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Osteoporosis Protection Protocol

“Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food” - Hippocrates

"Dairy products are rare in China, so is osteoporosis."   William Fisher

"To date, virtually all osteoporosis patients I have seen have reversed their problem with diet and supplements!”   Doctor Robert Rowen MD

"Be your own doctor most of the time." Doctor Bob Martin

"Food is the fastest-acting and most powerful medicine you can take to change your life." Doctor Mark Hyman MD

“Fosamax can dramatically increase your chances of getting atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a worrisome irregular heart beat. And the increase in risk isn't small. The drug increases your risk of atrial fibrillation by 86% in just three years. Since Fosamax is a long-term drug, it's quite likely anyone who takes the drug will eventually have heart problems. To protect you from atrial fibrillation, your doctor likely will have you take Coumadin (rat poison). Coumadin thins your blood and prevents blood clots. But it also promotes osteoporosis. You're obviously not going to get healthy with this type of system.” Doctor Robert J. Rowen MD, Note read on, you ABSOLUTELY need neither rat poison nor Fosamax for strong bones. Please read each research paragraph and you will get a good idea of what is and is not required for strong bones.

"I  was trained to dispense medication. I was not trained to process or understand biological information systems. I was not trained to see how everything communicates with everything else." Doctor Mark Hyman MD

“Most people have come to believe nutrition is divisible, and that a single substance will maintain vibrant health. The touting of calcium for the degenerative disease osteoporosis provides an excellent example. Every day the media, acting as proxy for the milk lobby, sells calcium as a magic bullet. Has it worked? Definitely for sales of milk, but for American health it has been a disaster. When you load up your system with excess calcium, you shut down magnesium's ability to activate thyrocalcitonin, a hormone that under normal circumstances would send calcium to your bones.”  William R. Quesnell, author of 'Minerals: The Essential Link to Health’

“Current research indicates vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing seventeen varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, and periodontal disease.” Doctor John Cannell Vitamin D Council

“The efficacy of natural progesterone is verified by a three-year study of 63 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis. Women using transdermal progesterone cream experienced an average 7-8% bone mass density increase in the first year, 4-5% the second year, and 3-4%, the third year. The untreated women in this age category typically lose 0.7- 2% bone density per year.” Lee, Osteoporosis Reversal, Clin.  Nutr. Rev.  (1990) 10:384-391.

“We found a clear correlation between low dietary intake of zinc, low blood levels of the trace mineral, and osteoporosis at the hip and spine.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Oct 2004

”Researchers gave a placebo or flaxseed (1.3 ounces per day) to 38 postmenopausal women for 14 weeks, and measured blood and urine for markers of bone loss and regrowth. The flaxseed group showed decreased bone resorption and calcium excretion, indicating reduced bone loss.”  Oklahoma State University

“In a study very low blood levels of vitamin K1 were found in patients who had fractures. The severity of the fracture strongly correlated with the level of circulating vitamin K.” Bitensky

“In a study of postmenopausal women the lower the blood level of vitamin K in individuals the lower their bone density.” Kanai et al

“A boron deficiency may contribute greatly to osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms.” Murray & Pizzorno

“Many clinical findings show bone mineral density is directly related to serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D levels.” Michael Holick PhD MD Vitamin D Expert

"Calcium intake demonstrated no protective in preventing bone fractures. In fact, those populations with the highest calcium intakes had higher fracture rates than those with more modest calcium intakes." Calif Tissue Int 1992;50

“A group from Minnesota found that 100 percent of elderly patients admitted for fragility fractures were vitamin-D deficient despite the fact that half of them were taking vitamin D supplements.” Curr Med Res Opin. 2005

“It is probable that deficiency of vitamin K, particularly that of menaquinone-7(MK-7) is one of the risk factors for osteoporosis.” Kaneki et al

“We found that bone-building compounds and the bone-forming activity of osteobalsts all increased significantly in the presence of MK-7. MK-7 may have a preventive role for bone deterioration with aging.” Yamaguchi et al

“In a study of elderly female rats MK-7 was found to prevent drops in the bone forming compounds and to inhibit the activity of bone-eroding compounds.” Tsukamoto

”One of the primary roles of vitamin D is the regulation of calcium and phosphorus absorption and metabolism for bone health. This role is especially important during pregnancy and lactation because bones develop rapidly during this period.” William B. Grant, PhD, and Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD

“353 women who had suffered at least one vertebral fracture due to osteoporosis took varying levels of a prescription medication of strontium referred to as strontium ranelate or a placebo. The women who took 680 milligrams of strontium daily had an increase in lumbar bone mineral density of approximately 3 percent per year, significantly greater than placebo. By the second year of the study, there was a significant decrease in additional fractures in the strontium group as compared with the placebo group.” The New England Journal of Medicine, January 29th, 2004

“In a three-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study using 680 milligrams of strontium daily, women suffering from osteoporosis experienced a 41 percent reduction in risk of a vertebral fracture, compared with placebo. And, overall vertebrae density in the strontium group increased by 11.4 percent but there was a 1.3 percent decrease in the placebo group” The New England Journal of Medicine, January 29th, 2004

“I think of osteoporosis as being the greatest misunderstood women’s health problem of modern times. Doctors have been pushing calcium on us for decades and osteoporosis continues to plague us. Excessive calcium contributes to arthritis and heart disease, diseases that have become more prevalent in women ever since calcium has been emphasized. Not only is calcium not the solution, in many cases it’s the problem.”  Doctor Fuchs PhD, Women’s health specialist

“Weaker smaller muscles are associated with osteoporosis, falls, fluctuating blood sugar levels and an increasing sensitivity to heat and cold.” Am Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2003

“The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that as many as 44 million Americans have lost bone density. Yet most doctors don’t understand the fundamental causes of osteoporosis. The result is a lot of wrongheaded advice… and the common use of a class of drugs that can kill.” Doctor Robert J. Rowen MD, Note this drug is Fosamax and its sister deadly bisphosphonate toxins

“Archeological evidence indicates that menopause does not necessarily initiate osteoporosis. Human skeletons of Huguenot women ages fifteen to eighty-nine recently exhumed in London showed little difference in bone density between premenopausal and post menopausal women.^” Lees et al, Lancet March 1993, 341:673-675

“Phosphoric acid in soft drinks is a major cause of calcium deficiency in children and osteoporosis in adults.”  Mazariegos-Ramos et al, Journal of Pediatrics 1995 126:940-942

“Sodium fluoride added to drinking water is one of a number of substances that is harmful to our bones. It causes an apparent increase in bone mass, but the bone structure is abnormal and weak. Recent studies indicate that hip fractures are more common in areas where water is fluoridated.^” Yiamouyiannis, Cooper et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, July 1991, 19(32):513-514, Note this revelation thus refutes totally our supposed "need" for the deadly  toxin fluoride

“Critical examination of the effectiveness of prescription drugs reveals convincing data that most prescription drugs are not only ineffective but may worsen the condition being treated. Some of these medications appear to be designed to create life-long dependency upon the drug, since drug withdrawal exacerbates symptoms.” Bill Sardi

“Children drinking soda pop, eating candy and chomping on potato chips make good prospects for future osteoporosis patients; all of these contribute to the onset of this disease. This is due to the inadequate amounts of calcium, magnesium and vitamin D in these “foods”.  The phosphorus from the soda pop actually leaches calcium out of the bone making osteoporosis likely.” Doctor Ross Hauser MD, Note the "phosphorus" is in the form of phosphoric acid

“An estimated 1.2 million osteoporotic fractures occur annually and more than half occur in the vertebrae. The incidence of osteoporosis is directly correlated to testosterone production in men and estrogen and progesterone production in women.” Doctor Ross Hauser MD

“Although vitamin K1 is still important for those who might have trouble maintaining normal blood-clotting functions, MK-7 is a better choice when it comes to common “old age” maladies such as bone loss or hardening of the arteries. In fact MK-7 was noted in one study to be three times more effective than vitamin K1 in improving total vitamin K status in the body.” Howard & Payne

“In a study of 27 Japanese men aged 64 to 84 it was found that the degree of bone loss increased as the levels of vitamin D, albumin and vitamin MK-7 decreased.” Tamatani et al

“Female rats given ovariectomies and thus unprotected by hormones from bone loss were fed a diet rich in MK-4 and MK-7. It was found that MK-7 and not MK-4 prevented loss of bone.” Yamaguchi et al

“In a study tissue from male rats was cultured both with and without MK-7. It was found that bone building compounds and bone-forming activity of osteobalsts all increased significantly in the presence of MK-7.” Yamaguchi et al, 2001

“By and large most nonhuman mammals are spared HBP, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and similar conditions collectively referred to as “the diseases of civilization”.”  Howard & Payne, Note be an animal at least in part

 “In bones vitamin K (K1 and K2) plays a role in the production of the proteins osteocalcin and matrix Gla protein (MGP). MGP not only is a contributor to bone matrix formation but it also is a potent inhibitor of calcification of arteries and cartilage. There is in fact evidence that when vitamin K levels fall below a certain critical level MGP is not generated in sufficient quantities to prevent arterial calcification.” Howard & Payne

“It is important to keep calcium and phosphorus balanced to maintain strong bones.” National Kidney foundation

“Without magnesium the elderly person taking calcium supplements is at risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke. Long term magnesium deficiency leads to vitamin E deficiency, perhaps because vitamin E is used up in fending off the free radicals the magnesium deficiency lets in.” Doctor Ronald Klatz

“This indicates that women who participate in impact sports such as volleyball and basketball had higher Bone Mass Densities and bone formation values than female swimmers.” Journal of Applied Physiology

“Weight-bearing aerobic activities involve doing aerobic exercise on your feet, with your bones supporting your weight. Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening. These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss. They can also provide cardiovascular benefits, which boost heart and circulatory system health.” Mayo Clinic Exercising with osteoporosis

“Weight-bearing exercise led to significant increases above baseline in bone mineral content which were maintained with continued training in older, postmenopausal women. With reduced weight-bearing exercise, bone mass reverted to baseline levels.”  Weight-bearing exercise training and lumbar bone mineral content in postmenopausal women

“According to numerous studies and aging manuals, strength training, is an activity known to increase bone mass and thus decrease the possibility of osteoporosis.”      Bone density sharply enhanced by weight training, even in the elderly

"My sister uses your weight vest & has gone from Osteopenia to healthy bones!" Allison, Fredericksburg, TX

“The synergistic effect of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in preventing osteoporosis has been shown in clinical trials.” Hirao et al

“Currently available evidence suggests that ensuring adequate calcium and vitamin D intake and limiting coffee consumption to 3 cups/d or less may help reduce the risk of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fracture, particularly in older adults.”  Linus Pauling Institute, on Coffee

“An excessively high protein diet (particularly animal protein) leads to a negative calcium balance. In other words, there is a net loss of calcium from the body resulting in reduced calcium storage in bones. This is a serious risk for osteoporosis.”   Doctor Michael Lam MD, Note eat salad/sodium with your meat

"High intake of carotenoids protects against loss of bone mineral density over time among both men and women." Sahni et al

"The dynamic collagen matrix within healthy bone allows it to better redistribute and deflect a variety of forces, thereby reducing fracture risk." Life Extension

"Inactivity accelerates osteoporosis. This accelerates the loss of bone lead and its subsequent increase in your other tissues, impairing immunity." Doctor Gary Gordon MD

"I treat bones and vascular tissue concurrently, since I believe that as we prevent osteoporosis, there will be less vascular calcifications." Doctor Gary Gordon, Note right on!

"Today I want to clear up two important misconceptions about osteoporosis. One is that osteoporosis is caused by a calcium deficiency. That's nonsense.  Two is that if you have osteoporosis that you can treat it with a bisphosphonate like Fosamax. That would be one of the worst things you can do." Doctor Joseph Mercola MD , Note I LOVE it when you get straight talk from a MD

"DHEA appears to exert a positive role in bone metabolism by inhibiting bone resorption and stimulating bone formation. It also seems to aid calcium absorption. DHEA has proved effective in clinical trials treating osteoporosis. However, a correlation between DHEA and bone mineral density appears variably in women and not at all in men." Life Extension

"You can't get an accurate diagnosis of osteoporosis when your bones are compared to those of a young healthy woman. This form of disease mongering turns tens of thousands of healthy women into lifetime patients." Doctor Bruce West DC

"We found protective associations of total carotenoid and lycopene intake with hip fracture and non-vertebral osteoporotic fracture over 17 years of follow-up. We found those consuming greater than 4.4 servings per week of lycopene had significantly lower fractures." Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

"A combination of antioxidant supplements and resistance training may protect against bone loss in postmenopausal women, a new Canadian study suggests. Women receiving a combination of vitamins C and E, and exercise did not experience any bone loss during a six-month period, while women receiving placebo did experience detrimental bone loss, according to findings published in Osteoporosis International ." Exercise and anti-oxidants fight bone loss

"The objective of the present study was to explore the bone protective role of blueberry in an ovariectomized rat model. Thirty 6-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were either sham-operated (Sham) or ovariectomized (Ovx) and divided into three groups. In summary, our findings indicate that blueberry can prevent bone loss as seen by the increases in BMD and favorable changes in biomarkers of bone metabolism."   J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Mar 5

"Weaker smaller muscles are associated with osteoporosis falls, fluctuating blood sugar levels and an increasing sensitivity to heat and cold."  Am Journal Clinical Nutrition June 2003

"Long-term use of meds like Actonel, Boniva, Fosamax and Reclast have been linked to femur fractures. One of the studies found bones turning to peanut brittle at four years... and both studies found an increased risk of fracture at five years or more. The studies, presented at the annual conference of American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, also found that the fractures tend to happen to otherwise perfectly healthy active women -- not nursing-home patients. Bisphosphonates have been linked to heartburn, abdominal pain, fever, bone and muscle pain, low energy and low levels of calcium in the blood. And if you think that's bad, these meds have also been linked to esophageal cancer and necrosis of the jaw.”   Doctor William Douglass MD

For Sound Bones Assure your DHEA Production

“The incidence of osteoporosis is directly correlated to testosterone production in men and estrogen and progesterone production in women.” Doctor Ross Hauser MD

Women and men who are having problems with or concerned about their bones should have their DHEA levels checked as a low DHEA level can result in as much as a 40-fold increase in your risk of osteoporosis. DHEA is the feedstock for testosterone, estrogen and progesterone; make sure these are at good levels also.

IMO Osteoporosis is largely a Man Made problem

“I think of osteoporosis as being the greatest misunderstood women’s health problem of modern times. Doctors have been pushing calcium on us for decades and osteoporosis continues to plague us. Excessive calcium contributes to arthritis and heart disease, diseases that have become more prevalent in women ever since calcium has been emphasized. Not only is calcium not the solution, in many cases it’s the problem.”  Doctor Nan Fuchs PhD, Women’s health specialist

”Remember all those milk enzymes that got destroyed by pasteurization. One of them was called phosphatase - essential for calcium absorption. We don't get calcium from milk. Children don't need milk for strong bones and teeth. Milk doesn't prevent osteoporosis. All these ideas were ingrained into our conscious from where? The school dietary "education" programs since the 1950s. Paid for by whom? Right, the American Dairy Industry. After you find all this out, the killing blow is when you learn that milk causes osteoporosis, because metabolizing all this artificial manmade food steals calcium from the bones and teeth. 'Lactose intolerance' - you always hear that. There's no such thing. They want to pretend some people have a genetic defect whereby they can't digest milk sugar. Lactose is milk sugar. But it's not the milk sugar we're allergic to - it's the milk. We all have milk intolerance. No one can digest pasteurized milk!”   The Doctor Within

“Most people have come to believe nutrition is divisible, and that a single substance will maintain vibrant health. The touting of calcium for the degenerative disease osteoporosis provides an excellent example. Every day the media, acting as proxy for the milk lobby, sells calcium as a magic bullet. Has it worked? Definitely for sales of milk, but for American health it has been a disaster. When you load up your system with excess calcium, you shut down magnesium's ability to activate thyrocalcitonin, a hormone that under normal circumstances would send calcium to your bones.”  William R. Quesnell, author of 'Minerals: The Essential Link to Health’

”One of the primary roles of vitamin D is the regulation of calcium and phosphorus absorption and metabolism for bone health. This role is especially important during pregnancy and lactation because bones develop rapidly during this period.” William B. Grant, PhD, and Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD

“In a study of postmenopausal women the lower the blood level of vitamin K in individuals the lower their bone density.” Kanai et al

“A boron deficiency may contribute greatly to osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms.” Murray & Pizzorno

“Many clinical findings show bone mineral density is directly related to serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D levels.” Michael Holick PhD MD Vitamin D Expert

"Calcium intake demonstrated no protective in preventing bone fractures. In fact, those populations with the highest calcium intakes had higher fracture rates than those with more modest calcium intakes." Calif Tissue Int 1992;50

“A group from Minnesota found that 100 percent of elderly patients admitted for fragility fractures were vitamin-D deficient despite the fact that half of them were taking vitamin D supplements.” Curr Med Res Opin. 2005

“In a study very low blood levels of vitamin K1 were found in patients who had fractures. The severity of the fracture strongly correlated with the level of circulating vitamin K.” Bitensky

“In a study of postmenopausal women the lower the blood level of vitamin K in individuals the lower their bone density.” Kanai et al

“As if cancer risk is not bad enough, let's look at another of women's greatest fears: osteoporosis after menopause. Here is a simple topic about which most women have been completely duped. Standard "common sense" inculcated by media, advertising, and their Ob/Gyn-drug reps warns women that they must take estrogen and calcium or else they will experience bone loss. This false notion is one of the truly great masterpieces of modern disinformation. First of all, there are no valid, randomized clinical studies which demonstrate increased bone mineralization following HRT. Osteoporosis is not a disease of calcium deficiency. It's a disease of matrix deficiency: the framework got flimsier. There isn't as much matrix to attach the calcium to. There's plenty of available calcium. Calcium is an inert mineral contained in most foods. The body maintains the blood levels of calcium at a certain level. Anything extra, like in calcium supplements, is spilled out of the body by the kidneys, because it's over the normal blood levels. If there's only so much framework, it really doesn't matter how much calcium is in the blood; the excess is spilled out.”  The Doctor Within

“It's true that Americans have a high rate of osteoporosis, not just women. But this has nothing to do with estrogen. Do horses get osteoporosis? Never. What do they eat? Grass. How about cows? Are they taking Cal-Mag? Do they take Premarin? Calcium is in all foods. Do menopausal horses get osteoporosis? Negative. Do post menopausal third world women get osteoporosis? Negative. So if HRT is not going to reverse osteoporosis, what will? Reducing pasteurized dairy intake, and other artificial foods, like white sugar and soft drinks.” The Doctor Within

“Taking synthetic estrogen cannot rebuild bones. It can temporarily slow the rate of bone loss, but when the HRT is stopped, osteoporosis soon catches up like the woman never took HRT at all. Is that temporary benefit worth a 9-14 times greater risk of cancer? Dr. Lee thinks not. (Lee, p152) In addition, many common drugs cause osteoporosis. Millions have been duped into the thyroid scam - told they were overweight because they were 'hypothyroid.' Synthroid to the rescue. What the doctor never tells you is that Synthroid stimulates osteoclasts to resorb bone. (Physicians Desk Reference) Remember how bone is built by living tissue? Well, that happens with the simultaneous action of two complementary types of blood cells: osteoclasts for tearing down old bone, and osteoblasts for building new bone. Obviously an imbalance in either one of these will cause a problem.” The Doctor Within

“Milk Promotes Calcium Loss: A major concern of those who have been advised to stop drinking milk is, "What will happen to my teeth and bones?" The answer is astoundingly simple, "They will improve.” The majority of the world's population takes in less than half the recommended daily calcium intake of 800 mg a day and yet they have strong bones and healthy teeth. The notion that continuous ingestion of high amount of calcium is needed in order to maintain strong bones and prevent osteoporosis must be dispelled. Studies have repeatedly shown that strong bone is due more to a function of optimum amount of magnesium and a low acidic environment in the body rather than calcium from a nutrient perspective.”   Doctor Michael Lam MD

"The team concluded that diabetes has a more pronounced effect on bone health than ovariectomy, and they suggest that diabetes in post-menopausal women may also be a greater risk factor for osteoporosis than the decline in sex hormones associated with menopause. They said that the presence of omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed oil may play a role in protecting the processes of matrix formation and bone mineralization, which apparently are compromised by diabetes and menopause.”   Flaxseed Oil Cuts Osteoporosis Risk in Older Diabetic Women.

An Approach to Osteoporosis and Other Health Problems

"To date, virtually all osteoporosis patients I have seen have reversed their problem with diet and supplements!”   Doctor Robert Rowen MD, Note IMO diet, supplements AND exercise will prevent or solve MOST of your problems.

As you will have noted if you read the numerous research paragraphs above there are literally hundreds of things you can do to improve the odds of NEVER HAVING OSTEOPOROSIS PROBLEMS. Incidentally you need to reread the research a few times over many months for it to soak in. It may at first seem overwhelming to imagine including all these salubrious habits, foods and supplements in your life. Just take it one simple step at a time. Start anywhere you wish, say calcium; as you read the calcium research and view excess calcium’s ties to hundreds of KNOWN health problems your resolve to eat good calcium food sources and avoid excess supplemental calcium will be strengthened. Calcium will tie in hundreds of steps which logically follow your strengthening decision to eliminate excess supplemental calcium from your life. The web of actions required to avoid osteoporosis is great. The good part is in avoiding osteoporosis you will also be avoiding MANY other health problems in large part; when you address these problems you will find much of the work you must do to avoid these problems has already been done.

What is Disease?

Osteoporosis a Problem for Women AND Men
  

Osteoporosis a weakening of the bone is often thought of as a woman’s problem but men please take note, almost 30% of hip fractures, the most serious bone fracture, occur in men and 1 in 8 men over age 50 will have an osteoporotic fracture. Perhaps we should work together with our wives to avoid this man made scourge. Osteoporosis is strongly associated with low levels of magnesium (See Magnesium Protocol), vitamin D (See Vitamin D Protocol), vitamin K  and boron (See Boron Protocol). Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis respond favorably and rapidly to weight bearing exercise (See Weight Bearing Exercise Protocol), higher levels of vitamin D plus vitamin K, boron, calcium, magnesium and if required progesterone.

Osteoporosis is Usually a Lack of Information

IMO osteoporosis is a condition often resulting from ignorance of the basic bone building process and pseudo-medical propaganda by milk manufactures and others. I cannot guarantee you will not get osteoporosis if you follow this protocol but I believe it will work for 99 + % of you. It does not matter how poor your bones are currently they WILL RESPOND rather quickly to the proper actions on your part! Osteoporosis is one of the easiest health problems for YOU to solve because it is almost ALL under your direct control. Solve your osteoporosis problem in your relative youth and you will be ahead of the game.

YOUR BODY is Not as Weak as YOU are 

Here is one of the most fantastic properties of your body IMO. No matter how much you have abused and mistreated your body once you start to do the right things your body immediately responds by vigorously striding toward health. Where there is life there is hope; it’s not just a saying. Unlike you and I our bodies don’t have a will power problem. Our bodies KNOW what to do to achieve good health; our bodies WANT good health. It takes a large effort on our part, advertent or inadvertent to thwart our bodies in their drive for good health. Become a considerate partner for your body and the both of you will shine.

WEIGHT BEARING EXERCISE is the BEST WAY to AVOID or TREAT OSTEOPOROSIS

“This indicates that women who participate in impact sports such as volleyball and basketball had higher Bone Mass Densities and bone formation values than female swimmers.” Journal of Applied Physiology

“Weight-bearing aerobic activities involve doing aerobic exercise on your feet, with your bones supporting your weight. Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening. These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss. They can also provide cardiovascular benefits, which boost heart and circulatory system health.” Mayo Clinic, Exercising with osteoporosis

“Weight-bearing exercise led to significant increases above baseline in bone mineral content which were maintained with continued training in older, postmenopausal women. With reduced weight-bearing exercise, bone mass reverted to baseline levels.”  Weight-bearing exercise training and lumbar bone mineral content in postmenopausal women

“According to numerous studies and aging manuals, strength training, is an activity known to increase bone mass and thus decrease the possibility of osteoporosis.”  Bone density sharply enhanced by weight training, even in the elderly

"My sister uses your weight vest & has gone from Osteopenia to healthy bones!" Allison, Fredericksburg, TX

“In fact as important as hormonal and dietary factors are, they are not the most critical factors for maintaining healthy bones; exercise is the most critical. One hour of moderate exercise three times a week has been shown to prevent bone loss and increase bone mass in postmenopausal women. Immobility doubles the rate of calcium excretion resulting in negative calcium balance. The best thing people can do to strengthen their bones is to get physical activity.” Murray & Pizzorno

“Weight bearing exercises is as close as one can get when one is searching for a magic bullet in the prevention of osteoporosis. The positive effect of exercise on bone density is greatest in adults who have been sedimentary and just started exercising. Studies have shown that even elderly adults over age 80 who have done active exercise and weight bearing programs can significantly increase their bone density over a shot period of time. Weight bearing exercises such as walking, running, jogging, dancing, are especially important. While swimming is a great exercise for cardiovascular diseases, it is not as good for bone health when compared to walking and jogging.” Doctor Michael Lam MD

The best way to avoid or treat osteoporosis is weight bearing exercise (See Weight Bearing Exercise Protocol). Stressing your bones will make the bone stronger. If you are right handed your right arm and right leg have greater bone masses than your left ones, often as much as 8% more. They have this greater mass and STRENGTH because you use them more. Incidentally just because a bone has greater mass does not always mean that bone is stronger. As we see modern wonder drugs such as the bisphosphonates can build bones with greater mass that are weaker and more likely to fracture.

One way to stress your bones is to for example pick up and carry a heavy bag, one quarter of your body weight or more as you walk, turn and set down the bag. You want to flex and twist your bones under load. Running will do this for many of your bones. Weight lifting is also a good way, even stair climbing and vigorous walking are good for your bones.

If you are elderly or have a bad case of current osteoporosis please take all the steps nutritionally BEFORE starting an exercise program and then ease into it by walking and stair climbing IMO. Please remember to start low and go slow. I would hate to see one of your snap a weak bone lifting too heavy a weight. Start with five pounds if you are frail; add a pound or two a week and soon enough you will be lifting one quarter your body weight. Remember as long as you are INCREASING your bone strength the odds are low that bone will fail; if you are providing all the nutrients required to build bone; avoiding the things that tear down your bones; stress will strengthen your bones; just as nature intends.

Continuation of  Osteoporosis Protection Protocol (See Osteoporosis Protection Protocol Continuation)

This site was last updated on: 21 July 2010 08:43 PM

The information provided throughout this site should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any illness. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. A licensed integrative physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all illnesses you can not handle yourself. You and your doctor should reach an informed consensus on diagnosis and treatment. It is incumbent on YOU to know enough about your illness to do this. Blindly following  some doctors orders will in the end sink you IMO. Links to other sites are provided for the targeted information indicated and links should not be regarded as an endorsement of all additional information that those other sites may provide although these sites are in general very good to excellent or I would not use them. Trust but verify. Trust government at your own risk. IMO toxic politics is the cause of MOST of our health problems. Trust yourself because YOU have become knowledgeable enough to trust.  YOU are the ONLY one responsible for your life and health; once you realize this your life will get MUCH better and also in ways other than your health.