Articles by Donna DiMarco

Healthy bones are needed for support, protection of vital organs (like the brain, lungs and heart), movement, storage of minerals, and formation of blood cells.  And yet, with these important responsibilities, many people don’t address what is really needed to maintain bone health, and end up with osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis affects men almost as much as women.  There is a simple test you can ask your doctor for, called N-telopeptide.  This simple urine test measures how much bone is being broken down and excreted. 

We have all been told that it is because we lack calcium and now the savvy say we lack vitamin D as well, but I say there is a lot more involved.  For instance, vitamins K and A are necessary to make the bone protein called osteocalcin, which is needed in bone health.  Osteocalcin plays a role in weight control and insulin reception.  Maybe healthy bones are needed for the maintenance and prevention of diabetes and obesity.
Vitamin K is found in many green vegetables.  Vitamin A, along with essential fatty acids are found in fish oils.

Inflammation can affect bone health since it promotes the body to produce cortisol, which stimulates the breakdown of bone.  If you have any inflammatory process that requires anti-inflammatory meds like aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc. on a regular basis, you may be losing bone density.  Regular use of prednisone or any cortisone-like medication will stimulate bone loss.  Instead of masking the pain, find out what is causing the inflammation and fix it.

Studies show that people with elevated homocysteine (an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease) have an increased incidence of osteoporosis.  We are not sure if it is the homocysteine itself that affects the bones or the deficiency of vitamins B-6, B-12 and Folate, all of which help keep homocysteine low.  Be sure to test your own homocysteine level; it should be 7 or less.

Of course, vitamin D’s main purpose (and it has many) is to maintain a calcium balance in the blood so that the heart will function properly. But vitamin D helps prevent hypertension, cancer, immune disorders and controls many other important body functions.  I find most people are significantly low so I recommend at least 2000 IU’s of Vitamin D each day.  Check your vitamin D OH-25 level, which should be above 40.

Hormones play an important part in bone health.  Men need sufficient testosterone and women need sufficient estrogen, and both must have enough progesterone for the bone-building cells to work properly.
But with our sugar-laden diets and the increased incidence of diabetes and pre-diabetes (insulin resistance) we are finding that in men, the testosterone converts into estrogen and in women, the estrogen converts into testosterone, which is responsible for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hair loss.

The function of the thyroid, which produces calcitonin, and the parathyroid, which produces parathyroid hormone, are important players in maintaining calcium balance in the blood.  They must be considered when addressing bone health.  These hormone levels are only tested if there is abnormal calcium levels so don’t run off asking for these tests yet.  Keep them in the back of your mind.

We must not forget the role lifestyle plays in bone health.  Exercise, especially weight bearing exercise, strengthens the bones.  Lack of exercise causes weak bones to get weaker.

Diet is important too.  Not just for the consumption of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients needed for bone health, but for maintaining the proper pH in the body.  (See my article on the Power of Hydrogen)
If you consume foods on a regular basis that make you more acid the body will try to neutralize the acid by pulling calcium out of the bones to act as a buffer.  These acid-forming foods are: red meat, white flour, sugar, dairy, coffee, soft drinks, processed foods, etc.; all foods found in the typical American diet.  The foods that alkalinize the body are mostly green leafy vegetables, which many of us lack.

Most importantly, we must remember the importance of magnesium, which is found in green leafy vegetables (yes, the same ones that help your pH).  Calcium and magnesium must be in balance, but unfortunately, many of us take in lots of calcium and not enough magnesium so the bones suffer.  EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!!
A red blood cell (RBC Mg) magnesium test is a good way to check this, NOT a serum magnesium level, which only shows deficiencies if severe.

 We forget that the body, although comprised of many organs and systems, must be viewed as a whole and that many of these organs, systems and functions affect other organs, systems and functions.  So before you start popping calcium to prevent bone loss, check if you are breaking bone down, your inflammation is addressed, your nutrient levels are fine, your diet contains fish, fruit and vegetables in sufficient amounts, your hormones are in balance, and you are  exercising regularly.

Stay Healthy,
Donna