Osteoporosis is Not a Disease!
Imagine walking into the doctor’s office for an “age 50 routine check-up,” feeling absolutely fine only to be told you suddenly have a “bone disease” called osteoporosis. As you leave, the doctor hands you a prescription for one of the many toxic and often useless bone drugs. By the time you get to the parking lot, you’re in a state of shock, feeling like you just lost control over your life and your future. Most people then begin on a course of medication which does little to nothing to help correct this “disease.”
That’s what happened to biochemist and nutrition expert Vivian Goldschmidt, the day she decided to have a bone density test. Instead of accepting what felt like a “life sentence,” Vivian Goldschmidt used her extensive training to uncover a goldmine of little-known studies overturning everything mainstream medicine believes to be true about bone loss.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), states that osteoporosis and osteopenia are a “major public health threat” affecting almost 58 million women and men in the United States. This means that almost 60 percent of adults aged 50 or older are at risk of fracturing a bone, and the NOF predicts that by the year 2020, half of the American population older than 50 will have osteoporosis or osteopenia.
The official definition of osteoporosis was changed in 1994 to:
“Osteoporosis is a progressive metabolic bone disease that decreases bone density (bone mass per unit volume), with deterioration of bone structure. Skeletal weakness leads to fractures with minor or unapparent trauma, particularly in the thoracic and lumbar spine, wrist, and hip (called fragility fractures).”
Before the year 1994, a person had to suffer a bone fracture from minimal impact to be diagnosed with osteoporosis. The definition was changed to take advantage of a worsening health trend due to the “Typical Western Diet.” As with all “diseases,” there must be a medication to treat the problem according to their logic.
Dr. Herbert Fleisch, was a Swiss researcher who pioneered the use of bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis which gave us osteoporosis drugs such as Actonel®, Boniva®, Fosamax®, Reclast®, Aclasta®, Forteo®, Evista®, Protelos®, Miacalcin®, Fortical.® Unfortunately, the track record of these drugs is very poor whereas the side effects are well documented… heartburn, difficulty swallowing, joint pain, headaches, low energy, muscle pain, nausea, dental resorption, and of course worsening osteoporosis. Bisphosphonates are used in various industrial applications as anti-corrosion agents and complexing agents in the textile, fertilizer, and oil industries. They are not something that should be introduced into the human body!
So why is there a major health trend towards osteoporosis in America and most of the Industrialized World? As with most of health issues, diet is at the root of the problem and in order to correct a metabolic problem, diet must be addressed! Over the last 75 years, the typical American diet has changed radically. How many of your ancestors would be able to identify what is on the typical dinner plate in most modern homes today? Conversely, how many modern people could look at their ancestor’s plates and be able to identify what they were eating? Simply put the modern diet is causing metabolic acidity.
To explain things as simply as possible, the pH scale runs from 0 – 14. Anything below 7 is acidic and anything above 7 is alkaline, while 7 is neutral. The pH of human blood has a very narrow “typical” pH range between 7.35 – 7.4, so it’s slightly alkaline. The human body functions best in this range and if it drops below 7.35, this is a condition known as acidosis. If it drops low enough, it leads to central nervous system compromise and below a pH of 7, it can lead to a coma or even death. If blood pH rises to over 7.4 it can result in alkalosis which in severe cases can cause the body to become oversensitive, have muscle spasms and also death.
So when a person is too acidic, it means that the pH of the blood is too low and needs to be elevated to avoid health complications. When the pH of the blood drops below 7.35 the body has buffer systems to neutralize acids which uses phosphate ions from calcium phosphates stored in the bones and teeth. The body will do whatever it takes to keep the pH within a safe range but other areas of the body are affected. Long-term, this can create weaker bones and lower muscle mass. When tissues become too acidic, they are more prone to inflammation and this increases the risks for more chronic health conditions.
Vivian Goldschmidt embarked on what would be a long and fascinating journey – to learn the truth about bone health and the reasons behind the growing osteoporosis epidemic. She discovered ignored scientific studies which proved that bone loss can be reversed easily with simple dietary adjustments. In short there is no drug cure and bone loss is not inevitable! She compiled all of the research into her Save Our Bones Program which addresses the metabolic problem of acidosis and prevents/reverses osteoporosis!
The Solution
Diet has a massive impact on body pH levels. The human body needs specific alkaline minerals such as calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate to buffer the acid produced from daily activities like cellular respiration, exercise, and simply metabolizing the food ingested. These can be found in abundance in a wide assortment of fresh vegetables and fruits. Consuming these foods will help your body utilize alkaline minerals derived from them to buffer the acids. Of course acidic foods on the other hand, such as any processed food, excess industrially farmed meats and large amounts of carbohydrates, force the body to buffer the blood pH by taking minerals from the bones. Some sources of acid producing foods in the Western diet include excess consumption of cereals products like wheat, soda pop, milk, excess carbohydrate (sugar) intake and high protein diets devoid of veggies and fruit. Increased pure water consumption also can help the body maintain more ideal pH levels by allowing the body to expel the H+ ions (acid) via the kidneys. Proper sources of calcium, magnesium and other essential minerals through supplementation can have a profound effect on bone health as well! Inorganic calcium vitamins are not well absorbed and do little to help. Calcium from organic sources coupled with vitamin D and magnesium enhances the uptake/utilization and protects against acidosis and osteoporosis.
Designs for Health has several superior calcium supplements that are specifically formulated with absorption in mind. Firm Foundation Chiropractic is proud to partner with Designs for Health to bring you Cal/Mag 1:1 180 vegetarian capsules, Cal/Mag 2:1 180 vegetarian capsules, and Calcium Malate 120 vegetarian capsules. While no supplement alone can prevent progressive bone loss if the person is not eating a diet that tends to keep pH levels more alkaline these superior products can certainly improve osteoporosis recovery/prevention! It is important to educate yourself on diet, make a conscious decision to change your diet, and to put into effect a plan to change life-long eating habits! Firm Foundation can assist you in both diet education and with the highest quality calcium supplements from Designs for Health. The ball is in your court… be proactive and enhance your quality of life through superior health!
Articles for thought:
http://draxe.com/is-milk-hurting-or-helping-your-bones/
http://drkarenwolfe.org/2012/06/reflections-on-the-dairy-debate/
http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2014/12/05/feeding-wheat-to-cattle-without-causing-acidosis/
http://www.dragonfly75.com/eng/acidosis.html
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400883/The-Acid-Alkaline-Diet-Eating-to-Protect-Bones.html