One thing I have learned since being diagnosed with Osteo is that this medical condition is a money maker for big pharma. I would encourage everyone to look up publication on actual studies done around the world with men and women with osteo and what they were given naturally along with calcium supplementation to help with this condition. Phytic acid and oxalates is a nutrient killer ( calcium, iron, Iodine, etc). Look up foods high in these 2 things. Switch to a sprouted bread, which greatly reduces phytic acid. Look into greens, nuts and legumes of any kind and find out their levels of these 2 things, you will be shocked. The good thing is, there are ways you can reduce the effects. Taking small amounts of Citric, vitamin C, ascorbic acid along with these foods, greatly deactivates the effects of those 2 things. A couple of trials with humans showed that taking Citric Acid along with your calcium greatly increases the absorption. Always take your calcium with a meal as your stomach need the acid to absorb nutrients and take a small amount of Ascorbic acid ( Vit. C) right before you begin your meal. As we age, we have reduced stomach acid and this seems to be one of the keys that hurt your bones. A Osteo doctor who treats only those type of patients, noted that 97 percent of the patients he treats for Osteo had low stomach acid. That's shocking, but it make sense. I am a big salad eater and realized I was not getting enough protein. As a woman 69 yr old, I should be getting at least 50-55 grams of protein a day. I was not getting near that, especially since I am a huge exercise nut. So I now have learned to eat protein throughout the day, especially when taking my calcium. I stopped weight machines in 2010 because I have fibromyalgia and it was causing more pain than good. A couple of years after that, I was diagnosed with osteopenia and the rest is history. So, 3 months ago I started a gym and lifting again. So far so good. I will never go on any medications. I cannot even take an aspirin, it really messes with my system. So here I am, switched to organic egg shell calcium ( studies show this form absorbs over 60 percent more than any other form of calcium) and take small amount of vitamin C before meals and the meals I eat where I take my calcium, I finish that meal with Citric Acid. Now, my vitamin C tablets (ascorbic acid 500mg) I cut into 4's and take that throughout the day with meals. You can take your D3, K2, Boron anytime of day. I rebound, walk 4 miles a day with weight vest, stretching floor exercises 30 minutes in the evenings, stomp in place for 30 minutes while I watch TV in the evening and work weight machines 3 times a week. I discovered collagen peptide protein powder at Costco 3 months ago. I use 10 mg of peptides powder and that also give me 10 mg more of protein in my smoothie every day and I have to say I see a difference. Over the last 8 years, studies have shown that Collagen peptides really plays a role in your bone remodeling and boosts osteoblast along with calcium supplements. I know one thing, my eyebrows have really filled in and I have gray hair every where, even in the down under. I must say, in the down under, it went back to it's natural color. I was shocked...Lol. So, if my next scan shows no improvement, then there is no hope for me because I feel I am doing everything humanely possible to help myself. I have not broken a bone since I was a child and I have fallen hard a couple of times within the last 6 years and thank God not broken anything. So,hope you all can get on your phones or computers an research more and just don't take what your doctor is saying a gospel.
Just a little rant: One thing I have... - Osteoporosis Support
Just a little rant
I can only agree, osteoporosis is indeed a huge money maker for big pharma. To the extent that unfortunately I don’t think there is very much indecent research being carried out.
Anyone that reads the story behind the scene for how DexiScan machines became the "gold standard" for bone health, along with the meds to take for it, will soon learn how the pharmaceutical companies involved highjacked the process and helped determine the scoring range for osteopenia and osteoporosis. Then, if one reviews the research on said meds, one also learns the problems, issues involved and consequences women suffer who take them. Once medicare decided to approve dexi scans for men at age 70, it opened up a whole new market for increasing said meds now for men as well. I've had osteoporosis for 10 years (am now 69), never broke or fractured a bone in my life, have fallen during hiking and dog walking on ice but never fractured. However, my mom who followed all the osteoporosis protocol, when on and off the meds for holiday usage, began to fracture at age 85 while only having osteopenia ( she followed doctors orders to begin fosamax when only 70 years) and began that protocol for the next 15 years. She developed from it severe Gerd and heart related problems from taking too much calcium. At 91 she has severe hump, lost 6 inches and continues to fall due to her hump. She showed me the future of taking meds for osteoporosis and so, I'm not following in her footsteps. Research how the majority of women refuse the meds or go off of them if they start them. It is a failure as a med but corporations are not about to invest in this problem to find new ways of treating it. I find it so disappointing to read on this forum and others, how women on meds often find those meds fail and then they are put on another, then another, etc. I read about how all the consequences and side effects from said meds and their fears, etc. It makes me wonder if the meds are actually harming women versus helping them. Instead, I walk daily, lift weights, eat healthy, do balance and posture exercises, pilates, yoga and take vitamins geared to this disease. I don't understand why we compare our scores to that of a healthy 25 year old, especially when we are 60+. Seems like folly to think our bones wouldn't age along with the rest of our body. Read the DexiScan story and how they set the scores, do research on meds, talk to others about their experiences and then decide what is best for yourself. Unfortunately too many folks want a quick fix, a pill, versus understanding the aging process and bone health. Once we gain knowledge, it makes our decisions easier to make and manage our own health.
I actually went and found that article you were talking about. What an eye opener. Big pharma runs this entire country, no doubt about it.
Did you read the article in the New York Times? They did an exceptional job reporting on the entire fiasco with these machines, the scores and the drugs. Reminds me of the Statin launch for heart disease, but much worse.
Would love to read this article? How can it be accessed?
npr.org/2009/12/21/12160981.... There was also an excellent article on this same subject by the New York Times.
Thank you!
Awesome post! Thank you and pray that your routine works. I will amend mine to include your sage findings.
Thank you and so agree …. We (women) are supporting big pharm !!! Any drug that requires a drug holiday is a drug not to take, western medicine is about $$ yes many are needed but with care and research …. Natural and Diet !!!
Hi which exact collagen do you take from Costco?
And which weighted vest do you have?
Orgain collagen peptides + probiotics. What's nice about this is that includes probiotics and from grass fed cows.
ConsumerLabs evaluates and researches all the vitamins and health industry. I just joined it today. Costco vitamins are rated pretty good. They also discuss the use of vitamins, supplements and if they work or not based on latest research. They are not funded by any company or corporation.
Thank you for your wisdom.
Excellent. Great job keeping healthy bones. I thought D3 should be taken with meal, because it is fat soluble.
Also I have read that Calcium should be supplemented with 50 % magnesium.
Yes, I left off the magnesium, but I'm hoping people already know to take all that. I split my mag. up to twice daily. Some studies show that magnesium is even more important than calcium, just make sure you take it at least 2 hours after or before your calcium supplements.
Wow. I had no idea. Formula I have seen is taken same time. All in one tablet.
Yes, I know. Your stomach can only absorb so much at one time and that why they say now to not take your calcium and magnesium together.
Yes, D3 always with meals, which is how I take my calcium twice daily.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I’ve been researching as well, and realizing this is the route, I have to go I too, am taking collagen peptides, I take vitamin D three 3000 … My question to you is how much of the boron & vit K do you take?
I have been on prolia and found out recently that I cannot just stop so I’m in the position of transitioning to another medication “arcadia10” here on this blog site has been a lifesaver for me with such informative guidance… I’m changing my doctor. I have two new appointments one with endocrinologist and one with a rheumatologist hopefully between the two I get a decent answer how to move forward. I have no choice to be on medication to stop rebounding, and after that, I am not taking anything…
I take 3mg boron daily and D3 1000, 3 times a day and my Vitacost brand of k2 w/ 100 mcg MK-7 w/ 16mg nattokinase I take 2 times a day with my calcium. Most of my vitamins I get from Vitacost and have been purchasing from them for over 20 years.
Interesting...My DR. stated too much vitamin D isn't good and had me stop the supplement other than what's in the Calcium chews-but the PCP said take it. I agree that there is a gap in MD education and understanding of appropriate supplementation
Also you might want to start eating 5 prunes a day. Look up the studies on this it's very interesting.
I am! Thank you & it helps with the sweet tooth
I agree with a lot. No drugs for me. I am not taking calcium supplements but have made an effort to eat more of higher calcium foods like collard greens and oranges etc. I am doing the COMB micro nutrients in the dosages used in the Canadian study and eating my 6 prunes a day. I am using the Vital Proteins Collagen peptides from Costco since January and I love it. Even if it doesn't help my bones I love what it has done for my hair and skin. After 6 months of use my eyebrows have grown back in. I take no prescription drugs. I also eat a paleo diet of no grains and no dairy. Great improvement for my arthritis too.
Yes, I agree and I eat 5 prunes a day as well.
The problem isn't just big pharma that after the Covid Vax all should?? & research every drug you take . But fundamental lack of knowledge by Drs & so called OTC vitamins & supplements . I was put on high calcium &d for a cervical fusion in 2011. I continued taking D& calcium as I was approaching menopause & the female body doesn't absorb calcium & d as well after menopause why osteo is much higher in women than men. But no one ever told me or anyone in the medical or vitamin community that if you don't have ENUF K2 all that D won't go to the bones where it bonds calcium to the bones. No with D if not taken with K2 it won't go to the bones where it's supposed to but floats around in your blood leaving calcium deposits all over. Now I didn't know this, I even had toxic levels of D for awhile & my Dr just said to stop the d supplements, but how long was my d at toxic levels? It was after a CT for a broken rib that I read I had calcium deposits all over, in my arteries, aorta everywhere but my bones. That's when I researched causes for calcium deposits in the arteries & the #1 reason that kept coming up was not ENUF K2 to make sure the d goes to the bones where it's supposed to & not float around in my blood. Now to this day I only read 1 Dr who had a site that gave reasons for why yo had this or that. He was schooling his fellow Drs on why they kept prescribing drugs instead of telling their patients to take K2 with D or you'd get calcium deposits in your blood & also cause osteoporosis. He had other bits of info on how the body processes all the different nutrients by food or supplements. I'm no longer taking D , I eat enuf foods with D in them. I no longer take calcium because I already have calcium deposits in my arteries, stones in my kidneys & pancreas. But I take a k complex along with K2 with MK-4&MK-7. It's the K2 MK-7 as Menaquinone that's the most important k that makes D go to the bones& adhere. Sadly I found this stuff out too late & now I have severe osteoporosis & referred to an endocrinologist who referred me to Reclast IV fusion which I'm not getting because I need dental work done, but she kept saying 3 servings of D never did a word about food with k, or anything about K2 at all. I told her I have Exocrine Insufficiency so my intestines don't absorb nutrients like it should, but she shrugged it off, saying it'll get some. I already was getting food with D 3xs a day, but no comment. So the most fundamental thing, the way the body uses& absorbs different nutrients is never talked about to patients or by drug& vitamin supplement makers. There's a few vitamin makers that will tell you this information but most don't. & D is often sold as a complex with calcium, or magnesium which competes for absorption with D & should be taken 2 hours after D, but don't see D with K2, MK-7! This is happening more & more because most PCPs just refer you to a specialist instead of knowing the basics of what each vitamin & mineral does or if it needs to be then with another! It's an assembly line with each Dr doing their part on the line , but it seems no one knows how every part of the assembly line works together. This is called hospital medicine, socialized in& out as fast & cheap as possible. I'm now f**d because all the specialists didn't even know about my chronic progressive disease let alone why I had high D, or calcium deposits all over & what permanent damage that can do to your body. Aka, calcium deposits in my arteries & none in my bones causing osteoporosis!
So sorry that you are going through all of this. Just my opinion, I don't believe doctors today have any idea how to treat this. Have you broken any bones in your adulthood? I know now also that magnesium is really important, we do not get enough of that from foods. I hope you are taking that every day. I pray that someone can figure this all out. Some of the studies I noted look promising.
You've gone through hell with this and am a victim of health care today. I've been reading quite a bit about Blue Zones where people live the longest in the world. Apparently food plays the largest role in our health/longevity and eating clean is the way to go. The food industry has created unhealthy products and farming methods have destroyed minerals needed in our soil to restore us and keep us healthy. I'm going back to eating the same way my poor grandparents from Italy ate: lots of veggies, beans, fish, smaller portions of meat. It's called peasant food but yet, all the blue zones eat this way and live far longer without disease and dementia. Chemicals, toxins in food, our water and air have consequences. We are all victims of this. I'm also trying to rely less on vitamins and supplements to get my body back on track. Like you, I too have taken too much and am wondering if some of my health issues are related to this as well.
It's mind boggling & this is why Drs roll their eyes when you talk about facts they don't know about& say,"Did you read that on line" Like we got the info off FB . I also have a chronic progressive rare disease that wasn't diagnosed or treated early enuf due to lack of info on it. So I started researching it myself. On medical sites, the BMJ, JAMA, NIH, all major medical sites. But only the last 2-3 years did they have articles on K2. If Drs don't like patients learning on line, then if they don't know about something they should research it like one of my Drs did. But not with the factory line medicine we have now .
My doctor has said exactly that about "reading that on line." I want to roll my eyes right back.
I know,but I've had to research my disease since no one seemed to know zip about it, but I went to good sites. Most of the studies &trials about my disease when I started were from Asia, Japan, etc. Not until a site about it came on line in 2017 was there much but old myths about it. So not only did they not know & admit they didn't know, what they did know was old hearsay! And when you know more about your illness than your Dr, & tell them facts, look out. I finally have a specialist who knows about my disease, but too late to do much, it had already done permanent damage. & now I'm flagged as a problem, demanding patient & a drug seeker. It's par for my illness. Which has contributed toy severe osteoporosis!!
To prove my point of my previous reply. We now know how important vitamin K2 is for bone health along with magnesium. But it's also good for heart& artery health by directing D& calcium to the bones& keep calcium out of the blood which then keeps calcium it out of arteries &heart. This is a great summery of K2 importance for bone&heart health. impianemasmedicalcentre.com.... Yet Drs & vitamin companies don't tell you k2 is just as important as D& calcium for bones. Well until recently little was taught or studied about all the things K2 does. So I found the FDA site on recommended daily intake of K, or K2 & there was no answer to the search . This is what the search showed above⬆️ So no wonder an important vitamin is being ignored &so taking D or calcium without K2 can actually cause heart & bone damage. So how long have we been told to take calcium &d then end up with osteoporosis & calcium deposits in our arteries? BASIC VITAMIN &MINERAL THE BODY NEEDS & HOW THEY WORK ALONE & TOGETHER TO MAKE OUR BODY WORK & BE HEALTHY! GO BACK TO ANATOMY &START STUDYING ALL VITAMINS, MINERALS, HORMONES &MORE!! GOOD GRIEF IT'S UNBELIEVABLE HOW IGNORANT THE FDA& OUR MEDICAL COMMUNITY IS ABOUT WHAT A VITAMIN DOES& RECOMMEND HOW MUCH YOU NEED!
Thanks for sharing this excellent article. I learned quite a bit.
omg, a wealth of great info. many thx and best wishes. You're a dynamo!
