Osteoporosis - Are You At Risk?

Osteoporosis is one of the most common debilitating diseases in America today. It affects an estimated 20 million citizens to some degree, yet it is a condition that is very poorly understood. Recent studies show osteoporosis in young women as young as their middle 20's.

The question remains, "Is osteoporosis actually a deficiency of calcium intake?" The studies show that the majority of us are severely deficient in calcium, yet the consumption of both milk and calcium supplements have been on the rise since the early 1980's. Is it any wonder that the average American is confused, when most doctors and dieticians have no real knowledge of the causative origin or direction for this widespread affliction. There is obvious evidence that milk, other dairy products and calcium pills are not producing the desired result. Incidence of osteoporosis and other calcium deficiency conditions remains constantly on the rise.

But what if the loss of calcium was NOT the starting point of this disease, but rather the effect of a body forced to compensate for a national lifestyle that endorses too much acid ash foods and a daily dose of worry and anxiety? We will investigate further, but let's take a moment to look at calcium itself and its function in the human body.

Most people look at calcium only in relation to the bones and teeth. Calcium, however, is vital to nerve response, muscle control, regulation of heart rhythm, blood pressure and coagulation of the blood upon injury. For all of these functions to continue normally the blood must maintain an exact calcium level. If this level decreases, and no "usable" calcium is available from the intake of food, then the body will remove or "borrow" calcium from the bones

It is not difficult to get calcium into the stomach or into the bloodstream, but it is difficult to get calcium into the individual cells of the body, to be "re-deposited" once again into the various tissues. Calcium absorption requires a very specialized process in the stomach at a very specific range of pH, but most of all it requires a "useable" (organic) form of the mineral.

Organic refers to that which exists in a living entity. The calcium in vegetables is organic. Rock minerals, designed to be eaten by plants, not people, are inorganic. Organic minerals are held in place by what chemists term covalent bonds. Covalent bonds are easy for the body to break apart and thereafter use the minerals as nourishment. Rocks, salts, and other inorganic materials are held together by what chemists call ionic bonds, which are extremely hard , strong bonds which the body cannot break apart. Inorganic calcium, therefore, is NOT a "usable" form of calcium for man or members of the animal kingdom. The body cannot use inorganic calcium no matter how desperately it may need it. Calcium carbonate, widely used in poor quality calcium supplements, is of this inorganic type.

The loose covalent form of organic calcium found in fresh raw fruits and vegetables is the most usable form for animals and humans. These foods, in the uncooked form, provide us with calcium and the other vital minerals in the form that can be immediately used by the body for growth and repair. Excess will be added to the storage as the "alkaline reserve", a usable form for the demands of the future. This type of calcium is available for supplementation as calcium citrate. Care must be taken, however that the supplements have not been heat processed, as high heat affects these covalent bonds.

Despite what we may see or hear on television, radio, or in the classroom, cow's milk can NOT supply usable calcium because it is altered by the heat of pasteurization, which turns it into a form more like the "rock-hard"bonds of inorganic substances. In addition, dairy products are acid-ash forming foods which tax the alkaline reserve more heavily than the minerals they contribute . This imbalance alone should be enough to dissuade anyone to the suggestion that the consumption of milk is the "cure" for osteoporosis.

Heat altered calcium foods, as well as poor quality calcium supplements, DO get into the bloodstream, but cannot be used by the cells. This heaps the burden of neutralizing this useless material onto the body, Some of it will be deposited along the inside of blood vessels where it contributes to the formation of atherosclerosis. Some will be deposited in joints will it will be seen as arthritis.

It may seem ironic that the body would deposit calcium on the outside of bones as arthritis, while at the same time the interior suffers a definite loss of calcium as osteoporosis. The body, very intelligently, makes the distinction that some forms of calcium are of no use to the cells, but must be "dealt with" in some manner. By this result we see that milk not only fails in the prevention of osteoporosis, but can actually contribute to its development.

The real "bad guy" in the search for the cause of osteoporosis is excess protein. As we mentioned earlier when we talked about milk having an acid ash residue, protein from any animal source will leave toxic acids in the body. Minerals are required in neutralizing these damaging acids. Remember, good organic minerals make up the alkaline reserve, but when their volume is depleted the body must turn to the bones as the next available source for organic minerals. The less alkaline reserve available, the less acid ash from protein will be tolerated.

Any amount of daily protein (animal or vegetable source) that exceeds 50 grams will eventually result in osteoporosis. There is a physiological limit to the daily amount of acidity the buffer systems can effectively continue to neutralize. In fact, if the alkaline reserve is already low, damage will occur at a rate of less than 50 grams of daily protein intake. Recent studies show that many Americans eat daily in excess of 130 grams of protein, the major part of which comes from animal products. This depletes the body of calcium at an alarming rate. The more meat we consume, the more calcium we lose, regardless of the number of fruits and vegetables eaten or the amount of calcium supplements used.

It is important to realize that your best indication of avoidance of this debilitating condition is to intelligently monitor your salivary and urinary pH as directed by a doctor familiar with these methods. Your current alkaline reserve is reflected in these findings if done correctly and consistently. Blood tests are not enough when we consider that not all of the calcium in the bloodstream can be absorbed by the cells, and the number of times calcium levels of the blood appear to be within normal limits while the patient is rapidly undergoing the ravages of osteoporosis.

Therefore, do these three things to improve your health and avoid losing the minerals you so desperately need: (1) Eat raw fruits and vegetables to consume a type of calcium the body can use. (2) Decrease protein consumption, to conserve the minerals that the body has in reserve, and (3) Learn the proper methods for pH measurement that will give you an indication of whether your alkaline reserve is high, adequate, or dangerously low.

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