Having the proper nutrients can affect everything from how healthy and strong your bones are, to how happy you feel. Proper nutrition is an important factor in maintaining good emotional and physical health. Often we think of people who easily break their bones as being elderly, and in obvious poor health. Lifestyle choices that include alcohol consumption, strict vegetarianism and refined foods can contribute to early onset of poor bone health and other issues, as a result of nutrient deficiencies. Many strict vegetarians also are very diligent about their nutrient sources and for good reason.

I was recently told of a woman who was an avid runner, and a strict vegetarian. She was not diligent about addressing her nutrition. At around 40 years of age, one day she took what seemed like a misstep on a sidewalk and fell, screaming in pain. Part of her shin bone had shattered in pieces and she now has metal plates in her leg. At no time previous nor after this event were any nutritional tests run, so this woman still runs the risk of further injuries.

Vitamin D is important to your bone health
According to the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:”
“For adults, vitamin D deficiency has more subtle effects on the skeleton, and can lead to a situation of reduce bone mineral density and ultimately precipitate or exacerbate osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency causes a mineralization defect of the collagen matrix that is laid down by osteoblasts. The rubbery matrix does not provide structural support, which increases the risk of fracture.”

How we detect nutritional and health related issues
Even if you take the RDA (Recommended Daily Amount) of micro-nutrients, how can you be sure you are absorbing them? Besides RDA values being outdated and insufficient, drugs can also play a role in creating nutrient deficiencies, as they can interfere with the proper absorption of nutrients in your body. You may be eating the right foods and yet you may still be deficient in key health building and maintaining nutrients.

Our practice uses the TRIAD Blood Spot test. This is a simple test that our patients perform in the comfort of their home. It requires obtaining a blood spot/smear, and a urine collection, all contained within the kit performed by the individual and does not require a lab. This test, which is billable to insurance, collects a large amount of data, more than most lab tests used today, that tells us what nutrient deficiencies you are experiencing, how well your body is healing and repairing itself, neurotransmitter status required for optimal brain function, gut health, any hidden infections, food sensitivities which can hinder your energy and fatigue levels, energy production and maintenance.

Bone Health
We also work with the NTx Urinary test, which is a non-radiation based test that provides information on bone health. NTx urinary assay measures a specific amino acid unique to bone which is found in the urine and detects subtle changes in bone loss, which occurs in everyone over the age of 50. This test provides more information than traditional tests, such as a DEXA scan, without radiation exposure. Read more about this on our main website: (http://fundamentalhealthsolutions.com/services/diagnostics/bone-density/)

Both tests can provide answers for people who are concerned about their bone health, and are wondering if nutritional deficiencies are contributing their feeling suboptimal in terms of vitality and energy.

Call or contact us now for more information on how we can help you feel good again, avoid nutrient depletion, physical and emotional drain, and to assess how good your bone currently is, compared to where it should be.

References:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/6/1678S.full
http://fundamentalhealthsolutions.com/services/diagnostics/bone-density/

Dr Phil reminds us about an effective and versatile liquid nutritional supplement called Jusuru that helps both our joints and bones. “Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. As a matter of fact, our body (bones and all) is mostly protein. Collagen provides the framework to repair and rebuild not only skin and joints, but bone tissue too! Virtually anything in the body, even our cells require collagen. Collagen can provide the structure to replace damaged tissue so the body doesn’t need to use scar tissue (aka fibrin), or as much scar tissue, as a substitute. After the age of 40, our collagen levels begin to plummet. We see and feel the results of this loss with aging.

Scar tissue is different from normal tissue in the sense that it is 1) less flexible/more rigid and leads to immobility 2) transmits and responds to pain signals more sensitively (this is because of its heavier innervation of pain fibers) 3) and can be re-damaged more easily with a subsequent trauma because it is weaker than the original tissue. Scar tissue anywhere in the body is most commonly a substitute for the real thing. Scar tissue is used to “stabilize an area” while our body repairs the damage; it’s the best the body can do. If we are deficient in nutrients used to repair our tissues, the body can create more scar tissue or leave scar tissue in place longer, thus creating problems. When we’re younger, and have higher amounts of resources in our body, we form far less scar tissue than when we’re older.”

Dr Phil has found that both Jusuru and Telezyme can help mitigate scar tissue formation in different ways. Jusuru supplies additional raw ingredients, Telezyme can boost scar tissue dissolving enzymes made by our body.

For those of us who may have had broken bones years ago, and are concerned about fibrin, aka scar tissue, removing this scar tissue (fibrin) on a cellular level can be done with fibrinolytic enzymes, namely serratia peptidase (serra-peptase, serra-peptidase) as it has many names. Vitalzym-XE contains large amounts of powerhouse serratia-peptidase. Bromelain also has some capacity to break down components of scar tissue, or lessen its formation.

Diet, and eating foods that you are compatible with, also plays a big role as to how easily you form, and break down scar tissue. If the fibrinolytic enzymes that your body produces are being used to clean the blood as a result of system wide stressors, there are less available to break down scar tissue at the injury site. The whole process of reducing and eliminating scar tissue involves a number of factors.

When people break their bones, it is a good idea to do an assay that helps identify if you are becoming deficient in some key area of nutrition. Dr. Phil likes the NTX Osteomark urinary assay because it recognizes the rate at which you are currently breaking down the type of collagen unique to bone, and dumping it into the urine. The TRIAD shows us our nutrient status for the big minerals such as calcium and magnesium levels on a functional level.

You may have noticed that we haven’t fixated on calcium to fix bone problems. This is because not all types of calcium can be easily put into our bones, nor is calcium alone capable of providing healthy bones. We like Designs for Health “osteoforce”. It has the right form of calcium and other needed nutrients required for bone. Many people don’t know that bone is a mixture of calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, boron, zinc, vitamin D, K, and C (vitamin C for the collagen). Somehow we have been taught to fixate on only calcium. Doing a nutrient panel and health questionnaire can go a long way to improving your bone health.

Besides providing our body a structural framework which allows our muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue to work, our bones provide a mineral reserve that our body calls upon during times of depletion and stress.

Contained within our bone tissue are large amounts of important minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, boron, protein, and vitamins.  These are used by our body, released from our bones, to drive other essential chemical reactions in the body. For long term bone and overall health, your bones need to have an adequate supply on reserve.

Why is bone health so important to the rest of our body?    Our bone marrow, the innermost portion of our bones, is the “manufacturing plant” for all our blood cells.   Bone marrow makes our red blood cells, which carry precious oxygen to our organs and glands, and returns the gaseous waste product carbon dioxide back to our lungs.  Bone marrow makes all of our immune cells, called white blood cells, which are the guardians of our health.   Our bone marrow also makes platelets, the third type of blood cell, which serves to clot blood when we are bleeding.  When our bone health suffers, only a good “Health Detective” will seek out the underlying cause.

Thick Bone Versus Strong Healthy Bone
It is the quality of a bone’s composition that makes them strong, not necessarily the thickness.  Because conventional approaches only look at thickness, and not bone quality, the structural integrity of our skeletal system is suboptimal.  For example, one type of conventional approach allows weaker, poorer quality bone tissue to build up to achieve thicker bones.  The quality of these thicker bones often contains dead bone tissue that should have been removed in the first place. Good quality bone means that the bone is of strong architecture.

At Fundamental Health Solutions we use a more sensitive laboratory test called the NTx Osteomark Urinary Assay to assess bone health. The NTx urinary assay measures a specific amino acid unique to bone which is found in the urine and detects subtle changes in bone loss, which occurs in everyone over the age of 50. This test provides more information than traditional tests, such as a DEXA scan, without radiation exposure.

DEXA Scan Versus The NTx Urinary Test

The NTx Osteomark Urinary Assay measures present, not past bone loss and it measures the bone loss rate.  Unlike DEXA scans, we can measure your bone health every 3 months, or less, versus annually.  This also allows us to monitor the effectiveness of the recommended protocol, as well as measuring system wide bone loss, versus (DEXA) only focal bone loss.  The NTx Urinary test is an easy and non-invasive way for our patients that enables us to monitor and identify potential problems with your bones before they turn into a more serious problem.

Hormones, especially estrogen, play an important role in our bone turnover rate.  Sufficient amounts of the proper form of estrogen have been shown to reduce bone breakdown, also called bone resorption. Estrogen therapies do not directly build, or increase bone, but attempt to minimize the breakdown. Hence women, especially menopausal women, have increased risk factors. In many cases hormonal imbalances stem from high levels of cortisol (aka the “stress hormone”) in the blood. There are ways to detect high levels of cortisol, which suppresses normal levels of other hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, in addition to assisting your body’s natural production of hormones.

Physical Activity — Culturally, women are taught to be less physical than men. Often times, women often do not participate in enough physical activity, especially lifting heavier objects. Cultures where women are more physical, for example, in Africa, appear to have far less levels of osteoporosis.

The role of aging – As we age, we also lose our ability to make the hydrochloric (stomach) acid needed to activate many of our enzymes to digest our nutrients, and put them into a form that our body can use. Without HCL, certain enzymes (especially protein digesting types- proteases) will not work at all.  We can eat and eat, but not absorb what we need.  There’s a saying in nutrition, “it’s not what you eat but what you absorb that matters.” This implies that even if you eat the right things for your health, you may not absorb all the nutrients needed to provide good health and build healthy bones.

Not Enough Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) – HCL isn’t just for digesting your food.  HCL serves another purpose which is to “ionize” our minerals.  Ionization of our metal based minerals (Zinc, Boron, Copper, Iron, Iodine, etc.) means the mineral is broken down into its smallest form but still while keeping its properties intact.  When something is “ionized” it can easily slip into and out-of a cell, meaning that your body can utilize it.  When minerals are not ionized, not only are they nearly impossible for our cells to use, but they can accumulate and become lodged into our tissues. This can lead to health conditions:  for example, in Wilson’s disease there is an accumulation of copper found typically in the brain and liver.  Hemochromatosis/Hemosiderosis are iron accumulation diseases of varied severity, both due to improperly ionized forms of a mineral. This is why ionizable minerals and nutrients are extremely important.  Many people are unaware that the crux of what happens here goes back to digestion. Proper functioning digestion and taking the right mineral forms can help reduce bone loss, increase collagen and help improve your joints.

Too Much Hydrochloric Acid- In addition to reflux, too much HCL can contribute to bone health related problems too.  During times of enzyme deficiency, we increase our production of HCL to aid digestion. This can result in HCL leaking past our buffer systems in into the periphery where it can interfere with bone health.

Just the Right Amount- When our body excretes just the right amount of HCL, and our digestive organs are working harmoniously, our body has an easier time maintaining homeostasis or balance.

Nutrient Status – Many of us are told that we should supplement with only Calcium in order to improve the health of our bones.  Studies which include only calcium supplementation show mixed results in restoring healthy bone density.  Since our bones require many nutrients, such as Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, Manganese, Boron, Potassium, Vitamins C, D, and K, and a protein called “collagen”, we obtain the best results when we supplement with all of these nutrients.

At Fundamental Health Solutions, we use a non radiation, urinary assay to measure present bone loss, and the bone loss rate. Unlike with DEXA scans, we can measure your bone health every 3 months, or less, versus annually. This also allows us to monitor the effectiveness of the recommended protocol, as well as measuring system wide bone loss, versus (DEXA) focal bone loss.