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Shattering Osteoporosis Myths

Hey, Its Dr. Martin here

Let’s shatter some myths about osteoporosis.

You've heard it all before "Drink milk for strong bones," right?

Well, I'm here to tell you: Calcium is OVERRATED. And here's why the "Got Milk?" campaign had everyone believing calcium was the key to bone health and as a result calcium has become the go-to nutrient the moment someone mentions osteoporosis.

On the surface it makes sense.

Calcium makes up almost 40% of the mass of your bone.
.
Yet, why do countries with some of the highest calcium consumption also have more problems with osteoporosis?

Why do studies show drinking milk from a young age does little to increase bone health later in life?

Even the British Medical Journal says…
"Increasing calcium intake through diet or supplements should not be recommended for fracture or osteoporosis prevention."

It’s because your calcium levels are tightly controlled by four tiny glands called the parathyroid glands.

(To give you an idea of how small they are, each parathyroid gland is about the size of a grain of rice.)

Your parathyroid glands are in charge of keeping your blood calcium levels regular. Notice I said BLOOD calcium levels.
Your parathyroid glands release a hormone that will break down bone to get calcium for your blood.

Simply put — If your blood calcium levels fall you break down bones to get it.

Why? Because blood calcium is more important to your body than bone calcium. Your heart, muscles, and brain need normal blood calcium levels to function that’s why your body will rob your bones of calcium to ensure your blood calcium levels stay healthy.

Here’s the problem most doctors forget bones are organs.

Bones have osseous tissue, nervous tissue, fibrous tissue, and a network of blood vessels. And, like all organs many things can hurt your bones which means there are many things your bones need to stay healthy.

If you want your bones to age well you have to do things differently.

Aging causes you to lose…

• Muscle mass
• Strength
• Function

After 30 years old you lose 3-8% of your muscle mass per decade. And you lose even more after 60.

To make matters worse…Studies show that as you age and lose muscle you gain fat mass.

Doctors talk about Osteoporosis.

But they rarely talk about sarcopenia (muscle loss) and that's a huge mistake. Osteoporosis is a lagging indicator of sarcopenia.

Here's what I mean by that:

A person rarely has bone loss but no muscle loss.

But absolutely every person who has Osteoporosis HAS LOST A LOT OF MUSCLE AS WELL.

If you have enough muscle the chances of having Osteoporosis are virtually non-existent.

But if you are losing 3-8% of your muscle mass and you didn't have a lot, to begin with then you're going to end up with bone loss as well.

The reasons doctors talk only about bone loss and shrug about muscle loss because there's a pill they can give for Osteoporosis.

Problem solved.

On the other hand the ONLY prescription for gaining or maintaining muscle so you don't lose 8% every decade is to lift weights and eat enough protein.

(There’s a war against protein intake going on as well)

Lifting weights is the MOST IMPORTANT exercise you can do and it isn't even close.

So if you're worried about your bones then build muscle.

Of course, there are a few other things your bones need to be healthy. For years, I've talked about how high circulating insulin destroys bone. People thought I was crazy.

That may be true — but not about the insulin-bone connection.
A study published a few years ago in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism agreed with me.

The study found several DIRECT and indirect pathways by which insulin resistance can affect bone size which means…

Healthy bones need healthy insulin levels.

But there's more.

Your bones also need Vitamin D. EVERY cell in your bones (chondrocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts) contains the VITAMIN D RECEPTOR. That's how vital Vitamin D is to your bones.

Remember, I said earlier that calcium INTAKE is not correlated with solid bones. That's true. We don't need MORE calcium. We need better calcium ABSORPTION.

That's where vitamin D comes up big. Vitamin D is like a bouncer — It lets calcium in. Without enough vitamin D, you can't absorb calcium from the gut into your bloodstream.

If you're low in vitamin D, you can eat as much calcium as you want it isn't going to help your bones.

But absorbing more calcium isn't the solution.You DON'T want calcium to STAY in your bloodstream. That's terrible news.

Calcium will HARDEN your blood vessels — causing heart disease and strokes. This is where vitamin K steps in.

If Vitamin D is the bouncer…then, Vitamin K is the TRAFFIC COP. It directs calcium from blood vessels to your bones.
(You can see why vitamin K suits your HEART and BONES).

Also remember how I mentioned you have two tiny glands that regulate blood calcium levels? You need vitamin D to help maintain blood calcium levels. If you’re low in vitamin D, your body will rob your bones of calcium.

There’s another often-overlooked destroyer of bone that nobody talks about and that’s Oxidative Stress. Studies have shown that oxidative stress (free radical damage) can lead to bone destruction and Osteoporosis.