Osteoporosis is not just a calcium problem

Osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency disease, but rather a disease of excessive calcium loss. In other words, you can take all the calcium supplements you want, but if you are deficient in the other minerals and nutrients required for healthy bones, your bone density will not improve.

Calcium supplementation shows only mild improvement in follow-up bone density scans, and it does nothing to decrease the risk of fracture. Thomas E. Levy, MD said, “Just as a fresh coat of white paint might make a rotten fence look good, it does nothing for the structural integrity of the fence and that’s the same with osteoporosis.”

A more effective supplementation approach includes Vitamin C, Vitamin K2, Vitamin D3 and the minerals boron, silica and magnesium. These are all just as, if not more, important to preventing fracture and keeping bone healthy as calcium.

In fact, when you take calcium without the proper hormones and nutrients present, it will ultimately end up in the muscles of the heart, the heart valves and the blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease. However, when you are getting enough vitamin C, D3 and K2, your body will direct the calcium to where it is needed, instead of accumulating in the heart and blood vessels.

The supplementation of vitamin C in osteoporosis has been documented to both increase bone density (improving the bone density test results with structurally sound bone), while lowering the chances of an osteoporotic fracture. This is further supported by the substantial research data confirming that vitamin C is vital for the formation and cross-linking of collagen in the bone, the formation of non-collagen bone matrix proteins, the differentiation of stem cells into bone cells, and the regulation of the cells forming cartilage and collagen in the bone.

A diet rich in these nutrients is important, however some of them are difficult to get in the amounts needed through food alone. When supplementing, look for companies that use the whole food form, as it is far superior to synthetic isolates.

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Dr. Wendy Cunningham has a master’s degree in nutrition and carries whole food supplements in the office. For more information, email [email protected].