OSTEOPOROSIS - THE CALCIUM MAGNESIUM COMBO

As I mentioned previously, bones are comprised of living cells that are constantly turning over. Bones are also made up of mineral deposits, namely calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. The min-erals that are deposited alongside the living cells in our bones determine the strength of our skeletal matrix. Without these important minerals, bones would be soft and pliable. There are two key minerals for bone health but, unfortunately, we often only hear about one of them calcium. In fact, in conventional medicine, magnesium for bone health is pretty much ignored. Calcium and magnesium in the proper ratio are both absolutely vital to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Let's start by looking at calcium.

Calcium is Critical

It's not surprising that calcium is revered as the preeminent mineral for bone health. After all, it is the most abundant mineral in the human body with 99 percent of it stored in the bones and teeth. In addition to support-ing the structure of bones and teeth, calcium is critical to the function of muscles, blood vessels, hormones, enzymes, and nerves.
Specifically regarding bone health, calcium is the key mineral deposited during the bone formation phase. There are three ways that calcium can be linked to bone destruction:

•  excess calcium excretion;
•  poor calcium absorption; and
•  consistently low intake of calcium.

When one or more of those three scenarios occurs, the body uses the calcium stored in the bones to carry out important metabolic functions, which in turn weakens bone structure. Conventional wisdom has focused on only one of those factors, the chronically low intake of calcium; how-ever, we are finding out that the other two factors are just as important and just as prevalent. Simply taking more calcium is not the answer.
"More doesn't equal better," explains Carolyn DeMarco, MD, author of The Bone-Building Solution. "The body cannot absorb more than 600 mg of calcium at one time." Dr. DeMarco and many other physicians believe the present recommendation of 1,000 mg or more of calcium in a single dose is too high.
The best way to improve absorption of calcium is to take the right form of calcium and eat a diet that supports proper calcium absorption. It's not surprising that a healthy diet featuring lots of fresh fruits and vegetables will enhance calcium absorption, while a diet high in animal protein, sodium, and caffeine will interfere with calcium absorption.
As for the types of calcium, Dr. DeMarco says the three most bioavailable forms of calcium are citrate/malate, formate or bisglycinate. There is also a high-end form of calcium known as calcium lactate gluconate. This pre-mium form of calcium is available in a liquid supplement known as Osteo-Calm. OsteoCalm by Peter Gillham's Natural Vitality is the brand that I take and a brand that Dr. DeMarco recommends. "The Natural Vitality prod-uct is sweetened with agave and stevia which is far more health-promoting than other sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup which can actually damage bone," explained Dr. DeMarco. "I examined the Natural Vitality formula carefully and found it to be excellent."
In addition to enhancing calcium absorption, it is important to prevent excess calcium excretion. A high protein diet can contribute to calcium loss. In addition, reduce or eliminate the following:

•  Caffeine
•  Alcohol
•  Dietary sodium

High Calcium Foods

•  8 ounces of plain, low fat yogurt = 415 mg
•  1 1/2 ounces of cheddar cheese = 306 mg
•  8 ounces of non fat milk = 302 mg
•  20 medium oysters = 300 mg
•  1 cup of cooked spinach = 292 mg
•  1/2 cup of firm tofu = 253 mg
•  1 cup bok choy = 252 mg
•  2 ounces of almonds = 140 mg
•  6 scallops = 115 mg

NOTE: Choose organic food sources whenever possible, especially when choosing dairy products. For more infor-mation on organic foods refer to the side bar in Chapter Four.

Giving Back

Virtually all soil in the United States is mineral deficient. Toxic pes-ticides and herbicides inhibit the absorption of minerals from the soil into the foods. Modern agricultural practices have severely decreased the mineral content of food. That's why taking a high quality supple-ment that contains important minerals is so important.

When I found out that Natural Vitality gives a portion of their profits to Remineralize The Earth, I asked the president, Ken Whitman, about this. I explained to Ken that if he helps remineralize the Earth, foods will contain more minerals and they won't need his products. "That would be a great problem to have," he said. "I'm sure we would find some-thing else to do. It's more important to find ways to restore ecological balance, stabilize our climate, and grow nutrient-dense foods."

The Remineralize The Earth effort is a non-profit initiative to regener-ate soils and forests worldwide. They use finely ground rock dust as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The orga-nization's goal is to help create healthy crops by returning organic min-eral nutrients to the soil. You can learn more at www.remineralize.org.

Avoid all sugar and sugar substitutes," warns Dr. DeMarco. Too much simple sugar can decrease bone mineral density.

Complementary nutrients such as magnesium, vitamins D3 and K2, trace amounts of boron, zinc, copper, and manganese will help enhance the absorption of calcium. It's critical to take a dietary supplement that contains these synergistic vitamins and minerals. In addition to the calcium lactate gluconate, OsteoCalm contains these important bone-building nutrients.

The development of osteoporosis is when bone breakdown exceeds bone formation. Calcium is important to bone formation, but that's just one side of the equation. I agree with many innovative natural health practitioners who believe magnesium is just as important as calcium when it comes to protecting and enhancing bone health.

"It is unfortunate that the treatment for osteoporosis has been simpli-fied into the single battle cry 'take calcium'," explains Carolyn Dean, MD, ND. "Calcium dominates every discussion about osteoporosis . . . but it cannot stand alone."

More Magnesium

Conservative estimates indicate that 60 to 75 percent of North Ameri-cans do not meet the recommended daily amount of magnesium, which is 400 mg per day. According to Susan Brown, PhD, director of the Osteo-porosis Education Project, "the use of calcium supplementation in the face of magnesium deficiency can lead to a deposition of calcium in the soft tissue such as the joints, promoting arthritis, or in the kidney, contrib-uting to kidney stones."

Several animal studies and a few human studies have shown that low magnesium levels in bones is linked to the development of osteoporosis. An animal study conducted at the University of Southern California dem-onstrated that a 50 percent reduction of dietary magnesium resulted in significant disruption of bone and mineral metabolism. As magnesium content in the bone decreases, bone crystals become larger and more brit-tle. More than 60 percent of all magnesium in the body is located in our bones. Magnesium is involved with more than 300 essential metabolic reactions in the human body. Of most significance are the roles it plays in bone health. Magnesium:

•  is essential for the absorption and metabolism of calcium;
•  stimulates calcitonin, a hormone that is significant to building healthy bone structure;
•  converts vitamin D into its active form so it can enhance calcium absorption;
•  activates the enzymes necessary to form new bone;
•  regulates the transport of calcium; and
•  suppresses parathyroid hormone (PTH), which helps prevent excess bone break down.

Magnesium is critical to PTH. If magnesium levels are too low, less PTH is released so bone builds up. Elevated levels of PTH will cause calcium to leach from the bones. Normal PTH levels contribute to an appropriately balanced bone remodeling system.

A cellular study conducted at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Can-ada, that was published in May 2009, demonstrated that magnesium defi-ciency has a negative effect on the bone remodeling process. The researchers concluded, "Magnesium deficiency, a common condition among the gen-eral population, may be associated with altered osteoblast functions lead-ing to inadequate bone formation and the development of osteoporosis."

"Magnesium deficiency can compromise calcium metabolism and also hinder the body's production of vitamin D, further weakening bones," writes Dr. Dean. "Magnesium is just as important as calcium to prevent and treat osteoporosis."

The number of studies involving calcium for bone health compared to magnesium is staggering. Unfortunately, the scientific community has chosen to focus on just one key mineral. Fortunately, that seems to be changing. More studies are confirming the effectiveness of magnesium specific to osteoporosis prevention and treatment. A small human clinical trial published in June 2009 demonstrated that short-term supplemen-tation with magnesium citrate significantly suppressed bone turnover in osteoporotic postmenopausal women. The dosage was 1,830 mg/day for 30 days, which was a fairly high dose. Subsequent studies involving lower dosages in this population are warranted.

One of the key reasons I was drawn to the OsteoCalm product was because of the amount of magnesium it delivers and the form of magne-sium used. OsteoCalm contains 500 mg of magnesium and 500 mg of calcium, and the forms of both the magnesium (magnesium citrate) and calcium (calcium lactate gluconate) are high quality and are known to have superior solubility. The brand of magnesium used is Natural Calm magnesium, has been the best-selling form of magnesium in the natural products market for more than five years.

Drug Interactions

If you are taking a prescription medication, please inform your doctor of all dietary supplements you are taking. Calcium and mag-nesium can interact with or be depleted by certain drugs. Here are some examples of drug interactions with calcium and magnesium:

Calcium

•  Alendronate = Calcium may interfere with this osteoporosis medication (trade name Fosamax) so calcium containing sup-plements should be taken at least two hours before or after you take this drug.
•  Antacids that contain aluminum = Calcium citrate can increase the amount of aluminum absorbed, which can be particularly problematic for people with kidney disease.
•  Antibiotics = Calcium can interfere with some antibiotics (Cipro, tetracycline, and others) so it is best to take calcium supple-ments 2 to 4 hours before or after you take antibiotics.
•  Anti-seizure medications = Some of these medications can lower calcium levels in the body; it is important to take these medications 2 hours apart from calcium supplements because of absorption issues.
•  Blood pressure medications = The ability of calcium to inter-fere with beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers is a bit controversial, but it is best to avoid calcium and discuss cal-cium usage with your doctor if you are taking a beta-blocker or calcium-channel blocker.
•  Cholesterol-lowering medications = Cholesterol drugs known as bile acid sequestrants (Questran, Colestid and Welchol) may interfere with calcium absorption and increase calcium loss in the urine; taking additional calcium along with vitamin D is advised, but discuss this in detail with your physician.
•  Digoxin = High amounts of calcium can increase the risk of toxic reaction to this drug, which is used to treat irregular heartbeat. Extremely low levels of calcium can cause digoxin to be inef-fective, therefore calcium levels should be monitored closely by your physician if you are taking this drug.
•  Diuretics = These drugs, in particular Lasix, Diuril and Dyazide, can cause excess excretion of calcium so levels must be moni-tored closely.

Magnesium

•  Alendronate = Magnesium may interfere with the absorption of alendronate (trade name Fosamax) to treat osteoporosis so supplements containing magnesium should be taken at least two hours after taking these medications.
•  Antibiotics = Magnesium can reduce the absorption of some antibiotics (namely Cipro, tetracycline and some others) so magnesium supplements should be taken one hour before or two hours after taking these antibiotics.
•  Blood pressure medications = Magnesium can increase side effects of these medications.
•  Diabetic medications = Magnesium hydroxide from antacids may increase absorption of some diabetes medications. Dis-cuss this interaction with your physician.
•  Digoxin = Low levels of magnesium can increase side effects associated with this drug.
•  Diuretics = Some diuretics can deplete magnesium levels so discuss supplemental magnesium with your doctor if you are taking a diuretic.

NOTE: never discontinue taking medications without first talking to your doctor.

I also like the fact that OsteoCalm is a liquid, which gives me enhanced absorption of all of the important bone-building nutrients. This formula is highly bioavailable, meaning my body will more effi-ciently utilize the ingredients necessary for strong bones. Many people have digestive issues, which can make supplements in pill form more difficult to absorb. That's why I like to take some of my dietary supple-ments in liquid form. In addition to OsteoCalm, Natural Vitality has an energy drink that I like to take daily called NutraRev!, as well as a liquid multi called Organic Life Vitamins. All of the Natural Vitality liq-uid supplements are cruelty-free and do not contain dairy, gluten or any artificial ingredients.

Keep in mind that magnesium citrate is also used as a laxative because it increases water in the intestines. Due to this mild laxative effect, begin taking only 1/3 capful of the OsteoCalm twice a day and then work up to ? capful twice a day. When taking any magnesium supplement, you can judge the optimal dosage when bowels are comfortably loose and do not cause diarrhea. I have found the OsteoCalm actually has a calming effect so I prefer to take my full dose in the evening. This seems to help with my periodic bouts of insomnia (another challenge delivered after my surgi-cally-induced menopause).

Equally Important

Calcium and magnesium are important co-workers in our desire to pre-vent and treat osteoporosis. "These minerals work so closely together," writes Dr. Dean, "that the lack of one immediately diminishes the effec-tiveness of the other." When it comes to bone health, both minerals are equally important to get the job done.