Naturopathic Solutions For Osteoporosis
Did you know your bones aren’t completely solid? They might seem like they are, but they’re actually made up of many small spaces.
When viewed under a microscope they look a little bit like a honeycomb.
This is a good thing – it means they’re strong enough to support your body, but also lightweight enough that you can run and jump with relative ease.
When your bones are healthy, these honeycombs are close together.
If you develop osteoporosis, however, these honeycombs become larger.
This makes your bones more fragile and prone to breaks. I’m Dr.
Antonella Aguilera-Ruiz, head of the Wild Lemon Health virtual naturopathic doctor's office in Sacramento, and osteoporosis comes up quite frequently in my practice.
Today, let’s take a closer look at osteoporosis – what it is, how it develops, and some naturopathic solutions to help manage it.
What Is Osteoporosis?
The word osteoporosis comes from ancient Latin, and literally means “porous bones”.
If you have osteoporosis, your bones are more porous than usual.
This makes them more prone to fractures than healthy bones.
Additionally, if you have osteoporosis, the outer coating of your bones is also thinner and weaker.
This can lead to broken bones even while doing routine activities, such as standing and walking.
Trips and falls, which generally don’t cause major issues for most people can also result in bone fractures.
Osteoporosis Symptoms
Osteoporosis is often considered a silent disease.
This means it often develops without symptoms.
In fact, many people with osteoporosis don’t find out about it until they break a bone.
In the early stages of osteoporosis, if you do notice symptoms, they may include:
Brittle, weak nails
A receding gumline
Low grip strength
When osteoporosis becomes more serious, your bones get thinner and weaker.
Because of this, the chance of having a fracture gets larger.
In extreme cases, you can even break a bone from something as simple as a sneeze or cough.
You might also lose a couple inches of height.
This is because of compression fractures along the vertebrae of your spine, since your spine becomes so weak it starts to break under the pressure of its own weight.
Not surprisingly, this can also trigger neck and back pain.
What Age Does Osteoporosis Usually Start?
A natural part of how your body works is that older cells break down and are replaced by new cells. Once you’re in your thirties, your bones start breaking down at a rate faster than your body is able to replace them.
In most people who develop osteoporosis, it starts to show up around the age of fifty.
It’s estimated that 54 million adults in the US age 50 or older either have osteoporosis, or are at risk of it.
For reference, that’s about half the 50+ population in the US.
As well, it’s estimated that 50% of women and 25% of men over the age of fifty will experience a bone fracture as a result of osteoporosis.
In other words, osteoporosis is a big deal.
Women tend to develop it earlier than men, largely as a result of menopause which can cause your body to lose bone mass more quickly.
However, by age 65, men usually catch up and lose bone mass at around the same rate as women.
There are other risk factors, however, that can cause it to appear earlier. We’ll look at some of those factors in the next section.
Who Usually Gets Osteoporosis?
As mentioned above, menopause can cause you to develop osteoporosis sooner.
The two biggest risk factors for osteoporosis, are, in fact, being a woman and being older than seventy. Other factors that can increase your risk of osteoporosis include:
Malnutrition, especially from restrictive low calorie crash diets
Heightened stress levels
A sedentary lifestyle
Certain medications
Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin K deficiency
Phosphorus deficiency
Calcium deficiency
Celiac disease
Rheumatoid arthritis
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Inflammatory bowel disease
A thyroid disorder, like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Hormonal imbalances, especially low levels of estrogen
Is There A Cure For Osteoporosis?
At the present time, there is no known cure for osteoporosis.
But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to broken bones as you get older.
Nutritional and lifestyle changes can go a long way toward slowing or stopping your progression of osteoporosis.
In some cases, you may even be able to reverse bone loss.
Let’s take a look at some of the naturopathic options for maintaining your bone health.
1. Get Enough, Calcium, Magnesium, And Vitamin D
Getting enough vitamins will always be important for your overall health.
There are some in particular which are critical for maintaining strong bones.
Let’s take a closer look at the three of the most important nutrients for bone health.
Calcium
Anyone who lived through the 1990’s is probably familiar with the idea of calcium being important for strong bones.
After all, milk had a very successful marketing campaign, and this was one of its main messages.
On the other hand, the wellness space can be quite anti dairy.
However, the data really suggests that dairy is a significant source of adequate calcium and can actually prevent fractures.
RELATED: Is Dairy Free Harmful? If you’re worried about getting enough calcium through your diet, supplements may help.
But it’s important to talk to your naturopathic doctor first before beginning any new supplement regime.
In the meantime, some recipes you can try to get more calcium in your diet include:
Kale salad with tomatoes (with sheep’s milk feta)
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin” is another important nutrient for strong bones.
It plays a key role in helping your body absorb calcium.
If you live here in Sacramento, 20 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen during the day in the summer months should be enough to give you the vitamin D you need.
Of course, sunscreen is important, but it can block vitamin D absorption along with blocking the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
However, so many of us live lives where we don’t get a chance to see the sun as much as we’d like.
We race from our air conditioned cars to our air conditioned offices, and back again at the end of the day.
Vitamin D is a routine screen I run in practice in order to see your levels, rather than guessing. From there, we supplement accordingly.
Magnesium
Magnesium is... complicated.
You may often see people talking about how magnesium can help absorb calcium, but I’ve never been able to find much research that backs this up.
But that doesn’t mean magnesium is without its benefits for your bones.
People with higher levels of magnesium tend to have higher bone density, so if you’re at risk of osteoporosis this is a good thing.
Foods rich in magnesium include:
Nuts
Avocado
Fatty fish
Bananas
Legumes
Baked potatoes (with the skin)
Tofu
Pumpkin, chia, or flax seeds
Dark chocolate
If you’re looking for some recipes including these ingredients, consider:
Quinoa porridge (with banana on top)
Rice with plantains and a fried egg (also high in vitamin D)
If you’re considering a magnesium supplement, many people prefer to take them in the evening, since it can have a relaxing effect.
RELATED: Sleep Tight: Tips To Help Prepare You For A Restful Sleep As usual, be sure to consult with your naturopathic doctor before adding any new supplements to your regimen.
2. Get Active
Getting enough exercise has numerous health benefits, for your entire body, including your bones.
Some of the benefits include:
Improving bone mass
Stress relief
Better balance
More flexibility
Decreased inflammation
If you have osteoporosis or are at risk of developing it, it’s important to make sure the exercises you’re doing are safe for you.
This means avoiding things with too much bending, twisting, or jumping.
Weight bearing exercises, in which your body works against gravity, are ideal.
Some exercises to consider, include:
Walking
Pilates
Tai chi
Yoga
Swimming
Using an elliptical machine
Doing bodyweight exercises such as squats, push ups, and planks
As with all exercise plans, it’s important to have some guidance.
That’s usually where we see the most success with guided exercise being that a group class, trainer, or working with another professional well versed in this area.
3. Get Enough Protein In Your Diet
You probably associate getting enough protein with strong muscles, but it’s important for your bones as well.
Approximately half of the structure of your bones is made up of protein, which means it’s very important for keeping your bones in great shape.
Great sources of high quality proteins include wild caught fish, fermented cheese, grass fed meat, pastured poultry and eggs, and nuts and seeds.
Book Your Appointment With Wild Lemon Health Today
Are you worried about the health of your bones? Perhaps you’re in a high risk group for developing osteoporosis.
Or you’re taking a medication which can affect the health of your bones.
Maybe you’ve already experienced a bone fracture, and want to take steps to improve your bone health to avoid future complications.
