The origin of the word osteoporosis begins to explain the disease: "osteo"refers to bones and "porosis"means porous, resulting in "bone weakness."
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that makes bones thinner and more fragile due to reduced bone density, putting people at risk of fractures, especially of the hip, spine, and wrists.
People with osteoporosis are at much greater risk of breaking a bone in a fall.
Osteoporosis results in a loss of bone mineral density and an increased risk of fractures.
Both men and women are affected, but women more frequently.
During their lifetime, half of all postmenopausal women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture.
One estimate puts the financial cost of osteoporosis in 27 European countries at €37 million in 2010, in terms of the cost of bone fractures. Researchers cite that, worldwide, an estimated 1,000 fractures occur every hour due to osteoporosis.
In biological medicine, osteoporosis is bone demineralization, which occurs due to constant tissue acidification. When tissues are constantly acidified, alkaline reserves are used to deacidify them in order to maintain an adequate pH. Otherwise, this acidification of the environment increases the tendency toward inflammation, allergies, chronic bacterial, viral, or fungal infections, and, in general, causes the patient's pathologies to become chronic.
And what are these alkaline reserves, and where are they located? The answer is simple. Alkaline reserves are the calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus found in bones. This is the real cause of osteoporosis in most cases.
As for osteoporosis and its symptoms, it should be noted that the bone loss that develops slowly over time does not cause any symptoms or external signs. In any case, nonspecific pain, especially when it occurs in the spine, and of course a high risk of fractures, especially in the hips in the elderly, may occur.
The first thing a patient may learn about their osteoporosis is through a fall and the resulting unexpected fracture.
A slip or strain—or even a simple cough or sneeze—can lead to a fracture. Typical breaks occur in the hip, wrist, or a vertebra in the spine. These latter breaks in the spine lead to a loss of posture—the hunched appearance often seen in older people—called kyphosis.
Osteoporosis can be diagnosed directly through the use of a bone scan that measures bone mineral density (BMD).
The scan, known as a bone density scan or bone mineral density test, uses X-ray technology. Two other names for it are dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bone densitometry.
In combination with risk factor assessment, DXA provides an indication of the likelihood of fractures occurring due to osteoporosis. The test is also used to monitor response to osteoporosis and its treatment.
So far, we have discussed osteoporosis and what it is, but why does it occur? What are its causes?
Non-modifiable risk factors for osteoporosis are:
Modifiable risk factors include:
We have already explained above the production mechanism according to Biological Medicine, which is the basis of any treatment at Biosalud.
To address this issue, we will speak from the perspective of biological medicine, which we always try to follow in order to provide the immune system with effectiveness and means of self-defense.
For the treatment of osteoporosis, biological medicine uses different procedures than conventional medicine, since we consider osteoporosis to be a demineralization caused by the acidification of the body.
Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about the importance of an alkaline diet and avoiding anything that could lead to acidification of our bodies. It has been proven that people with acidic bodies are at greater risk of suffering from multiple sclerosis or cancer, but also osteoporosis, candidiasis, and a long list of other conditions.
Many conventional treatments rely on supplemental calcium and vitamin D when it comes to preventing or treating osteopenia (early stages of bone loss) or osteoporosis (progressive bone loss), and medications designed for that purpose are incorrectly recommended, when it is unclear whether these medications strengthen bones and reduce bone fractures.
When we analyze the individual causes of osteoporosis, it becomes clear that most factors can be addressed through lifestyle changes or an individually tailored nutritional program.
That is precisely what we do at Biosalud: we supply amino acids (such as glycine, lysine, and proline) to the bone so that more collagen of better quality is produced, since bone is composed of minerals and amino acids; it is a protein structure, a protein, and collagen acts as a base for those minerals.
Osteoporosis is a problem of acidity, of pH. The body's tissues become acidified due to poor diet (too much protein, fat, sugar, and refined foods), stress, or electromagnetic pollution. The alkaline reserves in the bones—calcium, manganese, phosphorus—migrate to compensate for this acidity and balance the pH. This migration causes the bone to lose density. That is why we balance the pH by deacidifying the tissues with alkaline salts and, on the other hand, we provide amino acids that give the bone more consistency. We prescribe PhytoESP DIET Basic to all patients, a nutritional supplement with four alkaline salts perfectly designed to maintain an adequate pH despite everything .
We also recommend physical exercise, of course. Without the addition of gentle weight-bearing exercises, no program for the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis can be considered complete. Climbing stairs, running, lifting weights—and to some extent walking at least 1 hour daily—are exercises that are always considered beneficial for bone density and overall health.
There are two types of bone, one is solid cortical tissue, the other is an interconnected honeycomb structure called trabecular tissue. In the early stages of osteoporosis, trabecular bone may be damaged, but bone density tests would not show anything abnormal because the bone mass is still the same. Trabecular bone has a turnover rate of approximately 25% compared to 3% for cortical bone.
Bone consists of 9 percent calcium carbonate and 85 percent tricalcium phosphate, with the phosphorus component often overlooked. Too much or too little phosphorus contributes to osteoporosis. An excess promotes calcium loss through an excess of acid medium, and too little stimulates calcification, in which calcium is deposited outside the bone or an improper calcium/phosphorus ratio weakens the bone matrix.
Magnesium —as magnesium phosphate (about 2%)—must also be considered as part of bone composition and diet, and the amount of any nutritional supplement should be adjusted to create a genetically ideal calcium/magnesium ratio. Excessive levels of magnesium can lead to calcium deficiency, including bone loss, even in the presence of normal cellular calcium levels.
With regard to fluoride, a certain amount is needed, approximately 4% as calcium fluoride, to harden the bone. Silicon is generally taken in the form of silica and is a natural remedy that helps prevent osteoporosis and is especially helpful after fractures.
Manganese helps keep calcium soluble or bioavailable, and like vitamin C and zinc, it aids in calcium absorption. It also exhibits estrogenic qualities, which is useful in treating menopausal symptoms as well. Boron reduces manganese, which is beneficial in some types of liver disease where elevated manganese produces low calcium levels. However, in other situations, boron could create a high calcium/low manganese ratio if consumed in excess, so there is the potential to create other problems or conflicts (e.g., calcification) unless carefully tailored to the patient's chemistry.
High sodium levels, resulting from kidney problems, have the potential to reduce bone density by negatively affecting an individual's calcium/magnesium ratio, requiring an individual to reduce salt intake. The same consideration should be given to long-term treatments with aspirin, which tend to reduce magnesium and, over time, calcium levels, thereby not only encouraging osteoporosis in susceptible individuals but also interfering with fracture healing.
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) reduces bone loss due to elevated phosphorus. For the same reason, it may be helpful for patients with gout or certain types of arthritis. Although vitamin A has been shown to protect against certain types of cancer, higher intake encourages osteoporosis (unless estrogen is taken at the same time) and inhibits vitamin D and its protective effect against various types of cancer—although normal vitamin A intake is required for vitamin D to function properly.
The same cautious approach should be taken as with other forms of treatment—such as estrogen therapy alone —where the positive effect for one disease (increased bone density) is offset by an increased risk of other serious consequences (cancer). This adverse effect of preformed vitamin A on bone density does not apply to beta carotene or mixed carotenoids.
Vitamin D recommendations have been the subject of many reviews, and most recent research studies suggest that optimal levels are much higher than previously proposed.
However, increased vitamin D intake also requires increased calcium intake, as high levels of vitamin D with calcium deficiency can worsen existing bone density problems.
Vitamin K is best known for its role in blood clotting, but it is also an important remedy in nutritional treatment used to combat osteoporosis.
Research has shown that vitamin K2 and vitamin E help reduce calcification of the arteries, but vitamin K2 (ideally in the form of MK-4, or alternatively, MK-7) is also capable of slowing calcium loss in patients with a tendency to lose it, and its treatment helps maintain bone density and prevent bone loss more than vitamin D and synthetic estrogen.
Stomach acid is another very important aspect of osteoporosis through its involvement in calcium and magnesium levels, whereby high acid levels stimulate calcium loss, but low levels promote excessive calcium storage (calcification), resulting in calcium bioavailability. Both extremes—too much or too little acid in the stomach—have an unfavorable impact on osteoporosis.
Chromium and copper also contribute to bone health and are effective nutritional remedies that reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Chromium is required for proper parathyroid function, so any chromium antagonist (potassium, selenium, copper, vanadium, or) may contribute to bone loss if supplemented unnecessarily or if its levels remain too high for any other medical or dietary reason.
Strontium is not currently considered an essential trace element for humans, but it can now be found in many nutritional formulations, in products that offer nutritional support in the treatment or prevention of bone loss, and in some medications used to treat osteoporosis. The action of strontium is closely related to that of calcium, although strontium retention varies inversely with calcium intake.
Finally, there are those who claim that high protein intake is the most common cause of osteoporosis in Western societies. Since high protein consumption—particularly in fad diets—is definitely a concern not only for osteoporosis but also for kidney function, it is phosphorus, the end product of protein metabolism, that needs to be evaluated. What is really important is that the individual's phosphorus status remains normal.
You already know how to prevent osteoporosis and maintain good health: rebalance your pH, walk at least an hour a day, and be happy.
