I am 33 years old male diagnosed with Osteopenia. Which is strange because:
-I don't take any medicines
-I have been lifting heavy weight in gym from when I was 20
-Not hereditary risk
-I don't smoke or drink alcohol
But I do have some health problems (no energy and very slow regeneration after workout) for which my doctor didn't find any cause (visited endocrinolog and some other specialists). I was very low with vitamin d before, but now I have been taking it as supplements from when I was 28.
Anyway I am reading that "being too acid" could also contribute to Osteopenia, despite some doctors will deny it. Skeleton (in the form of alkaline salts of calcium) provides the buffer needed to maintain blood pH and plasma bicarbonate concentrations when renal and respiratory adaptations are inadequate and this can result in bone lose.
There was also double blind study which showed reversal of osteoporosis is possible with just potassium citrate (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/170.... Now I don't know who to believe, but I have had very low urine ph levels for years. It is always below 6 through all day, morning or night and most time it stays at 5,5. So I am thinking there could be something on it.
I found that the most simple and basic alkalinizing supplements are potassium, calcium and magnesium citrates. Does anybody have any opinion about that? Do you think alkalinizing supplements could help?
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confused85
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Your doctor needs to investigate if you have any conditions which could be causing your body to not build bone fast enough. I've read, for example, that problems with parathyroid can be an issue and once sorted bone density returns to normal. Also you need to make sure you are getting all the nutrition your body needs to build bone. Not just calcium, but Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, and other minerals, like magnesium and boron.
I take all that and have been taking it for years. I eat vegetables + I am adding supplements. Calcium, magnesium, boron, vitamin d3, vitamin k2 and other minerals. In last 10 years I measured calcium 5 times and it was always normal, I guess parathyroid is ruled out in this case. Thyroid panel (t3,t4,tsh) is also fine, testosterone, estrogen as well. I am afraid my doctor won't have any further idea. Ph imbalances doesn't sounds so impossible reason for me.
The parathyroid glands are different from the thyroid (not related except found beside each other in the body) and I believe it is possible to have normal calcium levels in the blood but still have bones being affected. I don't really know any more than this, but over the past couple of years there have been people posting about this problem and how diagnosis and treatment of a parathyroid problem did in fact help them.
I wonder what caused you to have the test done for osteoporosis? Obviously osteopenia is pre-osteoporosis and I assume that you are looking at improving your bone density. Without research it can be hard to know what might improve it other than the known diet, exercise - weight bearing such as running, walking, jogging dancing - and medication when applicable. Making sure that you eat healthily and don't eat foods which might stop you absorbing calcium at the same time as calcium rich foods. For instance I have read that eating a diet too high in phytates can mean the calcium isn't utilised by the body, but you would need to check out the science behind it. I am no expert! The alkali / acid diet idea has been around a long time and I don't know of any research which says it makes that much difference.
Re tiredness I found that certain foods can effect me; I have both food intolerances and full blown IgE allergies. A doctor who is a specialist in nutrition might be able to help.
There are quite a few illnesses which are based on clinical symptoms rather than tests. But a good doctor would usually be able to diagnose these from any additional symtoms you have.
I have read things about our body being too acidic & wondered if that has played a role in my osteoporosis. Heading to my surgeons appointment today to see if I am healing from an atypical femur fracture caused from Prolia. That drug turned my life upside down. I now have a rod from my hip to my knee ....
I suggest you do some reading about how this new ‘epidemic’ of osteoporosis and the brand new disease ‘osteopenia ‘ have come about as an initiative of Big Pharma, and then consider how ‘strange’ this is indeed. There are posts and links about that on this site. The scans that diagnose this ‘disease’ are very much suspect ( developed by the same Pharma company that sells the drugs), and were even banned in BC Canada as a means of diagnosis and of prescribing drugs ( until the head of drug regulation retired and then big pharma lobbying started up again). There are papers in medical journals about how bone ‘density’ is no predictor of fractures and that mineral density is unique to individuals and does not indicate a disease or a defect. Before you go down this ‘osteopenia ‘ rabbit hole, do some looking. Big Pharma is really on a roll with this one. We’re all on our own with this one, as all info regarding this is supplied to doctors etc by Big Pharma. Merck is the initiator of all of this and there’s is a very interesting track record leading to our current ‘epidemic’. We all have to think, read, and come to our own conclusions. I’ve long since formed mine, after extensive reading, as you can see. Good luck.
And if you may be interested. Fishman’s research ( 10 year study) regarding bone density and yoga ( synopsis here but you can look it up):
Top Geriatr Rehabil. 2016 Apr;32(2):81-87. Epub 2015 Nov 5.
Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss.
Lu YH1, Rosner B1, Chang G1, Fishman LM1.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Assess the effectiveness of selected yoga postures in raising bone mineral density (BMD).
METHODS:
Ten-year study of 741 Internet-recruited volunteers comparing preyoga BMD changes with postyoga BMD changes.
OUTCOME MEASURES:
Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometric scans. Optional radiographs of hips and spine and bone quality study (7 Tesla).
RESULTS:
Bone mineral density improved in spine, hips, and femur of the 227 moderately and fully compliant patients. Monthly gain in BMD was significant in spine (0.0029 g/cm2, P = .005) and femur (0.00022 g/cm2, P = .053), but in 1 cohort, although mean gain in hip BMD was 50%, large individual differences raised the confidence interval and the gain was not significant for total hip (0.000357 g/cm2). No yoga-related serious injuries were imaged or reported. Bone quality appeared qualitatively improved in yoga practitioners.
CONCLUSION:
Yoga appears to raise BMD in the spine and the femur safely.
You could ask your doctor to rule out coeliac disease and vitamin B12 and folate deficiency in addition to low D3 and parathyroid hormone imbalance (which by the way, cannot be checked at primary care level on the NHS so would need a referral). The optimal D3 level might be nearer to mid NHS lab range but doctors will generally say ok even if just within the bottom of the NHS range. Ask your GP surgery for copies of blood test results that include the lab ranges to check.
Some medications may block absorption of calcium or interfere with bone processes. Do you take any medications including body building supplements? If so, then look into it carefully.
My specific comment about Calcium levels in the blood, the body will maintain the level in the blood to keep it within limits even if it is taking Calcium from the bones, so the Ca blood tests are not usually useful (they can be used in extreme cases when even blood Ca levels are to low, in which case problem is very serious.
On a general basis, given your position, I suggest that you need to follow a very structured process to firstly understand exactly what is causing osteopenia/ any other issues. Your situation looks complex, you have already had a number of tests, and do not appear to have much confidence in your doctor, so picking random solutions is a difficult path.
I know very little about acid link to osteo, it looks like there is quite a bit of material but no consensus, my own take would to be very careful before alkalising my diet.
Let me use my own experience with Vit D to show why a structured approach is useful. Firstly recommended Vit D levels are debated, at 45nmol my level was barely deficient, however some authorities say 75 nmol not 50nmol is minimum. So I took 1300iu daily (recommended daily 600iu/day), yet once winter came and I was not getting sunshine my levels dropped and my immune system weakened. Now I take 5000iu/day, and get daily sunshine (its summer here). I was told to take 1200mg calcium daily, but not told my body will only absorb less than half so need to split the dose. Was also not told about the need for Vit K2, plus Mg, Si, Zinc etc. On the face of it Vit D levels should not have been a problem and 1300iu should have been adequate, but this was not the case. So it has been with a number of other factors, in each case you will need to record and analyse each element (including alkalising) and then test these for yourself. I have been to a number of GPs, endocrinologist, some very good, and of course they approve the blood tests, so have eliminated a number of possible causes for my osteo and a short list of possible causes. It appears I have been mistreating myself for at least 10 years, celiac diet probably causing nutritional deficiency and avoiding sunlight (and not vit d supplements) messed up my Vit D levels. Then I acquired a parasite 13 years ago creating food issues (so I removed foods). Multiple factors and so far no major pathologies like parathyroid issues, but a long process of elimination, different medicos and a lot of my own research to check the experts views. You need to clearly own your health and leverage experts as part of your team, but don't give them control easily. Good luck
The acid /alkaline hypothesis has been debunked in so much as the blood is highly regulated between pH 7.35-7.45. Much outside of that and you're dead. what you eat does not affect blood pH at all. That said an "alkaline diet" ( nuts, fish, eggs, veges, fruit, seeds) is fantastic but not because it alkanises your body, Measuring urine pH is a common trick, but urine pH again is totally unrelated to blood pH Ive attached some references
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