on my shelves that I wanted to learn more about so chose it for my topic this week. Humic and fulvic acids are organic compounds found in soil, peat, and water sediments. A particularly rich deposit in New Mexico dating from the Cretaceous Period (100mya) is mined to create a supplement for human use.

The main ingredients are humic and fulvic acids. The supplement also contains traces of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, plant enzymes and other organic compounds (organic in the chemical sense meaning that it contains carbon).

Humic and fulvic acids are known to benefit human health in many ways:
• Source of trace minerals in a readily available organic form
• Stimulates mitochondrial production of ATP
• Protects mitochondrial membranes from oxidative damage
• Reduces loss of ATP and CoQ10 levels during heavy exercise
• Acts as prebiotic feeding good bacteria in the gut
• Reduces pain and inflammation
• Improves immunity by increasing T-lymphocytes and neutrophils
• Inhibits viral infections including rhinoviruses, influenza and Herpes simplex
• Increases elimination of toxic heavy metals while improving absorption of nutritional metals like iron and zinc
• Blocks stress hormones
• Increases oxygenation of the blood

Here are how these benefits are experienced by users:
• Relief from joint pain and stiffness
• Reduced soreness and faster recovery from work or sports activity
• Increased energy & stamina
• Improved immunity from colds and flu
• Improved mood, reduced anxiety, increased alertness
• Most people noticed the benefits in 1 or 2 weeks

In over 10 years of research, humic and fulvic acid supplements have been found to be completely safe and do not interfere with any medications.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

361 Exercise and Cancer [14 March 2016]

Among its many other benefits, exercise is an important part of cancer treatment and prevention. Research has consistently shown that regular exercise reduces your risk of getting cancer, improves your chance of recovering from cancer, and helps prevent cancer from recurring. Here are a few examples:

A 2003 review of epidemiologic studies, published in Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 35(11), found that physical activity reduced the risk of colon cancer by 30-40% and of breast cancer by 20-30%.

A 2005 Harvard study found that 3 to 5 hours a week of moderate exercise reduced the risk of death by about half for breast cancer patients. For cancer patients, exercise also reduces the side effects of conventional cancer treatment, shortens hospital stays, reduces fatigue and generally improves quality of life.

A news release from August 2012 published in Medical News Today reported that exercise has been found to reduce recurrence of cancer by up to 50%.

When and how much exercise is required? Exercise seems to have a dose-response relation to cancer meaning the more you exercise, the lower your risk of cancer. In one study 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous exercise was required to reduce breast cancer risk. But any amount is better than none, and of course you have to work within your body’s ability.

Exercising when younger reduces your risk of cancer when you are older. Regular activity in teen years significantly lowered risk of women at age 40-70 from dying of cancer (and of all-cause mortality). Men over 65 who had kept fit in middle age reduced their risk of lung cancer by 55% and colon cancer by 44%, and reduced their risk of dying from lung, bowel and prostate cancer by 32%.

So how does exercise help prevent and fight cancer? A mouse study published in Cell Metabolism in March 2016 found that exercise activated NK killer cells resulting in a 50% reduction in tumor growth. Exercise reduces insulin resistance which in turn reduces glucose available for cancer cells. But possibly the most important way that exercise prevents and fights cancer is by increasing both the function and number of mitochondria. As I discussed in the last three columns, mitochondrial dysfunction appears to be the driving force behind all cancers.

Source: mercola.com Exercise Helps Shrink Tumors... March 4, 2016.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

355 Mitochondria & Degenerative Disease [1 Feb 2016]

I enjoyed reading the book “Oxygen: the molecule that made the world” by Nick Lane so I bought his book about mitochondria with the eye-catching title “Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life” (I’m sure the publishers, rather than the authors, come up with these titles!). The mercola.com topic for January 24 was “How your mitochondria influence your health” which featured Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a biomedical scientist.

Dr. Patrick has studied the roles of micronutrients and degenerative diseases, particularly as they relate to mitochondria. She is a frequent speaker, prolific writer and runs her own website (foundmyfitness.com) where she shares her insights with the public.

I wrote several columns about mitochondria last January (#301, #302, #303). To review: mitochondria are tiny organelles inside almost every cell of our body which generate the energy for all cell functions by converting our food to CO2 and water in a complex biochemical pathway called respiration. In the process of respiration electrons sometimes leak out of the system where they combine with oxygen or nitrogen to form free radicals called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) or Reactive Nitrogen Species (RNS) which can damage the mitochondrial DNA. Damage to the DNA eventually results in the death of the mitochondrion. When enough mitochondria die, the cell dies; when enough cells in a tissue or organ dies, the organ fails causing degenerative disease and ultimately our own death.

So what can we do to slow the free radical damage to our cells:
• ensure we have sufficient micronutrients to prevent free radical formation: Co-enzyme Q10, L-carnitine, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, all B vitamins, ALA.
• especially magnesium which is essential for the enzymes which repair damaged DNA and for mitochondrial biogenesis (creating of new mitochondria)
• exercise induces mitochondrial biogenesis which reduces free radical creation by spreading out the workload so the mitochondria can work more efficiently
• avoid over eating and eating before bedtime which causes the respiration pathway to back up spilling more electrons and creating more free radicals

In summary, looking after our mitochondria will go far in avoiding degenerative disease and premature death, and help us enjoy a longer and higher-quality life.

For those so inclined, here is a more scholarly article on mitochondrial DNA damage and longevity: Reinald Pamplona, “Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Animal Longevity: Insights from Comparative Studies,” Journal of Aging Research, vol. 2011.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

333 Preventing Alzheimer’s [24 August 2015]

We often joke about developing dementia: You can hide your own Easter eggs or Bad news: “you have Alzheimer’s”; good news: “you can go home and forget about it”. There is a poem about aging with these lines:

I've got used to my arthritis, to dentures I'm resigned,
I can manage my bifocals, but oh how I miss my mind.

Seriously, most people would rather lose their vision, hearing or ability to walk than lose their mind. So what can we do to reduce our risk of developing dementia?

• Reduce sugar. High sugar consumption leads to insulin resistance including at the blood-brain barrier. This prevents insulin from reaching the brain and starves your brain cells of glucose. We can compensate with ketones from medium chain triglycerides such as from coconut oil, but prevention is better.
• Avoid diabetes. Diagnosis of diabetes doubles your risk of Alzheimer’s. Even mild elevation of blood sugar (100-110) significantly increases the risk.
• Consume enough good fats (including some saturated fat). A study from the Mayo Clinic found that a high carb diet was associated with an 89% increased risk for dementia while a high fat diet was associated with a 44% reduced risk.
• Keep your weight down. Obesity is an important risk factor.
• Exercise. Aerobic exercise has been found to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s and also to improve brain function in those already diagnosed. Exercise reduces the amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s and improves memory.
• Don’t smoke and avoid excessive use of alcohol.
• Control blood pressure. High blood pressure is another risk factor for dementia.
• Get enough quality sleep. The brain’s waste removal system only works during deep sleep when the brain is flushed with cerebral spinal fluid which removes the amyloid plaques in brain tissue.
• Stay mentally and socially active. “Use it or lose it” applies to our brains as well as muscles & bones. Playing games like Scrabble, chess or bridge helps to keep the brain sharp and keeps you connected to people.

While none of these are guaranteed to prevent Alzheimer’s, following as many as you can should significantly increase your chances of keeping all your marbles to the end.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

277 Raising HDL [21 July 2014]

A customer recently asked me what he could do to raise his low HDL “good cholesterol” levels. HDL stands for High Density Lipoprotein and is not a type of cholesterol, but a carrier of it. A low ratio of HDL / Total Cholesterol of less than 10 is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease (over 24 is ideal).

I have previously written about the role of insulin levels in optimizing cholesterol production [#83 October 2010]. A ketogenic diet will quickly bring high cholesterol levels back to normal, and a diet low in simple carbs (sugar and refined grains) will help to keep it there.

Here are some other ways you can increase your HDL:
• Aerobic exercise – at least 30 minutes 5 days a week
• Strength training exercise – even building lower body muscle helps
• Quit smoking
• Maintain optimum weight – obesity increases LDL and reduces HDL
• Drink red wine with meals – 1 glass daily for women, 2 for men
• Increase omega 3 with fish and fish oil supplements
• Avoid trans fatty acids – in hard margarine and some processed foods
• Use coconut oil for cooking and olive or avocado oil for salads
• Add soluble fiber to your diet – see last week’s article
• Niacin (vitamin B3) has been shown to increase HDL
• Calcium supplement – 1g daily raised HDL 7%
• Increase anthocyanins found in red and purple foods like plums, grapes, purple cabbage, eggplant, cranberries and raspberries
• Add raw nuts for their essential fatty acids – 2 oz a day
• Dark chocolate – 2.5 oz daily increased HDL 11-14%

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. See this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

242 Exercise for your Brain [12 Nov 2013]

The third way to improve your brain’s health and lower your risk of dementia, as described in the book “Grain Brain” by David Perlmutter, MD, after reducing carbs and increasing good fats, is exercise. That’s physical exercise, not mental exercise like playing Scrabble© and doing crossword puzzles (which also helps but surprisingly not as much).

Perlmutter is not alone in promoting exercise to improve our brains. Various studies have found that exercise benefits our brains in many ways and at all ages from elementary school students to seniors:
• exercising before a test increased scores by 17%
• the fittest Grade 6 students scored 30% higher on tests
• 40 minutes daily exercise increased IQ by 3.8 points
• older students who play vigorous sports improved 20% in math, science, English and social studies
• employees who exercise regularly are 15% more efficient

So how exactly does exercise benefit our brain? Exercise:
• promotes growth of new brain cells, a process called neurogenesis
• promotes production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which improves brain function and enhances learning, and helps preserve our existing brain cells
• reverses shrinkage of the hippocampus (the memory and learning part of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s)
• protects the brain from atrophy and white matter lesion in seniors
• improves our brain’s ability to handle stress and reduces anxiety
• increases blood flow to the brain, and
• reduces risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

A variety of exercise works best. Both aerobic and resistance training are important for maintaining brain health as we age. I started working out at the Rosetown Fitness Centre last month to get more fit, build some muscle, and keep my fat weight down. Looks like I might be getting smarter too!

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

200 Exercise & Weight Loss [21 January 2013]

Traditional weight loss theory calls for reducing calories and increasing activity, i.e. exercising more. Sounds simple and logical but ask any dieter how it worked for them and you’ll likely hear “not very well” (but in stronger, possibly unprintable, phrasing).

Dr. Tien Tran Chanh (the developer of the Ideal Protein Diet) writes in his latest book “…Because It’s Your Life” that exercise will not make you lose weight but adds that it is still an important part of your weight management program. He estimates that you would have to walk 40 hours, swim 20 hours, or jog continuously for 16 hours to burn 2 lbs of fat. And that’s without eating anything extra! As we all have experienced, exercise makes us hungry, so this is a formula for frustration and failure. Our bodies are designed to keep us in homeostasis and will increase our appetite or reduce our metabolic rate in order to preserve our body’s fat reserves. Research [reported in “Weighing the Evidence on Exercise” New York Times, 16 Apr 2010] has shown that the increase in appetite from exercise is stronger for women (I know, life’s just not fair!).

Where exercise is helpful is in keeping the weight off after you lose it. Dr Tran teaches that the body can’t be both catabolic (burning fat) and anabolic (building muscle) at the same time. He found that strenuous exercise during the weight loss phase leads to excess muscle loss. Instead, adding exercise – particularly resistance or muscle building exercise – after the goal weight has been achieved helps the dieter to keep the weight off. One type of exercise that is recommended for this is called “Slow Burn” popularized in the book “The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution”. Michael Eades, one of the book’s authors, explains [in a blog post] how strength training also improves cardiovascular fitness – it has more to do with the efficiency of getting oxygen into the muscle cells than with the heart and lungs themselves.

The more muscle you build, the more calories you can burn so staying slim and fit becomes much easier. And the best way to build muscle is with strength training.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

146 Many Benefits of Exercise [2 January 2012]

It’s the beginning of a new year and time to make our New Year’s resolutions. What single change will give you the biggest benefit for improving your health?

I found a video lecture that makes a good pitch for exercise. It’s called “23-1/2 Hours” by Dr Mike Evans, a physician and professor at U of Toronto. Watch it here (it’s fun and only 9 minutes).

Evans shows how exercise can help in so many different aspects of our health. Studies have shown exercise reduces:
• 47% pain & disability with arthritis of the knee
• 58% development of diabetes of those at high risk
• 30-47% symptoms of depression, depending on amount of exercise
• 41% risk of hip fractures in post menopausal women
• 23% risk of death in the large Harvard alumni study.

In a study of 50,000 people, Stephen Blair of U of South Carolina, found that low cardio-respiratory fitness was the single best predictor of death (hypertension was a close second). He also found that exercise “ameliorated much of the negative consequences of obesity” (which means being fat is not so bad if you keep fit).

An Australian study found that people who watch 6 hours of TV a day live, on average, 5 years less than those who watch none (Canadian adults average just over 4 hours). A Japanese study comparing commuting time (walking) and hypertension found that up to 10 minutes made no difference, 11-21 minutes reduced the incidence by 12%, and over 20 minutes reduced it by 29%.

So if exercise is the best medicine, what’s the dose? More is better, but the rate of return delines after 30 minutes per day (60 minutes for children). Evans ends with the challenge to limit our sitting and sleeping to 23+1/2 hours a day.

My paper route gives me an hour of walking 6 days a week, but when the alarm goes off at 6 am I can’t help but wonder if the benefits make up for losing 2 hours of sleep!

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

106 Bone Builders [21 March 2011]

There are only four things which research has proven to increase bone formation. The list contains a few surprises – yes calcium is one of them but only one particular form of calcium. Vitamin D, while necessary for calcium metabolism, is not on the list. And neither are any of the antiresorptive drugs now commonly prescribed for osteoporosis.

1. Ossein microcrystalline hydroxyapatite complex (MCHC) is the only calcium proven to halt and reverse bone loss. Other forms of calcium (including synthetic calcium hydroxyapatite), and vitamin D will slow the loss but not stop it. MCHC is a crystalline mineral complex found in bone and contains other essential components in addition to calcium.

2. Strontium is a trace mineral that recent research has shown to be a key to bone growth. In addition to making up a small but significant part of bone structure, it has been found that strontium stimulates the production of bone cells while inhibiting bone resorption. And because it’s a natural nutrient not a foreign molecule, there are no unwanted side effects. Note: strontium must be taken at different times than calcium so cannot be combined in one formula.

3. A specific protein discovered by scientists in Japan called Milk Basic Protein (MBP) has been found to increase bone growth. Studies show that MBP promotes bone formation and suppresses bone resorption. MBP also supports the production of collagen, the first step in new bone growth.

4. While the first three may be hard to find and “a bit pricey” (my euphemism for expensive) the fourth item is free – physical exercise. Jogging on icy streets, however, is not a recommended activity for the prevention of broken bones!

So if you want to rebuild bone, you need to add these four items into your program.

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

030 Building Healthy Bones [21 Sept 2009]

As the framework of our body, our bones are very important to our overall health. What can we do to help build strong healthy bones?

Most people think immediately of calcium. While calcium is the most abundant mineral in bones, there are many others, equally important although found in lesser or trace amounts. Dr. Robert Thompson in his book “The Calcium Lie” argues that supplementing only with calcium will create a mineral imbalance that may make your bones weaker. He recommends a trace mineral supplement as well as calcium and magnesium.

Vitamin D is also essential for bone health, although in much smaller amounts than is required for its other important functions.

Eating a good diet of high quality unprocessed foods is essential for good bone health. Include a lot of fresh vegetables, particularly onions because of their gamma-glutamyl peptide content. Vegetable juicing is an ideal way to obtain the nutrients from a large amount of fresh vegetables.

There is a concern that excess protein will promote calcium excretion in the urine. Some high quality protein, however, is necessary to provide certain amino acids that are required for the protein matrix in healthy bones. One protein to avoid if possible is gluten, a specific protein in wheat and some other grains, which has been shown to decrease bone density.

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for bone health, so eat plenty of fish or take a fish oil supplement. At the same time reduce consumption of Omega 6 fatty acids, found in processed vegetable oils. Vitamin K2 is another nutrient shown to strengthen bones.

Weight bearing exercise is important in developing and maintaining strong bones. A recent study of astronauts returning from a few months in the zero gravity of space showed hip bone strength loss from 14 to 30%.

The pH of the body is critical in bone health. If our blood becomes too acidic, our body will attempt to buffer it by borrowing calcium and magnesium from the bones. It accomplishes this by both stimulating the osteoclast cells that breakdown old bone tissue and inhibiting the osteoblast cells that rebuild new bone.

Your goal should be to keep your bones in a healthy balance by promoting the growth of strong new bone tissue to replace the old dead tissue that is being removed.

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.