Grow Youthful: How to Slow Your Aging and Enjoy Extraordinary Health
Grow Youthful: How to Slow Your Aging and Enjoy Extraordinary Health

Osteoporosis / Osteopenia

What are Osteoporosis and osteopenia?

Symptoms of calcium deficiency

Causes and risk factors for osteoporosis

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis

References

What are Osteoporosis and osteopenia?

Osteopenia is a condition where bone mineral density is lower than normal, and is a warning that you are at risk of osteoporosis. Osteopenia is defined as a bone mineral density T-score between -1.0 and -2.5.

Osteoporosis is unknown in primitive and traditional cultures, where people live on a traditional diet and get sufficient outdoors and exercise. However, in modern Western cultures 33% of women over the age of 50 years and 10% of men over 50 suffer from the effects of osteoporosis. (1)

In a healthy body calcium is deposited where it is needed - mostly in the bones. In a body that is out of balance because of a poor diet, harmful supplements, lack of exercise and a "soft" lifestyle, calcium may be taken from the bones and deposited where it is not wanted.

Elderly people with osteoporosis who fracture a hip often have a life expectancy of less than a year. This situation is preventable because osteoporosis is not inevitable with ageing.

Standard / conventional medical treatments and drug prescriptions have not proved successful in preventing or treating osteopenia or osteoporosis.

Bone is composed mostly (70%) of collagen which is a protein. It also has many minerals including calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, sulphur, zinc, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, copper, strontium and boron. Bone is used as a mineral bank, and the body will draw on a particular mineral if there is a shortage. Boron and vitamin D help other minerals to incorporate into the bone matrix. The importance of alkaline minerals is explained in alkaline-forming diet

Symptoms of calcium deficiency

Causes and risk factors for osteopenia

Prevention and treatment of osteopenia

References

1. Riggs BL, Melton LJ 3rd. The worldwide problem of osteoporosis: insights afforded by epidemiology. Bone. 1995 Nov;17(5 Suppl):505S-511S.

2. Jia-Guo Zhao, Xian-Tie Zeng, Jia Wang, Lin Liu. Association Between Calcium or Vitamin D Supplementation and Fracture Incidence in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA; 318(24):2466-2482. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.19344. 26 December 2017.

3. Tankeu AT, Ndip Agbor V, Noubiap JJ. Calcium supplementation and cardiovascular risk: A rising concern. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2017 Jun;19(6):640-646. doi: 10.1111/jch.13010. Epub 2017 May 2. PMID: 28466573; PMCID: PMC8030811.