Osteoporosis

DR. ADRIAN'S APPROACH TO OSTEOPOROSIS and OSTEOPENIA TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Discussion

When you are considering how to prevent and treat Osteoporosis, my first advice is do not listen to Gidget (Sally Fields).  If you watch any TV, you would have seen Sally telling you how great Boniva is.  Boniva is a bisphosphonate drug.  Other examples are Fosamax and Actonel and even injectable forms.  There are no mainstream Rx drugs that you need to successfully prevent and reverse this condition.  My successes in my office are so dramatic that often times we have considered getting the Harrisburg Patriot or TV stations to air a story on it.  Many patients with the worse bones celebrate their increased bone densities.    

Anti-resorptive medicines like Bisphosphonates essentially nearly kill your bone to improve the DEXA scan result which is essentially measuring the shadow a bone makes with an X-ray. This shadow density does not mean a bone is strong and healthy. Dig up bones from a cemetery and you will have some good DEXA results but crumbly fragile bones.   I have had Dentists come to my office with their wives and say "Don't even think about using a bisphosphonate.   I know what they do to bone".    Dentists know that dental implants may fail due to such meds.   

An increasingly more prevalent side effect is Mandibular Necrosis; death of the jaw bone!!  It seems that an uneducated person is quicker at questioning this paradox than a physician.  The uneducated ask "how can it be good for my bones if it can kill a jaw bone?"  Their doctor then says "trust me, I'm a doctor..and the FDA would not allow it to be sold if it was not good for your bones".  Then they come see me.

It kills the jaw bone because it poisons the Osteoclasts that cut away old bone so your bones can no longer remodel themselves.  Remodeling means the body naturally removes old brittle bone and replaces it with new bone so you are not walking around on brittle old bones.  This can cause another horrific side effect: atypical femoral fractures which is when a woman is just walking and both of her femurs break all the way through at the top of her thigh!  Yes, often they both break together.  This break occurs in a spot that the femur almost never breaks at due to the bone being nearly dead.

The other telling complication of anti-resorptive meds is death of the metaphysis of the femur (the widest strongest part) and the leg then snaps off high up the femur 'atypically'. 

My approach uses nutrients, diet, and  youthful levels of prescription hormones.   My Patients' DEXA scans show recurring improvement with repeat testing.  Many patients are eventually no longer osteoporotic after years of this program.

Treatment Plan

Diet and Lifestyle

The diet must be alkaline forming; not acid forming (see our Reference Library for our Acid Alkaline food chart).  An acid forming diet makes the body over acidic which will then overwhelm the body's bicarbonate buffering system and calcium leaches from the bones to buffer acids.  Sodas contain phosphoric acid frequently which dissolves the bones.  Carbonation becomes Carbonic acid which again makes the body acidic.  Excess vinegar, animal proteins, and cranberry juices also acidify.

Eat Kale, Collards and dark green leafy vegetables as they are both alkaline and contain calcium.Broccoli, Sesame, and figs are high in calcium.  Raw milk (not pasteurized) is alkaline and rich in calcium.

Exercises

All exercise can help the bone but especially weight bearing exercise.

Supplements

DHEA:  dose 10-25 mg in AM.  Use lower doses for non-obese smaller women and the higher dose for larger obese women.  Beware of acne or extra facial hair as DHEA is androgenic.  We sell tons of this without side effects and many benefits.

Strontium Citrate (Vital Nutrients): 2-3 daily or nightly.  Take at bedtime or any time that you are not simultaneously taking calcium as they compete for absorption.  Do be sure you are getting plenty of calcium if on Strontium.

Thorne Research Advanced Bone Support (formerly Oscap):   4-5 daily divided 1-2 per meal.   This is a combination product with Calcium.    Usually 6-700 mg of supplemental calcium is sufficient.    Calcium is best absorbed with a meal.    

MCHC by Progressive labs.   This is a combination of Calcium Citrate and a Beef bone extract.    Dose is 3-4 per day with meal.  This can be used every other day as a substitute for the Thorne Bone product.   In fact most of my success stories were achieved alternating days with Thorne's product.   

Collagen Powder (Marine or Beef source):  This is an optional addition as bone and other connective tissues contain Collage as the primary structural protein.   

Silica by Alta Health:   This is also optional but likely helpful.   

Vitamin D3:  If you are not taking more than 1000 IU daily, then you should taking a loading dose of D3 at 10,000 IU daily for about 4 weeks and then decrease dose to 5000-7000 IU daily; even in the summer.  Testing can assure the level but most everyone can take 5000 IU daily.  This improves immunity, reduces cancer, improves cancer survival and builds bone among many other benefits.

Vitamin K:   Vitamin K2 occurs in two forms MK-4 and MK-7.   Both can help bone density.   I recommend either Thorne Research Vitamin K capsules which contain all forms of K or at a bare minimum 180 mcg MK-7 as found in the Protocol for Life Balance  K2 MK7 D3 capsules.    Alternatively, eating a large serving of Kale daily will suffice.    Vitamin K is essential for prevening calcium buildup in arteries.  

PRESCRIPTIONS / Rx:

*******RX Biestrogen, or Estradiol,  Progesterone and Testosterone:  Bio-Identical hormones in an Ethanol solution/'gel' are ESSENTIAL to building bone.   Nutrients without hormones will not be effective enough.     Learn How to become a patient.

Avoid list

Bisphosphonate drugs.

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