Women suffer from osteoporosis primarily, but man can also suffer from it. Osteoporosis is the weakening of the skeleton. It is epidemic in the U.S. It affects 10 to 20 million people and accounts for over a million broken bones a year. One in four women over age 45 have some degree of osteoporosis, and 9 out of 10 women over 75 have it.
STANDARD PRACTICE
For women in menopause, doctors may recommend estrogen replacement therapy. This can lead to cancer and other frightening problems.
Medical wisdom also says we should eat more calcium to combat this epidemic. However, in Third World countries, poor people eat far less calcium than we do, and they don't have much osteoporosis at all.
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES
HERBS
ALPHALFA:
High in vitamin K and calcium
FEVERFEW:
Contains silicon and zinc and is good for pain relief.
SUPPLEMENTS
CALCIUM / MAGNESIUM:
Combat the affects the osteoporosis.
SILICON:
Contains calcium and is easily absorbed by the body.
BORON & COPPER:
Both are found in the bone substance and improve the uptake of calcium.
VITAMIN C:
Helps strengthen collagen and other connective tissue.
ZINC:
An essential trace mineral found in the bones, skin, muscle, hair and nails
EXERCISE
Do weight-bearing exercises. In addition to cutting down on protein, you need to strengthen your bones through some form of weight-bearing exercise. Try walking or jogging, or even weightlifting!
DIETARY GUIDELINES
Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and animal protein. Make sure your levels of stomach acid are sufficient. Low levels can dramatically decrease the absorption of any calcium ingested. Eliminate soft drinks, high-protein animal foods, caffeine and alcohol from your diet. Avoid salt.
TOO MUCH PROTEIN & TOO LITTLE CALCIUM
The problem isn't that we have too little calcium. It's that we have too much protein. Protein byproducts in your blood are acidic and dissolve bone.
Our intake of protein is unprecedented in human history. We eat three to five times the protein our body needs. The acid by-products of protein leach calcium and other minerals from our bones, and our kidneys then ship them out of the body.
You can take all the calcium you want, but on a high-protein diet, you will still flush about one mg of your bones down the toilet every day. Keep it up for 40 years and you've lost 75% of your skeleton! Without a skeleton, standing up is difficult and moving is around impossible. If you don't believe me, just visit a nursing home.
The best recommendation is diet. Eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
 
 
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