Are you improving your bone-building functions every day? One dogma about bone health has remained sacred until recently. The belief was that an osteoporotic bone cell once lost was gone forever. Thus older bones could not regenerate themselves. Experts believed any bone-density weakness was irreparable. Now, thanks to a group of visionary medical researchers, that idea has bit the dust, leading to thrilling new prospects of bone regrowth, recovery and rejuvenation. You renew almost 1.75 million bone cells a second, 100 million cells a minute and 150 billion bone-building cells a day, all of which dictate your bone mineral density (BMD). A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine was the first to prove that acute stress, as well as past or current depression, lowers BMD by six percent at the spine and up to 14 percent at the hip. A Mayo Clinic study found a significant positive correlation between BMD and muscle strength in those individuals who do weight-resistance and core muscle exercises.
Early prevention or inhibition of age-related bone loss in men and women has never been easier. Nutritional interventions and exercise are non-toxic and far less expensive than any other treatment option. And they work. For example, in a study of 72 osteoporotic people comparing the use of vitamin K2 to a first-generation bisphosphonate drug, no difference was found in the bone fracture rate after 24 months. Get a head start on improving your bone health Unquestionably, scientists find a startling difference in bone cells of animals and people who are fed calcium-rich diets, vitamin D3, vitamin K1, magnesium, boron, silicon, isoflavones, the micronutrient trace minerals copper, zinc and manganese, and who also exercise regularly. They have healthy bones that are 40 to 60 percent stronger, denser and more flexible than improperly nourished bones, which are all too often simply taken for granted. Truly, we have entered a new miracle age with our bones, teeth and nails, bursting with the promise of unprecedented strength and lifelong health. All of us alive today can become the beneficiaries of this new knowledge. Intriguingly, researchers have found that supplementation with the hormones DHEA and melatonin appear to enhance new bone formation as well as inhibit bone breakdown. Dehydropiandrosterone (DHEA) DHEA is produced in the adrenal cortex. It is then rapidly converted into its sulfated form, DHEA-S, which is the primary form circulating in the bloodstream. Peak levels occur during the mid-twenties; after that, levels decrease rapidly and yearly until they are almost nonexistent by the time men and women reach their mid-eighties. DHEA begins to decline more quickly after age 34. The lack of DHEA-S has been closely associated with weak bones, osteoporosis, loss of libido and aging. A growing body of scientific research suggests that another important function of DHEA is to reduce and balance elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Lowering cortisol levels gives a big boost to bone repair and bone-building systems. Elevated cortisol turns “on” the fight-or-flight response and genetically reroutes both energy and micronutrients from bone-building to the muscles. DHEA is slightly controversial because it has been misused to solely enhance athletic performance, prompting the International Olympic Committee to ban it. Yet DHEA has a number of effects that are critical in a comprehensive bone-building plan. Low DHEA-S levels indicate a faltering adaptation response to stress and increased susceptibility to osteoporosis, loose teeth, reduced energy, electrolyte imbalances, high blood pressure, depression, cognitive dysfunction, diabetes and accelerated aging. Consequently, low bloodstream levels of DHEA-S impact the most basic cellular functions, including irregularities in daily bone-repair functions. Melatonin: our biological clock Numerous studies indicate that the hormone melatonin is critical for bone-building, delays aging, puts us into a deep regenerative sleep and is a powerful antioxidant in the human brain, neutralizing, among other things, the effects of cell phone use. Melatonin is a powerful scavenger of free radicals (renegade and destructive cells that break down and destroy healthy cells throughout the body, including those in the bone) and prevents the activation of pro-inflammatory chemicals, which can lead to widespread systemic inflammation. Furthermore, melatonin protects mitochondria – little energy-producing factories –in bone cells and the brain from oxidative damage (when cells “rust” and wear out). The pineal gland, a small endocrine gland located near the middle of the brain, is a biological clock that secretes melatonin in a circadian rhythm. Melatonin levels rise after sunset and blood levels peak between 1am and 4am. For thousands of years, we have depended on variations in light intensity to synchronize our biological clock. Darkness, through a positive feedback loop, turns melatonin production “on,” and light, through a negative feedback loop, turns production “off.” This ancient bidirectional system was understood by our wise grandparents: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.” Since 1945, the introduction of artificial light into every home threatened the proper sequencing of the pineal gland. Today, late-night television, videos, DVD movies, computers, computer games, chat lines, iPods, iHome, e-mail, the BlackBerry, video cell phones, e-Bay, downloading music and shopping online have significantly altered our deep-sleep patterns and reduced our melatonin levels. Dr. Leif Salford of the University of Lund in Sweden stated in the 2003 edition of Environment Health Perspectives that all cell phone exposure is capable of causing nerve cell damage in the human brain. Dr. Tsuyoshi Hondou of Tohoku University in Japan showed that non-users of cell phones, just like second-hand or passive smoke, cannot avoid microwave radiation in crowded public places like sports arenas, meetings, offices, restaurants, buses or commuter trains. Recently, the Archives of Medical Research and Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry both proved that taking melatonin and other antioxidants can prevent the oxidative stress and free radical brain destruction caused by cell phones. Only recently, researchers have found receptor sites for both melatonin and DHEA throughout bone-forming osteoblast cells. Both melatonin and calcitonin, a protein molecule that guides or chaperones calcium into bone structure, are elevated at night, following daytime bright light exposure. This suggests that night time is critically important to both bone repair and bone-building. Andropause in men, and menopause in women, are associated with lowered secretions of DHEA-S and melatonin with a consequential acceleration of bone loss. There is considerable groundbreaking evidence that both adrenal and pineal gland functions are linked to osteoporosis in men and women.
Posted on Tuesday, October 03 @ 18:27:23 UTC by admin
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