Bone Health Supplements

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study suggesting that most Americans were deficient in Vitamin D.

What is Vitamin D?
There has recently been an explosion of information about this vitamin. It is primarily known for its role in the absorption of calcium and so it is essential for the normal development of our bone structure. However, it has also been shown to be involved in the immune system.

Where do we get vitamin D? As well as being obtained from food, where it is not very abundant, Vitamin D can be produced in the skin by the action of ultraviolet light (sunshine).
Although elderly people are traditionally thought to be more at risk from vitamin D deficiency, wisely, more and more of us are staying out of the sun and/or using sunscreens for protection. So, we are all at risk.

The article in The New England Journal of Medicine called for much greater supplementation with this vitamin. Be safe!

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin long known as essential for promoting calcium absorption and thereby ensuring healthy bones. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin and brittle, with a deficiency being a risk factor in osteoporosis.

A recent flood of research into vitamin D has investigated its role in a wide variety of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, possibly autism, and periodontal disease.

Experts recommend taking vitamin D supplements on a regular basis because food sources are extremely limited and our natural production depends on exposure to the sun.

Vitamin D is now available in a Spray! For more information visit: click this link: Spray the sunshine vitamin!

Our bones are constantly being broken down and renewed. Until we reach our late teens, more bone is being made than is broken down until we reach the stage known as ‘peak bone mass’. As we get older, our bones tend to become weaker and more brittle as we lose calcium.

Certain vitamins are vital for our bodies to ingest to prevent bone diseases like Osteoporosis. There is substantial evidence to suggest that Calcium and Vitamin D are vital nutrients for maintaining healthy bones. There is also research suggesting that Magnesium, Vitamin K, Vitamin C and Boron also contribute to their health.

Our bones are 35-40% calcium. It is suggested that we ingest a minimum of 800mg of calcium per day. Children under 18 years of age should take 1300mg per day to ensure maximum density at ‘peak’ and post-menopausal women should take 1200mg of calcium per day as they are at highest risk of developing Osteoporosis.

It has been shown that Vitamin D supports the absorption of calcium and it’s recommended that we take 5ug of the vitamin day either through our diet or by ensuring that we have 10minutes of direct sunlight per day (our bodies can produce vitamin D when our skin gets direct sunlight).

Magnesium is used for the renewal of bone tissue. It’s recommended that women take 270mg and men take 320mg of magnesium per day.

Vitamin K must be present for bone to support the cells that remodel bone tissue. We need 80ug of Vitamin K daily.

Vitamin C supports the function of Vitamin D. We should ingest 75mg of vitamin C per day.

Boron is said to also help reduce the rate of bone loss as it has been shown to inhibit the excretion of calcium and magnesium.

Whilst these nutrients are said to help promote healthy bones, you should never substitute qualified medical advice with information found in this article. The author does not give or purport to give any medical or healthcare advice and is not qualified to do so.

Author: Kristy Lee

Enjoying life is not always about having a lot of fame and fortune. It is also about living a healthy and pain free life with having strong bones and joints. Having strong bones and joints is important in this day and age.By having healthy bones and joints,it is easier to simply get around and complete movements that you rely on every day for work or taking care of your family.

Have you ever tried to walk up a flight of stairs and almost took a tumble because it felt like you knee and joints couldn’t support your weight? Maybe you felt like your job was getting harder and harder to perform because of the pain around the knee,finger and elbows wouldn’t allow you to do certain things that your job requires. If you can relate to any one of these painful situations,you may suffer from having unhealthy joints and bones.

I am a former bodybuilder and weight trainer. I experienced joint problems at a young age. While participating in the bodybuilding sport,It was all about lifting heavy weight. I later found out from having joint problems,the sport was not worth the pain. There are a couple of ways to protect your joints. You should avoid lifting alot of heavy objects along with wearing some type of brace that will protect the joints.

Having strong joints and bones is important in this day and age. By having healthy joints,it is easier to simply get around and complete movements that you rely on every day for work or taking care of your family. Just because we age does not mean that we have to sacrifice comfort,strong bone and joints. There is a tremendous amount of research,which points to certain nutrients that help nutritionally support your body along with your joints. To learn more,visit www.rsutton.biz

Author: Robert Sutton

For an effective way to take vitamins and supplements for your bones, visit: www.SprayNutrients.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Sutton

Bone Health Supplements has been following the research that is in this posted article.  I find it frankly confusing at best how moderate drinking may or may not impact bone health (and cardiovascular health as well!).   For women in particular, drinking can be a tricky health topic, with challenges to how it impacts breast cancer and other health concerns.   As always, the advice (that even my own doctor gave me when I quizzed him about this study) is that MODERATION is the key to good health when it comes to enjoying alcohol.

On a side note, my doctor did state that he agreed with one point of the study:  If you do enjoy a cocktail or two, stay away from hard alcohol mixed with soda, especially the dark colas.  Excessive soda consumption may lead to low bone density later in life. 

Moderate drinking may help build bone density

By Anne Harding, from Reuters Health.

People who enjoy a glass or two of wine or beer every day could be helping to keep their bones strong, new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests.

However, drinking more — and choosing hard liquor instead of wine or beer — may actually weaken bones, Dr. Katherine Tucker of Tufts University in Boston and her colleagues found.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Tucker agreed that keeping track of the health benefits and risks of alcohol is tough these days. "It is very confusing for people because alcohol has such diverse effects on different things," she said; for example, while drinking may prevent heart disease, it increases breast cancer risk.

Nevertheless, the researcher added, the effect of alcohol on bone mineral density (BMD) that she and her colleagues saw was "larger than what we see for any single nutrient, even for calcium. It’s not ambiguous. It’s very clear."

In the current study, Tucker and her team investigated how different types of alcohol affected bone density in 1,182 men, 1,289 postmenopausal women, and 248 premenopausal women participating in the Framingham Offspring study. Study participants ranged in age from 29 to 86.

Men who had a glass or two of wine or beer daily had denser bones than non-drinkers, the researchers found, but those who downed two or more servings of hard liquor a day had significantly lower BMD than the men who drank up to two glasses of liquor daily.

The women who drank more than two glasses a day of alcohol or wine had greater BMD than the women who drank less. Nonetheless, this finding shouldn’t be seen as meaning that the more a woman drinks the better it is for her bones, Tucker noted; there were simply not that many women in the study who drank much more than this.

Beer is an excellent source of silicon, a mineral needed for bone health that has become increasingly rare in the modern diet, the researcher noted. Beer’s silicon content accounted for at least some of its bone-building effects in men, she added; there were too few women who drank beer to draw conclusions about how the mineral affected female bone density.

Beer and wine may be better for people than liquor, she suggested, because they contain potentially beneficial plant substances such as resveratrol, while hard liquor has had most natural substances distilled out of it.

It’s likely, Tucker said, that alcohol may help build bones by boosting estrogen levels — which is the mechanism that also may account for the increased breast cancer risk seen for women who drink even moderately.

"The main message here is that if you are drinking up to one or two glasses of wine or beer a day, you don’t need to stop for your bones’ sake, in fact it’s helpful," the researcher said. "It’s a personal decision."

Bone Health Supplements presents the following article about how to best maintain bone health for people over 50. 

As our bodies age, there’s no doubt that we need different things than we used to. The human body is a complicated assembly of bones, muscles, and joints that can all function well into our golden years – as long as we know how to take care of them. But what works when you are young may not work as well as you become older. This is partially due to changes in the body, but more so due to the fact that you may not be as active as you once were and hence, are not in as good of shape to begin a rigorous plan.

Before you can begin to strengthen your bones and joints, you will want to talk to your doctor to see what they recommend. If you haven’t been active in a long time, your doctor can assess where you might want to begin and what you might want to avoid, based on your current physical health. Though some people can simply spring right back into an exercise program, chances are good that you may end up doing more harm than good if you go that route.

The main concerns with bone and joint health when you’re over 50 is that you do not lose the strength that you already have – even if it’s not a lot. As your body ages, it naturally begins to lose tone and stability, which can lead to problems with strength and balance. To offset this loss, you need to begin an exercise and nutrition program that will help you slow the effects of aging. Your exercise plan should include some form of cardiovascular activity, like walking or swimming as well as a strength training program. The cardiovascular program will keep your heart and muscles conditioned, while the strength training will help you build up muscle strength to protect your joints.

But while many of is already know the value of exercise for your body, there is one aspect of exercise that often gets neglected – balance. Too often, people fall or injure themselves because their balance and their stability are not as great as they used to be. And even more often, you don’t realize it until you’ve had a bad accident. To combat this, you need to start some sort of stability exercise program, like Yoga or T’ai Chi. Both of these activities will help you learn how to balance your body again, as well as provide you with a wider range of motion and flexibility. You might also want to invest in a balance board to help you practice at home.

Nutrition is another valuable part of your bone and joint health. It seems that many adults feel that if they didn’t eat right when they were younger, there’s no sense in eating right now. But this is a false assumption. By taking the time to eat more calcium and vitamin D, you can begin to strengthen your body from the inside out. In addition, supplements like calcium can help you fulfill your RDA of this mineral. You might also want to look into glucosamine chondrotin as a supplement as well – provided your doctor agrees that you can take it. Glucosamine has been show to help those with weaker bones and joints stay strong and active.

In some cases, you might need a prescription bone strengthener to help you create more bone density. When your bones are losing density, they have a greater chance of breaking and bending. But with a proper exercise program and dietary changes, you should be able to increase your chances of a long and active life.

By: Grant Eckert

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

About Author:
Grant Eckert is a writer for Lane Labs.

Bone Health Supplements presents the following article on chlorella.   I know that I was certainly amazed at the impact that this supplement can have on not just bone health, but your overall health.

With regard to bone health, chlorella is a very rich source of magnesium.  Magnesium plays a huge role in our bone health. In fact, studies have shown that magnesium intake was a stronger predictor of bone density than calcium intake.

If you have never heard of chlorella then make sure you read this entire article for a full perspective on the chlorella health solution. Chlorella supplements may very well be exactly what you have been looking for in a health supplement. Why? Because chlorella is one of those supplements that is given the rare classification of "superfood." And that is exactly what it is. It is not a synthetic vitamin, but rather a whole food supplement that, when taken on a daily basis, will lead to superior health. In other words, take chlorella for good health.
Read more…

Bone Health Supplements presents the following information on how to boost your bone health with Boron and other Minerals.  Have questions about Boron?  Discuss how Boron and other supplements can impact your bone health with your doctor today! 

About 44 million American men and women suffer from osteoporosis (severe bone loss) or osteopenia (mild bone loss), with women being affected twice as much as men. Each year, at least 1.5 million hip, vertebra, or wrist fractures occur in the United States because of osteoporosis. Although bone mass normally declines after age thirty-five, bone loss that is severe enough to cause fractures after only a minor trauma is a different problem.

Some of the risk factors for osteoporosis include: small body frame, underweight, Caucasian or Asian race, a sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol or caffeine intake, high intake of carbonated beverages, and having other family member with osteoporosis. Certain medical conditions such as diabetes, celiac disease, hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive lung disease, hyperadrenalism, and hyperparathyroidism are also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. There are also some medications that increase the rate of bone loss such as those prescribed for seizures and blood thinning, prednisone and other steroids, aluminum-containing antacids, and loop diuretics. By engaging in regular weight bearing exercise, avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine, and quitting smoking, the rate of bone loss will be slowed. Eating adequate amounts of protein and supplementing with various vitamins and minerals also enhances bone health.

Calcium salts are absorbed about the same for most people, absorbing between thirty to forty percent of the administered dose. Those with low stomach acid, hypochlorhydria, should not use calcium carbonate because it is absorbed poorly without stomach acid. For many older people, calcium phosphate is preferable because phosphorus is necessary for normal bone formation. Calcium that is bound to phosphorus is the form in which calcium is stored in the bone, and has a much greater bone activity than other forms.

In order to promote strong bones, vitamin D is a necessary nutrient. Because vitamin D is produced when ultraviolet rays from the sun hit the skin, those people who stay out of the sun, wear sunscreen, or live in a northern latitude are at an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Aging also decreases a person’s ability to produce vitamin D in the skin. Supplementation with 700-800 IU of vitamin D per day has been proven to decrease the number of hip fractures by 26%. However, 400 IU per day was ineffective. In addition to improving bone health, vitamin D improves nerve and muscle function in older people, which reduces their risk of falling down. 800 IU of vitamin D per day in elderly women has shown to decrease the number of falls by about 50%. The ‘safe upper limit,’ as determined by The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine is 4,000 IU per day. However, you most likely don’t need nearly this much to help bone issues.

Because bone is a living tissue that is constantly remodeling itself and engaging in many biological functions, it has a wide range of nutritional needs. Not getting enough of one or more of the important micronutrients needed is an important contributing factor to osteoporosis. In addition to supplementing with calcium and vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin K, boron, strontium, silicon, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, phosphorus, and vitamin C are all shown to have a vital role in bone health. Calcium is a component of the mineral crystals that makes up the bone. Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption and prevents falls by improving nerve and muscle function. Magnesium is important in bone mineralization, which is similar to zinc. However, zinc also increases bone loss. Copper also promotes bone mineralization and decreases bone loss. Manganese plays a vital role in the creation of the connective-tissue components of the bone. Boron supports the creation of bone-protecting hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, and DHEA. Silicon has a vital role in the synthesis of connective-tissue components in the bone. Deficiency of silicon has been associated with bone abnormalities. B vitamins, including folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12, have been shown to lower blood levels of homocysteine. A high level of homocysteine concentration is a very big risk factor for fractures in elderly people. Strontium is a trace mineral that is incorporated into bone and increases bone strength. It stimulates bone formation and inhibits bone breakdown. Vitamin K is best known for its effect on blood clotting. However, it is also required for the creation of osteocalcin, which is a unique protein that is found in bone and participates in the mineralization process. The amount of vitamin K needed for optimal bone health is greater than that amount needed to prevent bleeding. Deficiency in any of these nutrients is often associated with the development of osteoporosis.

There are two forms of vitamin K that are present in food, vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is found in leafy green vegetables and some vegetable oils. Vitamin K2 is found in much smaller amounts in meat, cheese, eggs, and natto. Vitamin K2 can occur in more than one form, menaquinine-4 (MK-4), a licensed prescription drug in Japan, and menaquinone-7 (MK-7), which is extracted from natto. Research has shown that MK-7 is the ideal form of vitamin K. After oral administration, it was better absorber and lasted long in the body compared to MK-4 and vitamin K1. Even though both have shown the ability to prevent osteoporosis, a much lower dosage of MK-7 is required to obtain the beneficial effects. MK-7 has greater biological activity, bioavailability, and more potent effects on the bone.

Strontium is very important in building strong bones. After being studied by bone health researchers, it has been determined that lower doses are not only safer for long-term supplementation, but also have a greater impact on bone health than high doses. Too little of a dose and bone density will be impaired, but too much and health will be impaired. In this case, dosing needs to be just right for optimal impact. Therefore, keeping supplemental strontium at less than 6 mg per day is the best decision.

Nutrients work by different mechanisms than osteoporosis drugs, allowing them to have the ability to be taken with osteoporosis medications and enhance the beneficial effect of these medications. Because calcium and other minerals may interfere with the absorption of osteoporosis medications, they should be taken at least two hours before or two hours after taking osteoporosis medications. It is always best to also discuss the supplements with your healthcare practitioner to create the best health plan for you. The above supplements and other fine products can be found at your friendly internet health food store.

By: Darrell Miller -

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Bone Health Supplements presents the following article about olive leaf extract. 

Recently, French researchers discovered that oleuropein, from olive leaf, stopped bone loss in a study regaridng an animal model of menopausal osteoporosis.

Furthermore, additional research has shown that oleuropein has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties have proven to be responsible for the reduction in bone density loss that was observed by these researchers.

Olive leaf extract is a popular liquid extract derived from the olive tree. It is believed to have many health benefits, and there are ongoing studies to prove its effectiveness.
Read more…

Bone Health Supplements presents the following article about bone health and how aging men and their doctors may not be paying it enough attention.  Bone Health is definitely a hot topic amongst women, and most women I know take a day in and day out approach to their bone health due to the high level of awareness and focus by our physicians, fellow female friends and family members-even the TV commercials for bone health medications only show women!

This article would suggest that we should make sure we are focused on bone health, regardless of our gender. 

This article is from The Canadian Press. 

Aging Men may be under-prescribed bone-saving drugs, osteoporosis study finds

TORONTO — A new study suggests aging men and their doctors may not be paying enough attention to bone health.

The report from the Canadian Institutes for Health Information says older men in Canada are substantially less likely to be taking bisphosphonate drugs than are women.

Bisphosphonates are drugs used to counter the effects of osteoporosis and to prevent fractures.

While one in five senior women were using these medications in 2006-2007, only one out of every 30 senior men had been given a prescription for one of the drugs.

It is true that osteoporosis affects women more often than men; in fact, women are twice as likely to develop the bone-weakening disease.

But the report found the gap in prescribing rates between men and women is much bigger than the difference in disease incidence.

"This raises questions about whether men are being under-diagnosed and under-treated for the disorder, which could have serious consequences for seniors and their families," says Dr. Diane Theriault, medical director at the Dartmouth osteoporosis multidisciplinary education program in Nova Scotia.

It is estimated that osteoporosis affects up to one in every four women and one in every eight men over the age of 50 in Canada.

The report looked at six years’ worth of drug claims from over a million seniors from six provinces: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

From 2001 to 2007, the proportion of seniors using one of the three drugs studied rose in each of the provinces. Overall, use by seniors rose to 12.9 per cent by the end of the period from 8.9 per cent at the start.

The drugs studied were etidronate, alendronate and risedronate. Canadian guidelines state the first should be used to decrease vertebral fractures, while the latter two are recommended to decrease vertebral, hip and other fractures.

Use of the drugs was highest among women and seniors over age 75.

Bone Health Supplements presents the following article that outlines how a new study may prove that a drug used for bone loss may even help to impact how breast cancers spread or recur.  This article was from The New York Times, Research section.

Bone Drugs May Help Fight Breast Cancer

by Gina Kolata 

A drug of a class commonly used to combat bone loss may reduce by a third the chance that some breast cancers will spread or recur, a large study has found.

While it may sound odd to treat cancer with a drug that acts on bone, evidence is accumulating that such drugs may do more than just prevent the loss of bone. Other studies are testing the drugs in patients with prostate or lung cancer.

The new study, published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, involved 1,803 premenopausal women with tumors that were fueled by estrogen. As part of their treatment, all received drugs that shut down their ovaries, preventing them from making estrogen, along with drugs that stymie cancer cells from using estrogen to grow.

Half also got the bone drug zoledronic acid, or Zometa, as an intravenous infusion twice a year for three years. Those who took the drug had a 36 percent reduction in cancer recurrences and metastases, compared with women who did not get it. After nearly four years, 54 women who received zoledronic acid and 83 who did not had a recurrence of their cancer or had a new cancer in the opposite breast or a metastasis to their bones.

Some cancer researchers said they wanted to see the results from two other large studies of bone drugs and breast cancer before advocating that all women with breast cancer get such drugs. The studies, which include both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, are nearing completion, and their results should be available within the next few years. But the new study has buoyed researchers’ hopes.

“This is really a landmark study,” said Dr. James N. Ingle, head of the breast cancer research program at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. “It’s a reason for real enthusiasm.”

But for now, he said, “I think it is the general consensus that we are not ready to make this a standard treatment.”

Others are more persuaded.

Dr. Marc E. Lippman, a breast cancer expert who is chairman of the department of medicine at the University of Miami, said many women taking hormonal therapy for breast cancer already take drugs to protect their bones. The hormonal therapy deprives the body of the bone-building effects of estrogen. So, he said, why not give these women zoledronic acid, the bone drug used in the study?

“This is something of a mitzvah,” Dr. Lippman said. “The very therapy you might want to do to counteract the toxicity” of the hormonal therapy “has an additional advantage.”

“I think you have to give it,” he said.

The idea of using a drug like zoledronic acid arose from research into why some cancers, like breast cancers, have a predilection to spread to bone.

One reason, Dr. Ingle said, is that cancer cells interact with a type of bone cell, osteoclasts, whose role is to break down bone. Breast cancer cells that migrate to the bones stimulate osteoclasts. Osteoclasts then produce substances that stimulate the cancer cells.

“You get this vicious cycle,” he said.

Drugs used to treat osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease that often occurs in the elderly, home in on osteoclasts and stop them from releasing substances that cause bone loss. As the osteoclasts stop working, they die.

So the idea arose: Perhaps osteoporosis drugs might prevent cancer cells from growing in bones.

Other studies of the osteoporosis drugs, known as bisphosphonates, indicated that they might also have other anticancer effects. In the laboratory, at least, they stopped cancer cells from growing new blood supplies. And bisphosphonates made cancer cells self-destruct in laboratory studies.

In addition, said Dr. Eric P. Winer, a breast cancer specialist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, still other studies indicated that bisphosphonates affected how well cancer cells stuck to surrounding tissue and whether they were able to invade other tissue and proliferate.

And, said Dr. Michael Gnant of the Medical University of Vienna, the lead author of the new study, recent research indicates that particularly in the early stages of many cancers, there is a population of tumor cells that migrate to the bones and hide in bone marrow. Bisphosphonates, he said, might squelch those cells, affecting the ability of the disease to recur.

“This is a general mechanism for all cancers,” Dr. Gnant said. “Not just cancers that metastasize to bone.”

The idea for the cancer studies began when researchers, like Dr. Trevor J. Powles, a professor of breast oncology at Parkside Oncology in London, started asking whether bisphosphonates could treat cancer that had already spread to bone. They could, it turned out, and zoledronic acid and other bisphosphonates were subsequently approved for that use and shown to prevent further spread of cancer in bones. In fact, Zometa is approved only for bone complications of cancer, like fractures — it is not licensed as an osteoporosis drug.

Those discoveries led Dr. Powles and his colleagues and, independently, two other groups of researchers, to ask whether the drugs, in the high doses used to treat cancer, might prevent breast cancer from spreading in the first place.

The results, published a few years ago, were mixed. Dr. Powles’s study found that when women took a bisphosphonate their cancer was less likely to spread to their bones and they lived longer. Another study also found that the cancer was less likely to spread. But the third study found no effect.

Dr. Gnant, in the meantime, had begun a much larger study with intravenous zoledronic acid at a much lower dose, given twice a year for three years. The concern with the drug is a rare and very serious side effect, osteonecrosis of the jaw. But in this study at least, it did not occur.

And the surprising result of his study, if it holds up, indicates that zoledronic acid could add a benefit to existing breast cancer therapy that is nearly the same magnitude as the benefit conferred by chemotherapy or hormonal therapy alone.

But Dr. Gnant urges caution.

“While everyone is very excited, we still need to be conservative about what we recommend to patients,” he said. “In clinical science we do clinical trials. I am still hesitating to say, ‘Well, this is good for everyone.’ In the history of science we sometimes extrapolated and turned out to be absolutely wrong.”

“The right way to proceed,” Dr. Gnant said, “is to wait for data to come in from other studies.”