Prevent Osteoporosis with Egg Shell Calcium, Vitamins D and K2, and Other Nutrients

Osteoporosis kills women and men

It’s a well known fact that one out of two women older than age 50 suffers an osteoporosis-related fracture during her lifetime. Complications from these fractures are a major killer of women. 12 to 28 percent of women 65 or older have the disease, and more than 80 percent of the 28 million who are affected are women.

But osteoporosis is not restricted to women. Although osteoporosis research of men remains inadequate and a large number of men remain undiagnosed, it is estimated that osteoporosis affects about two million American men. Another three million men may be at risk due to decreased bone density. One in eight men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in his lifetime. In fact, each year men suffer one third of all the hip fractures that occur, and one third of these men will not survive more than a year. In addition to hip fractures, men also experience painful and debilitating fractures of the spine, wrist, and other bones due to osteoporosis. And older men suffer many more rib fractures than elderly women.¹

Research has shown that a healthy diet, exercise and dietary supplementation can reduce the risk of and help prevent osteoporosis.

The good news is that osteoporosis is preventable … and even after bone mass density is lost, the condition can be reversed with certain minerals and nutrients. Cultivating good eating and exercise habits, and supplementing your diet with a bone-supporting dietary supplement can make all the difference.

What Causes Osteoporosis?

In the human body, there is a constant process of breaking down and remaking of bones. Cross-cultural studies show that, throughout the world, most people lose bone mass as they age.³ After age 40 to 50, men lose 20 to 30 percent of their total bone mass, and women lose as much as 40 to 50 percent.³Generally, though, the remaining bone is healthy and able to repair itself. This is considered normal aging. When the rate of bone breakdown exceeds that of bone being manufactured it can result in osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis means “porous bones,” and is used to describe any disease that reduces bone mass, and results in fragile, thin bones, loss of height, lower back, wrist and spine fractures, or dowager’s hump (forward bending of the spine in the upper back). We may notice that our grandparents and our parents are not as tall as they used to be, and eventually we may lose an inch or two ourselves. This is abnormal aging, and according to Susan Brown (Better Bones, Better Body), the major culprit of bone loss mass stems from a lifetime of poor dietary and exercise habits.

The typical American diet promotes osteoporosis

Americans are notorious for consuming large amounts of processed foods, soft drinks, coffee and foods that are high in sodium and sugar. These foods promote osteoporosis by stripping the bones of the calcium they need to stay strong.

Here are some interesting food facts included in Susan Brown’s Better Bones, Better Body, that will hopefully make you think twice before the next time you reach for a six-pack of soda pop, bag of cookies or cup of coffee:

• In the past 100 years, our sugar intake has increased over 1000 times! Evidence shows that high sugar intake contributes to a wide range of degenerative diseases, including diabetes, arthritis, tooth decay, heart disease and osteoporosis.⁴⁵
• When sugar is combined with caffeine, as in coffee or soft drinks, even more calcium is excreted.⁶
• Sugar consumption stimulates the stomach’s production of hydrochloric acid. This adds to the overall acidic imbalance of the body, which is a contributing factor to bone loss.⁷
• High salt intake causes the body to excrete calcium in the urine, thus contributing to osteoporosis in both the young and old.⁸⁹¹⁰
• An Australian study found that hip bone loss could be halted in women 10 years or more past menopause, by either lowering urine sodium excretion to 2110 mg a day or by increasing calcium intake to 1768 mg per day.¹¹
• Caffeine consumption has been found to lower blood calcium and increase parathyroid hormone, both of which signals the body to draw calcium from the bones.¹¹² In fact, women who drink four cups of coffee a day triple the risk of hip fracture, compared to women who rarely drink coffee.¹³

Why is supplementation important?

Many of us — young and old — suffer from calcium deficiency in our diets. This may show up as arm and leg muscle spasms, back and leg cramps, poor growth, osteoporosis, tooth decay, or depression. Calcium deficiency is most prevalent in women who have had children and have never supplemented their own diets with calcium. Experts believe that 33% of all women will develop osteoporosis severe enough to cause a broken bone.

Most nutrition experts agree that food is our best source of vitamins and minerals. But, because of our hectic lifestyles, it’s almost impossible to rely on food for all the nutrition our bodies need to stay healthy and strong. Research has shown that, due to a steady decline in the nutritional quality of our food, even an adequate diet might not enable us to maintain the vitamin and mineral balance required to avoid related health problems.

What Should You Take?

Doctors recommend getting 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium in your diet daily. Most Americans don’t even come close. Unless you’re eating plenty of calcium-rich foods and vegetables, chances are you’re not getting this amount from your diet, and are inadvertently suffering from a calcium deficiency.

However, studies indicate that low calcium diets increase the percentage of calcium that your body absorbs and utilizes. In addition, excessive calcium intake can lower absorption of other minerals required for bone health. The increasing use of calcium supplements and continuing rise in osteoporosis has puzzled public health officials. But what they do know is this…

Calcium alone isn’t enough. You need to combine it with other proven nutrients to help your body absorb and assimilate the calcium.

Supplement your diet with nutrients to make sure you’re getting the daily-required minimum of calcium in order to slow down bone loss. And start early. Whether you’re in your teens or 70s, man or woman, now is the time to increase your calcium intake and aid your body in building and maintaining healthy bone mass.

The key is to take a superior form of calcium with added minerals and vitamins.

For calcium to actually strengthen bone it must be consumed along with several other nutrients. Phosphorus is particularly important, and magnesium, boron, and vitamins D and K are also needed for bone metabolism. Also, daidzein, a compound found in soy and other legumes, has recently been shown to stimulate bone formation and mineralization.

What’s the best form of calcium?

Recently, calcium from chicken eggshell was shown to be superior for building bone mass when compared to calcium carbonate. Eggshell calcium is low in heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury and aluminum. It is also a good source of strontium, a rare mineral, which, along with calcium, plays a vital role in bone health.

Several Dutch studies have shown that chicken eggshell powder has a beneficial effect on bone density in people with osteoporosis and osteopenia (bone thinning). The most recent study published this past March, 2002 indicates that healthy late post-menopausal women, who had been getting adequate calcium to begin with, increased their bone mass density of the hip within 12 months of supplementation with a chicken eggshell powder-enriched calcium supplement. The group of women who received a placebo lost bone mass density.¹⁴

An earlier 1999 pilot study indicated that a chicken eggshell-powder enriched dairy-based supplement increased the bone mass density in participants who had osteoporosis or osteopenia. Over a period of four months, the group took a supplement containing eggshell powder, vitamin D and magnesium. Within the four to eight month period, all participants experienced a significant increase in bone mass in the lumbar spine, femur and trochanter (lower leg), and within a period of four months, the participants reported a reduction in pain and a general improvement in how they felt. The women in the control group, however, experienced a significant decrease in bone mass density over the same eight-month period. The study concluded that the supplement helped build up bone mass in the short term, and as a consequence delays bone demineralization over a longer period.¹⁵

How do hormones effect bone health?

Hormones play an important role in maintaining bone mass. Once women reach menopause and hormone levels decline, bone loss escalates. Rapid bone loss continues for about five years during menopause, and can reach three to four percent of total bone mass. This surge of bone loss eventually tapers off after a few years, and is about equal to the amount of bone loss in men of the same age. But the loss of bone minerals continues throughout the rest of a person’s life—which is one of the reasons there is a lot of excitement about research into daidzein’s ability to help stimulate bone formation and mineralization in the same way that hormones do.

Animal experiments as well as bone-tissue and bone-cell-culture investigations have demonstrated daidzein’s effect on bone metabolism. Also, daidzein has been shown to enhance bone formation, and help prevent and treat osteoporosis in elderly women.^18192021

Progesterone Promotes Bone Health

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the controversy of hormone replacement therapy. Yet, natural progesterone has been proven time and time again to be safe and effective for promoting bone health and balancing problems associated with estrogen dominance. Click here to read more about how women can balance their hormones safely and effectively: “The Shocking Truth about Hormone Replacement Therapy”

Osteoblasts, the bone-building cells, contain progesterone receptors and this hormone appears to directly encourage bone building. Also, during the reproductive years, progesterone works with estrogen to conserve calcium within the body and limit the withdrawal of calcium from the bones.²²

In 1991, when Dr. Jerilynn Prior of British Colombia was studying young women athletes, she inadvertently discovered that many of these seemingly normal and healthy athletes had abnormal menstrual periods and were not ovulating. Why? Because they all suffered from a progesterone deficiency. The hormone deficiency was also linked to excessive bone loss. Progesterone supplementation alleviated the menstrual irregularities and corrected the excessive bone loss.²³

In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, natural progesterone supplementation has also been shown to rebuild substantial amounts of lost bone. Dr. John R. Lee has researched the value of estrogens and progesterone for building bone tissue after menopause. His research clearly shows that natural progesterone replacement leads to new bone formation, actively increasing bone mass and density.²⁴

So play it safe. Think of your bones as a savings account. There is only as much bone mass in your account as you deposit, so you want to build as much bone in your early years as possible.

And start early. Whether you’re in your teens or 70s, man or woman, now is the time to increase your calcium intake and aid your body in building and maintaining healthy bone mass.

• Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in bone building, allowing the body to absorb calcium, and for maintaining the proper balance of calcium and phosphorus. You could take calcium all day long, and if you are not getting the proper amount of vitamin D with your calcium, you will not be able to absorb it properly. Vitamin D can be formed in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. It is also added to milk. However, many people do not produce enough vitamin D or get enough from food. Vitamin D deficiency can be a problem for older people and those who are homebound or bed-ridden.
• Vitamin K2 has recently been identified as an important nutrient in bone health. In particular, menaquinone or vitamin K2 is the most important nutrient in the calcium recycling process. Researchers have recently found that supplementation with menaquinone-7 (MK7), a long-chain vitamin K2 molecule, is the best form of vitamin K to protect against osteoporosis and reduce the risk of bone fractures. Furthermore, when combined with vitamin D, vitamin K2 has actually been shown to promote bone growth.In a 2-year study of 241 women with osteoporosis, subjects were given either vitamin K2 plus calcium or calcium alone. At the end of the study, women receiving only calcium had lost an average of 3.3% of their lumbar (lower spine) bone mass density, while those receiving vitamin K2 lost just 0.5%. Women taking K2 plus calcium had one-third the fracture risk of those receiving calcium only.¹⁶
• Boron is important in preventing calcium loss, as it improves calcium absorption and reduces the amount of calcium excreted in the urine.
• Phosphorus is the second most prevalent mineral in bones and makes up more than half the mass of bone mineral. Thus, the diet needs to have sufficient phosphorus in order to have healthy bones. Inadequate levels of phosphorus in the diet may be more widespread than previously thought, especially in the elderly and in people who eat little meat.Researchers recently completed a detailed study on the co-dependence of calcium and phosphorus on growth and bone development, which they presented at the National Osteoporosis Foundation Fifth International Symposium held March 9, 2002. The presentation detailed how bone disease can develop when calcium and phosphorus are not balanced and within good levels. When phosphorus is too high, the body takes calcium out of the bones to bind with the phosphorus and remove it from the blood. Bones become brittle as a result.

  The balance of calcium and phosphorus can especially impact women over 60, whose diets often contain less than the recommended dietary allowance of 700 mg of phosphorus. According to one of the researchers, Dr. Heaney, a scientist at Creighton University’s Osteoporosis Research Center, “For these women, the usual calcium supplement, calcium carbonate, may block most of the absorption of phosphorus. If this happens, the calcium won’t do much good because bone mineral consists of both calcium and phosphorus.”

  On the other hand, eggshell calcium naturally contains a small amount of phosphorus, which contributes to, rather than blocks the absorption of calcium.

  Another presenter, Dr. Shapiro of Product Safety Laboratories in Dayton, New Hampshire said, “Both calcium and phosphorus are needed to support an increase in bone mass. If the diet is low in phosphorus, calcium supplementation alone will be inadequate, and may aggravate a phosphorus deficiency. A phosphorus-containing calcium source would seem to be preferable to one providing calcium alone.”¹⁷

  So not only is it important that a bone-building supplement contain eggshell calcium that enhances calcium absorption, but it should also contain 25% of the required daily index (RDI) of phosphorus.

• Magnesium is essential for proper calcium absorption and is an important mineral in the bone matrix. It has specific effects on the parathyroid hormone, which helps regulate proper calcium metabolism.
• Daidzein is an isoflavonoid found in soy. Soy has become very popular lately for its bone health properties. Few people realize that soy contains both daidzein and genistein, two isoflavonoids or phytoestrogens. Recent research has shown that daidzein is more effective and less toxic than genistein. But until recently, pure daidzein has not been available as a dietary supplement. The other soy component, genistein, has recently raised concerns over its potential negative effects on immune function, brain function and DNA repair. Daidzein doesn’t share these negative effects, and is more effective than genistein at building bone.

Daidzein, which is also a phytoestrogen—a hormone-like bioregulator of plant origin—has been shown to help maintain bone health without the harmful side effects related to estrogen.

How do hormones effect bone health?

Hormones play an important role in maintaining bone mass. Once women reach menopause and hormone levels decline, bone loss escalates. Rapid bone loss continues for about five years during menopause, and can reach three to four percent of total bone mass. This surge of bone loss eventually tapers off after a few years, and is about equal to the amount of bone loss in men of the same age. But the loss of bone minerals continues throughout the rest of a person’s life—which is one of the reasons there is a lot of excitement about research into daidzein’s ability to help stimulate bone formation and mineralization in the same way that hormones do.

Animal experiments as well as bone-tissue and bone-cell-culture investigations have demonstrated daidzein’s effect on bone metabolism. Also, daidzein has been shown to enhance bone formation, and help prevent and treat osteoporosis in elderly women.^18192021

Progesterone Promotes Bone Health

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the controversy of hormone replacement therapy. Yet, natural progesterone has been proven time and time again to be safe and effective for promoting bone health and balancing problems associated with estrogen dominance. Click here to read more about how women can balance their hormones safely and effectively: Natural Ways To Balance Your Hormones.

Osteoblasts, the bone-building cells, contain progesterone receptors and this hormone appears to directly encourage bone building. Also, during the reproductive years, progesterone works with estrogen to conserve calcium within the body and limit the withdrawal of calcium from the bones.²²

In 1991, when Dr. Jerilynn Prior of British Colombia was studying young women athletes, she inadvertently discovered that many of these seemingly normal and healthy athletes had abnormal menstrual periods and were not ovulating. Why? Because they all suffered from a progesterone deficiency. The hormone deficiency was also linked to excessive bone loss. Progesterone supplementation alleviated the menstrual irregularities and corrected the excessive bone loss.²³

In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, natural progesterone supplementation has also been shown to rebuild substantial amounts of lost bone. Dr. John R. Lee has researched the value of estrogens and progesterone for building bone tissue after menopause. His research clearly shows that natural progesterone replacement leads to new bone formation, actively increasing bone mass and density.²⁴

So play it safe. Think of your bones as a savings account. There is only as much bone mass in your account as you deposit, so you want to build as much bone in your early years as possible.

And start early. Whether you’re in your teens or 70s, man or woman, now is the time to increase your calcium intake and aid your body in building and maintaining healthy bone mass.

References