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Osteoporosis Protocol Soy Products A 6-month study on 66 postmenopausal women was conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to investigate bone density and bone mineral content in response to soy therapy (Potter et al. 1998). In this study, postmenopausal women received on a daily basis either phytoestrogens derived from soy protein or milk-derived protein (that contained no phytoestrogens). The results showed significant increases in bone density and bone mineral content for the lumbar spine in the women receiving the phytoestrogens derived from soy protein diets compared to the control diet. Increases in other skeletal areas also were noted in the women on the soy diets. Dr. J. W. Erdman, Jr., the lead scientist, concluded that soy isoflavones show real potential for maintaining bone health. Kenneth D. Setchell, Ph.D. of Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, confirmed the estrogenic activity of the principal soy isoflavones daidzin, genistein, and glycitein. Setchell (1997) conducted research on the chemical structure and metabolism of soy phytoestrogens and concluded that consuming modest amounts of soy protein results in relatively high blood concentrations of phytoestrogens and that this could have a significant hormonal effect in many individuals. Theoretically, there are enough phytoestrogens in the newer soy extracts for many women to derive effective estrogen replacement therapy. However, this has not been tested. A soy supplement called Mega Soy Extract provides 110 mg of soy phytoestrogens in two tiny capsules. This is more than two times the amount in the typical Japanese diet. Since the phytoestrogen genistein is water-soluble, it is suggested that one capsule of Mega Soy Extract should be taken in the morning and one capsule should be taken in the evening. While women should benefit from Mega Soy Extract, some women may need to consider direct, natural hormone replacement depending on family history, severity of osteoporosis if already present, and other considerations.
Agnusdei et al. (1997) also reported that to date almost 3000 patients have been treated with ipriflavone in 60 clinical studies from three countries. The incidence of adverse reactions in the ipriflavone-treated patients was similar to that observed in subjects receiving placebo. The researchers suggest that long-term treatment with ipriflavone may be considered safe and may increase bone density and possibly prevent fractures in elderly patients with established osteoporosis. Halpner et al. (2000), writing in the Journal of the Women's Health and Gender Based Medicine, found that urinary N-linked telopeptides, another marker of bone breakdown, declined by 29% in those receiving ipriflavone supplements. Nozaki et al. (1998), in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Kyushu University in Japan, tested conjugated estrogens and ipriflavone together. They reported that in ovariectomized women, bone mineral density was reduced 48 weeks after treatment by the use of placebo, conjugated estrogen alone, and ipriflavone alone. However, a combination of conjugated estrogen and ipriflavone resulted in much less acute short-term bone loss following ovariectomy. Contrary to the majority of trials, a large-scale trial by Alexandersen et al. (2001), testing ipriflavone in a total of 474 osteoporotic participants, showed no changes over placebo in terms of bone loss or biochemical markers of bone metabolism. This group also found that ipriflavone caused lymphocytopenia (reduction in the number of lymphocytes in the blood) in a significant number of women, although this appeared to be reversible. This latter side effect had not been reported before and could represent a significant negative factor in considering ipriflavone treatment (Alexandersen et al. 2001). The research on this product is presently in fairly early stages.
Women over the age of 35 or 40 should consider taking melatonin in the range of 500 mcg-3 mg every night to help prevent osteoporosis and reduce the carcinogenic risks associated with estrogen replacement therapy. Additionally, it is important for pre- and postmenopausal woman to consider testosterone. Women have less testerone than men do, but it is just as important to them as it is to men. Why? It contributes to stamina, proper female muscle mass, sex drive, and preventing and treating osteoporosis. Growth hormone therapy has been shown to increase bone mass and muscle strength including hand grip in elderly women with osteoporosis (Sugimoto et al. 1999). As an added bonus, abdominal fat was also reduced. In addition, bone mineral density continued to improve in test subjects 48 weeks post-treatment. Growth hormone injections are available from many innovative physicians. Regular blood testing and physical evaluation are necessary while on growth hormone therapy to prevent unwanted side effects.
Vitamin K Many people in North America who consume an average diet have magnesium deficiency, and magnesium is important in bone structure. Magnesium deficiency comes about because most magnesium in our diet comes from the magnesium contained in the chlorophyll molecule found mainly in dark green leafy vegetables--not something that most people eat on a daily basis. Magnesium intake should be about half that of calcium, approximately 300-500 mg a day. If not provided in the diet, then magnesium should be supplemented. Some researchers are now also reporting that magnesium deficiency plays a significant role in the development of osteoporosis (Dreosti 1995). Studies have shown that women with osteoporosis tend to have a lower magnesium intake than normal and lower levels of magnesium in their bones. Recommendations for postmenopausal women to increase calcium intake can lead to an unfavorable Ca to Mg ratio unless the magnesium intake is increased accordingly; the optimum ratio of Ca to Mg is believed to be 2:1. A magnesium deficiency can also affect the production of the biologically active form of vitamin D, thereby further promoting osteoporosis. Some research shows that magnesium supplementation is effective in treating osteoporosis. Magnesium supplementation (over and above the current recommended daily allowance) may suppress bone turnover in young adults and some researchers speculate that it may also help prevent age-related osteoporosis (Dimai et al. 1998). Significant calcium imbalance can come about as a result of high intakes of phosphorus. Phosphorus is present in high quantities in protein-containing foods and soft drinks. There is some evidence that due to the large increase in soft drinks in the last decade that this factor alone may contribute to poor peak bone mass in younger individuals. Based on data from more than 4000 children aged 2-17 years, soda consumption among children and adolescents rose 41% in the time period of 1989-1991 compared to 1994-1995. This displaced milk and juice, which are the leading sources of many vitamins and minerals in the American diet (Wyshak 2000). A 1994 study of 127 children aged 8-16 found that 39% of the girls and 41% of the boys had a history of bone fracture. Girls who consumed greater amounts of cola beverages had a higher incidence of fractures than those who consumed low amounts. A high calcium intake was found to protect against fractures, particularly among girls who had high physical activity (Ballew et al. 2000). Because other trace minerals have been implicated in osteoporosis, the following regimes are recommended for mineral supplementation: Obtain as much calcium
and magnesium and other trace minerals from your diet as possible by
drinking milk (if tolerated) and eating dark green leafy vegetables,
broccoli, nuts, and seeds; eliminate or reduce the use of colas and
other soft drinks in order to decrease phosphorus intake. Postmenopausal
women should probably supplement with calcium/magnesium capsules. Calcium
citrate is generally better absorbed and utilized than calcium carbonate.
Calcium bis-glycinate absorbs even better than calcium citrate. Daily
intakes should reach at least 1000 mg of calcium and 500 mg of magnesium,
along with sufficient trace minerals including zinc, boron, and copper.
Because eating animal protein has been linked to osteoporosis, an analysis was undertaken to determine whether meat-eating had an adverse effect on the nurses' bone density. In 1996, researchers reported the results. Nurses who ate 3 oz of meat or more per day had a significantly increased risk of forearm fracture compared to those who ate less than 2 oz (Feskanich et al. 1996). Diets with more vegetables and less meat are higher in vitamin K. Another group of researchers wanted to know if there is a relationship between vitamin K intake and hip fracture in the same nurses. Using 10 years of data on 72,000 participants, Feskanich et al. (1999) came to the conclusion that the nurses who received the most vitamin K were about a third less likely to get a hip fracture. Those who ate lettuce every day slashed their risk of hip fracture in half compared to those who ate it once a day or less (lettuce is a source of vitamin K) (Feskanich et al. 1999). The significance of taking vitamin K was greater than taking synthetic estrogen, which did not protect the nurses' bone density in this study, nor did vitamin D. In fact, women who took a lot of vitamin D, but had low intakes of vitamin K, had a doubled risk of hip fracture! Although vitamin D increases the amount of bone-friendly osteocalcin, only vitamin K can make it work properly. Most osteoporosis studies are done on postmenopausal women because this group experiences a dramatic decline of bone density. Vitamin K shows remarkable results against bone loss in this population. In a study from The Netherlands, 1 mg of vitamin K a day for 2 weeks increased a bone building protein gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) in postmenopausal women, helping to elevate it (Knapen et al. 1989). Another study shows that vitamin K slows calcium loss by one-third in people who have a tendency to lose it (Knapen et al. 1993). Drugs containing vitamins K1 and K2 are being used to treat osteoporosis (Hodges et al. 1991). The doses used in Japan are 45 mg a day (Shiraki et al. 2000). In the last 10 years, vitamin K has been established to play a significant role in human health including the metabolism of bone. Human intervention studies show it can reduce fracture rate and can increase bone mineral density in osteoporotic individuals. Also, there has been shown to be a synergism between vitamin K1, especially when coadministered with vitamin D. Several mechanisms have been suggested about how vitamin K affects bone metabolism. Besides the effect on the protein involved in bone mineralization, there is also increasing evidence that it positively affects calcium balance, which plays a role in bone metabolism (Craciun et al. 1998). The Institute of Medicine in 2001 increased the dietary reference intake (DRI) of vitamin K by about 50% to 90 mcg/day for females and 120 mcg/day for males (Weber 2001). For prevention, the suggested dose is a vitamin K supplement that provides 9 mg of K1 and 1 mg of K2, that is, 10 mg of vitamin K a day. To treat osteoporosis, doses up to 45 mg a day of vitamin K1/K2 should be used only if a physician monitors blood coagulation factors to make sure that the vitamin K is not causing blood to overcoagulate.
Osteoporosis Protocol Pg (1) (2) (3)
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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease
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