OSTEOPEROSIS
o Did you know the only deficiency disease America has is Osteoporosis
o Did you know we spend $0.33 of every dollar on dairy
o Did you know about 60% of people have some type of Gluten
intolerance
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some people develop osteoporosis, the mineral loss
disease that leads to brittle bones, because their bodies cannot tolerate
wheat flour, a study said on Monday.
Gluten intolerance, called celiac disease, can be treated, so the damage
done by osteoporosis can be reversed in such patients, added the report
published in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Our results suggest that as many as three to four percent of patients who
have osteoporosis have the bone disease as a consequence of having celiac
disease, which makes them unable to absorb normal amounts of calcium and
vitamin D," said William Stenson, a Washington University physician at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
He and colleagues recommended blood tests be used to screen osteoporosis
patients for celiac disease.
The report was based on a look at 840 patients, some of whom had
osteoporosis. It found a much higher prevalence of celiac disease among
those with osteoporosis than in those without it.
Celiac disease triggers an immune reaction to the gluten portion of wheat,
interfering with the intestine's absorption of various foods. Some patients
do not know they have the disease because their symptoms are minor.
In the study, patients with celiac disease and osteoporosis who went on a
gluten-free diet for one year were able to improve both gastrointestinal
symptoms and bone density, the report said.
"Bone density ... improved dramatically on a gluten-free diet," Stenson
said. "We believe the diet allowed their intestines to heal, and that
allowed them to absorb normal amounts of calcium and vitamin D to reverse
bone loss."
While there is a genetic predisposition for celiac disease, many people
don't develop symptoms until later in life, Stenson said.
New Marker for Debilitating Disease
Much news has been made recently about homocysteine levels becoming a new critical marker for heart disease and stroke -- possibly being even more important than cholesterol levels. Now it seems that high levels of this amino acid also have been linked to osteoporosis. To find out more, I spoke with Kilmer McCully, MD, probably the most respected authority on homocysteine in America and author of The Homocysteine Revolution (Keats).
BACKGROUND ON HOMOCYSTEINE
Homocysteine is a naturally occurring metabolite of the amino acid L-methionine used by the body for many functions including detoxification. It normally shows up in the blood at levels of about 6 millimeters(mm) to 8 mm for women and 8 mm to 12 mm for men. As long as the body keeps levels in check, there's not much of a problem. However, homocysteine may be toxic and inflammatory when in excess, and this can lead to serious consequences, including heart disease.
Dr. McCully first became interested in homocysteine back in the 1960s when he came across a few unusual cases involving children with atherosclerosis, a heart disease that generally is associated with much older people. Dr. McCully also found atherosclerosis scattered through the arteries of a boy who had died of a stroke. After some rigorous detective work, he noted that all these children had high levels of homocysteine. In 1969, he wrote his first paper suggesting that homocysteine was causing artherosclerotic plaque. Now, 35 years and a substantial amount of research later, it is well accepted that elevated homocysteine is a risk factor for vascular disease.
LINK TO OSTEOPOROSIS
So the connection to cardiovascular disease is well-known -- but what about the connection to osteoporosis? Could high homocysteine levels really have a correlation with osteoporosis? And if so, what can be done about it?
"Osteoporosis is a prominent feature of children with high levels of homocysteine. About two-thirds of the children with high levels of homocysteine also have severe osteoporosis," said Dr. McCully. "They also get scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and have an increased risk for fractures. More recently, we've found that adult patients with elevated homocysteine also have an increased risk for osteoporosis."
Dr. McCully explained that the osteoporosis connection was revealed through a rather ingenious study in Japan, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in the spring of this year. The study was done on stroke victims who, for reasons not completely understood, have a much greater risk for hip fractures. The Japanese researchers divided a number of stroke patients into two groups and followed them for two years. One group was given a combination of 5 milligrams (mg) of folic acid and 1,500 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B-12 while the other group received a placebo. Researchers wanted to see if the B vitamins would reduce hip fractures in this high-risk population. The results were dramatic: In the placebo group, 43 people had hip fractures, but in the vitamin group, only 10 did. And, homocysteine levels dropped in the treatment group by 38%, while they increased in the placebo group.
Could homocysteine be the connection? It sure looks like it. "Two other studies, in Germany and the Netherlands, also demonstrated that patients with higher homocysteine have a higher risk for osteoporotic fracture," Dr. McCully said. "It's likely that homocysteine affects the matrix upon which calcium and other minerals are deposited in the bone. This matrix becomes calcified during bone formation. Homocysteine seems to affect the formation of this matrix in a negative way." Dr. McCully also pointed out that men are less susceptible to osteoporosis than women, probably because testosterone maintains the bone matrix better. In women, it's a double whammy since osteoporosis risk goes up after menopause, and -- for reasons not fully understood -- so do homocysteine levels.
GETTING CONTROL OF HOMOCYSTEINE LEVELS
How do we bring homocysteine down?
"Easily," Dr. McCully replied. "It can be done with dietary improvement and by increasing B vitamins. Eliminate processed foods, including flour and sugar, and eat more fresh vegetables, fresh meats, fresh fruits and whole grains." The three vitamins which have been shown to markedly reduce homocysteine are B-6, folic acid and B-12. "Only about 400 mcg of folic acid and 3.5 mg of B-6 are needed," said Dr. McCully.
Vitamin B-12 is another story, since older people have a harder time absorbing it. "About 15% of people over age 65 are deficient in B-12," Dr. McCully told me, "but not because they don't eat enough -- they don't absorb it well."
The take-home point: Get your homocysteine checked by a blood test. Improve your diet and talk to a trained professional about B-12, B-6 and folic acid supplements. Assuming proper dosing, taking these supplements is one of the easiest possible things you can do to improve your health and reduce your risk for both heart disease and osteoporosis.
Optiflora and Osteoperosis
Astounding Results - Bone Density Increased DRAMATICALLY! Dorothy, a very satisfied Shaklee customer, reports the following - At 70 years of age I had my first bone density test & was sad to find it was down about 30%. My doctor wanted me to take a prescription drug, but I'd rather do without drugs when I can. My doctor gave me one year ... ˜then you can begin the prescription". I called my Shaklee distributor and was told of a probiotic product, OPTIFLORA, that helps with absorption of minerals, and others had had good results, so I decided this is what I would do. One year later I had a second bone density test, & my doctor walked into the room with his mouth hanging open, shaking his head & said, ˜Your bone density has in-creased by dramatically! Keep doing whatever you're doing., I had changed nothing else, only added 1 Shaklee Optiflora capsule and the Optiflora powder to my daily routine. Have you considered the wisdom of including an Optiflora in your daily supplement regime, since statistics show that in North America, 1 in every 3 women have osteoporosis by the age of 60? "Friendly bacteria" in the gut, is responsible for the production of Vitamin K in the body, and Vitamin K is essential to attract calcium to the bones... in fact, it is as important to your bones as calcium. Malabsorption is very prevalent, people often utilize only a small percentage of the nutrients from the food they put in their mouth .. sometimes as little as 10 to 25%. Therefore, choose Shaklee Optiflora which provides GUARANTEED delivery of 500 million microflora to the intestines (250 million Lactobacillus acidophilus and 250 million bifidobactrium longum per capsule).
What Doctor says about Shaklee Optiflora compared to other Acidophilus Products: Dr. Richard Brouse, internationally certified in Clinical Nutrition & Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine, made the following statement at a recent health conference...."For almost 25 years I have been using acidophilus products from all over the world. I have ordered them from England, Germany, Bulgaria, used a variety of health food store products, plus those supplied by supplement manufacturers, & everyone of them called their products something marvelous like SUPER-DOPHILUS or MEGA-DOPHILUS......everything in the world to try and give us the idea that their product was better than the others. Not one company in all those years could provide me with valid clinical studies regarding the viability of their products.... NOT ONE until Shaklee produced Optiflora, which provides clinical testing proving guaranteed live delivery of 500 million microflora to the intestines."
Osteonecrosis of the jaw
Are you taking Fosamax or another drug to improve bone strength? Patients
have relied on medication to help prevent osteoporosis for many years. Many
doctors turned to the bisphosphonates family of drugs to maintain bone strength
in women, which includes Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, Aredia, and Zometa.
It may seem strange to think that a drug designed to improve bone strength
could cause death of bone in the jaw, but that is exactly what is happening.
Since 2001, 2,400 patients have reported bone death in their jaws (ONJ) after
taking medication to treat bone density issues.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) occurs when the jaw does not heal after minor
surgery that causes the bone to be exposed. ONJ can cause:
* Severe infections,
* Swelling and loosening of the teeth
* Drainage
* Exposed bone
Often, the dying bone tissue must be treated with long-term antibiotic
therapy or removed during surgery. Patients taking Fosamax or other should avoid
having major dental work while they are on the medication, due to increased
risk of ONJ.
Fosamax and other bisphosphonates are typically prescribed to in order to
prevent or treat osteoporosis. They are also used in cancer patients whose
disease has spread to the bone and is causing severe bone pain or fractures.
These medications work by inhibiting osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone,
making the bones thicker and less likely to break. A reason bisphosphonates
may sometimes have the opposite of their intended effect is that osteoclasts
prompt osteoblasts to form, which are the cells that build up bone. Fosamax,
manufactured by Merck, has been linked to the serious bone disease ONJ. The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a warning letter to health
professionals, alerting them to the link between medications like Fosamax and
ONJ.
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