Table of contents for Osteoporosis: Risk, Prevention, and Natural Treatment

1. Assessing Your Osteoporosis Risk Level
2. Natural Prevention for Osteoporosis
3. Natural Osteoporosis Treatment

There are more options than just calcium supplements to increase your bone density even after you become aware of your osteoporosis.

Let’s look at the options available for natural osteoporosis treatment suggested by 3 well-known authorities in the medical field including a personal program to build your bone density.

Here is a list of a daily regime of supplements suggested by David Edelberg, M.D., medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago.

-1,200 mg of calcium
-800 mg of magnesium
-10 mg of zinc
-1 mg of copper
-1,000 mg of vitamin C
-200 IU’s of vitamin D
-50 mg of vitamin B6
-1 mg of folic acid
-1 mg of silicon
-0.5 mg of boron
-5 mg of manganese

Dr. Edelberg says that these supplements can be purchased in most health food stores. You can even find some manufacturers which provide all of these supplements in one capsule. (1)

Dr. John R. Lee’s work specifically with osteoporosis showed that benefits can be achieved independent of age, that osteoporosis reversal is a reality, and that the treatment program is safe, uncomplicated, and inexpensive.

Dr. Lee is world famous for his medical advancements in the realm of women’s health. Here is an excerpt of one of his studies:

Dr. John R. Lee studied 100 women patients in various stages of osteoporosis, ranging in age from 38 to 83. By adding a supplement with natural progesterone to a natural osteoporosis treatment program, he found bone density increased every year by 3-5% until it stabilized at the bone density levels expected for a 35-year old woman! All 100 women using the natural progesterone and osteoporosis treatment reversed their bone loss and grew new bone cells.
Also, the women who had the lowest bone density were the ones that increased bone density the fastest with this natural progesterone treatment! It is essential to note that Dr. Lee says the natural progesterone / osteoporosis treatment must include the proper diet, nutrients and exercise. (2)

Here is a brief excerpt of Dr. Lee’s Osteoporsis Treatment Program. For those of you seriously interested in the program, I would suggest that you use this link and print the full article to take to your doctor.

Vitamin D – 350-400 IU daily
Vitamin C – 2,000 mg per day in divided doses
Beta Carotene – 15 mg per day (25,000 IU)
Calcium – 800-1 000 mg per day by diet and/or supplements.
Estrogen – 0.3-0.625 mg per day 2 weeks per month (conjugated estrogen) unless contraindicated.
Progesterone – 3 percent cream, applied to skin twice daily the last 12 days of the monthly cycle; use 1/2-1/3 of a 1 oz. jar per month.
Emphasize leafy green vegetables in the diet.
Limit red meat and soft drinks to 3 or fewer per week.
Limit alcohol use — none, or no more than 1 drink every 2 weeks.
Exercise 20 minutes daily, or 1/2 hour 3 times per week.
No cigarettes.
Report any occurrence of vaginal bleeding. (3)

It is important to be aware that not all progesterone is equally safe or effective, even among those claiming to be “natural.” You can read about it on Dr. Lee’s official site. You can also use the search box on Dr. Lee’s official site for more info on osteoporosis or other women’s health issues.

For those of you using prescription medication for osteoporosis, you may want to read Dr. Ray Sahelian’s important list of the side effects from the most common osteoporosis prescription medications.

Click here and scroll down about half way through the article to read the 3 section labeled Osteoporosis Medications with side effects listed for each of the 3 main types of medication.

Another option for osteoporosis treatment is a Personal Program for Better Bones by Women to Women.com.

You can start by using the following link to answer an online questionnaire and receiving by email a Free Bone Density Profile which will help to determine your bone health and fracture risk.

Women to Women partnered with Dr. Susan E. Brown Phd, a leading authority on natural bone health, to create their Better Bones program. Click here for an article discussing it.

This link here goes to their Comparison Chart of their 3 versions of the Personal Program for Better Bones

Using this link will take you to a page explaining their Risk Free Trial Offer.

1. New Choices in Healing Osteoporosis by Dr. David Edelberg
2. Natural Progesterone and Osteoporosis Treatment Success by Health Guidance.org
3. Osteoporosis Reversal by John R. Lee

Table of contents for Osteoporosis: Risk, Prevention, and Natural Treatment

1. Assessing Your Osteoporosis Risk Level
2. Natural Prevention for Osteoporosis
3. Natural Osteoporosis Treatment

Although osteoporosis is usually considered a disease of women, 30% of osteoporosis fractures occur in men. It affects 75 million people in the US, Europe, and Japan, and causes 1.3 million fractures annually in the US alone. (1).

Osteoporosis-related hip fractures are fatal 20% of the time and produce permanent disability half of the time.  With such stats, it is highly beneficial to look at prevention through natural forms of calcium supplements. I’m going give you the recommendations from a couple of different sources, all of which are footnoted at the end of this post.

This is Part 2 of a 3 – Part Post; if you missed the post to assess your risk level, click the above series link. Part 3 will cover Natural Treatment to improve your bone density and minimize bone loss.

 Here is a list of natural calcium supplements condensed from suggestions by Mother Nature.com. Use the link to read their full article.

1. Eat a handful of sesame seeds each morning
2. Drink almond milk morning and night, which is high in calcium. Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.SC. suggests making your own by soaking ten almonds in a cup of warm water for 10 minutes, peeling them and mixing into a blender with 1 cup of cow, goat, or soya milk. Then add a pinch each of cardamom, ginger powder and saffron. You can also buy almond milk at stores such as Walmart.
3. A daily intake of dark green leafy vegetables, low-fat dairy products and sardines with bones are a natural calcium supplement suggested by Richard Gerson, Ph.D.
4. For a non-dairy calcium supplement, naturopathic physician Michael Murray, N.D. suggests juicing 3 kale leaves, 2 collard leaves, a handful of parsley, 3 carrots, 1 apple and 1/2 a green pepper. This provides 212 mgs calcium and 102 mgs magnesium, both necessary for good bone density.
5. Two standing yoga poses done once daily are good exercise for maintaining bone density, called the mountain and the tree, as suggested by Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D. A word of caution – elderly and advanced osteoporsis patients should not do the tree pose.
6. Avoid calcium “excreters.” Michael A. Klaper, M.D., nutritional medicine specialist, reminds us that for calcium supplements to benefit, one needs to avoid items that cause your kidneys to excrete calcium, such as animal proteins, refined sugars, alcohol, salt, tobacco, and the caffeine found in coffee, black tea, cola and chocolate. (2)

In addition to the above suggestions, Dr. Ray Sahelian also recommends these osteoporosis preventative measures (abridged list):

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables; studies strongly points to their positive link to bone density.
2. Weight bearing exercises are tremendously helpful. **See note below**
3. Calcium supplements taken at mealtime are important for osteoporosis prevention. However, calcium from food is a better option.
4. Take a multivitamin mineral supplement. Studies show a supplement with vitamin D (400-1,000 IU per day) and calcium (800-1,200 mg per day) may reduce the risk of falls and fractures.
5. Reduce or avoid soft drinks due to their phosphorus content.
6. Vitamin D deficiency is quite common in cases of hip fractures and can be supplemented by taking a multivitamin with mineral complex or cod liver oil. A dosage of 400 to 800 units should be helpful. Sitting by the window or taking walks is also beneficial.
7. Adding onion to food may help people fight off the bone-thinning disease; studies done in rats showed onions assisted in the reduction of bone loss. (1)

**Exercise – Dr. Sahelian says any type of movement helps strengthen bones. For weak bones, try swimming first. Walking is great for lower extremities, but the best osteoporosis exercise is weight lifting. For the best osteoporosis prevention, you need to be physically active preferably throughout life. [See the link below to Dr. Sahelian's site for a great description of why and how various exercises are or are not beneficial for prevention of osteoporosis.] (1)

Medicinenet gives these cautions about exercise and osteoporsis.

Most doctors recommend weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, preferably daily. Tt is important to avoid exercises that can injure already weakened bones. In patients over 40 and those with heart disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure, exercise should be prescribed and monitored by their doctors. Finally, extreme levels of exercise (such as marathon running) may not be healthy for the bones. Marathon running in young women that leads to weight loss and loss of menstrual periods can actually cause osteoporosis. (3)

Here are 2 extremely helpful lists of the daily mgs for calcium intake as well as the mg in natural calcium food sources.  Also by Medicinenet.com

These daily mgs are the amounts recommended by The National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on Osteoporosis for all people, with or without osteoporosis:

• 800 mg/day for children ages 1 to 10
• 1000 mg/day for men, premenopausal women, and postmenopausal women also taking estrogen
• 1200 mg/day for teenagers and young adults ages 11 to 24
• 1500 mg/day for post menopausal women not taking estrogen
• 1200mg to 1500 mg/day for pregnant and nursing mothers
• The total daily intake of calcium should not exceed 2000 mg

Mg’s calcium from the following Natural Food Sources:

1. 300 mg of calcium in an 8-ounce glass of milk
2. 450 mg of calcium in 8 ounces of plain yogurt
3. 1300 mg of calcium in 1 cup of cottage cheese
4. 200 mg of calcium in 1 ounce of cheddar cheese
5. 90 mg of calcium in ½ cup of vanilla ice cream
6. 300 mg of calcium in 8 ounces of calcium-fortified orange juice (4)

1. Osteoporosis by Dr. Ray Sahelian
2. New Choices in Healing Osteoporosis by MotherNature.com
3. Osteoporosis by Medicinenet.com
4. Osteoporosis by Medicinenet.com