OSTEOPOROSIS AND WOUND HEALING

OSTEOPOROSIS AND WOUND HEALING

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

Osteoporosis is more common today than ever before. The causes are numerous, including many common biochemical imbalances.

Osteoporosis is also a very common cause of death today, although indirectly. This is especially true for women, who are generally more prone to this horrible condition. Death occurs because an elderly person, usually, falls and breaks a hip, usually. This can cause a blood clot to form that goes to the lungs, the heart or the brain.

Other complications involve the surgery to repair the hip. Still other complications occur because, even with surgery, the person must be bedridden for weeks, often, to heal properly. In an older person, this can be a death sentence. They lose strength and have trouble caring for themselves. They can easily form blood clots from inactivity and this is often the actual cause of death.

Osteoporosis is thus a disease to avoid, if at all possible. And it is quite possible, in almost all cases. This article will explore its causes and correction in more detail.

CAUSES OF OSTEOPOROSIS

Mineral Deficiencies. A common cause of osteoporosis is nutritional depletion of the body. This is not discussed adequately in the medical world because nutrition is not taught in depth in most medical schools. However, trace elements as well as calcium and magnesium are critical for bone health and wound healing.

Calcium is mentioned frequently and it is recommended highly. However, many of the sources are highly questionable in terms of how well they are absorbed and used by the body. This is especially true of foods such as pasteurized, homogenized milk products, including cheese and yogurt as well.

These are often suggested as excellent sources of calcium, when this is not the case. The processing of the milk renders the calcium much less usable in most people. Also, homogenizing the milk actually makes it toxic. For more about milk, read the article entitled Dairy Products.

Foods such as carrots, turnips, parsnips and other roots are good sources. Raw, fresh carrot juice is a wonderful source of calcium. So are various nuts and seeds. Nut butters are better than the whole nuts, either toasted or raw, as they are easier to digest unless chewed thoroughly.

Some dark green vegetables such as spinach and chard are also good sources, but not as good as nuts, seeds, carrots, roots and raw dairy. Greens must be cooked, however, as their fibers are tough and cooking makes them easier to digest.

So one should not limit oneself to dairy products and believe that one is getting high quality calcium in the diet. This is simply not true in many instances. Raw dairy is much better, but is harder to locate unless one buys it via the mail, which is possible in many areas.

Similarly, many calcium supplements are of poor quality. We hear from many patients that they try different calcium supplements with poor results. When they use the ones we recommend, however, they feel it immediately. There can be several reasons for this:

1. The products do not contain what the label states. This is unfortunately true, especially with cheaper brands of supplements and pharmaceutical products as well. Even prescription calcium may be problematic. It is just not well controlled at the factory.

2. The form of calcium is not too absorbable. For instance, Tums and other calcium carbonate products are suggested as good sources of calcium.

This is simply untrue. They are too alkaline and are difficult to absorb for this reason for many people. So avoid calcium carbonate, calcium phosphates and other inexpensive calcium supplements.

Calcium chelate and calcium citrate or ascorbate are far better because they are well-absorbed by more people. Another superior product is called MCHC or microcrystalline hydroxy apatite crystals.

3. The need for calcium varies a lot. Some people need twice or three times as much as others. We use hair analysis to assess this. When properly interpreted, we have a good idea how much is needed by each person at any particular time. As a general rule, the more out of balance the calcium level on a hair mineral analysis, the more calcium is required. This is only a general rule, however.

4. Other calcium factors, such as vitamin D, are also critical in many cases. Vitamin D deficiency is now considered to be very widespread.

The only ways to get enough is to sit in the sun about 20-30 minutes every single day with your chest exposed (women can wear a bra or bathing suit), use a full spectrum lamp with your clothes off for about 1 hour daily or take supplements of D3. We recommend taking a supplement, as the other two are difficult to do daily.

Magnesium. In addition to the usual poor quality sold in the supermarkets and even health food outlets, milk is deficient in one of the most important elements needed for the bones and for wound healing – magnesium. This amazing element is heavily involved in calcium metabolism and bone health. It is so commonly deficient in modern diets that few people get enough each day to replenish and maintain adequate levels in the body tissues.

Other Elements. Bones also require a number of other trace elements such as manganese, copper, boron, selenium, zinc and vanadium. These must be supplied in the diet in sufficient quantity to replenish and maintain the ideal levels so that calcium and phosphorus and other major minerals will deposit and remain in the bones as they should.

Other nutrients may be involved in bone health in ways we do not fully understand. However, the only way to make sure one obtains all these elements in enough quantity is to eat a diet with plenty of fresh, steamed or baked vegetables. The trace elements are needed to transport calcium to the bones and help it remain in the bones once it has arrived there. Copper, for example, assists calcium to remain in the bones once it is deposited there and copper imbalance is rampant today. Click here for an article on Copper Toxicity Syndrome.

Nourishing the protein matrix of the bones. Other trace elements are needed to nourish the matrix in which calcium is deposited in the bones. This is a protein structure. This means it needs elements like calcium, phosphorus, manganese and many others. It also requires a good supply of many vitamins such as vitamins E and K, which are fat-soluble vitamins found mainly in vegetables and some fruits.

People who live on refined food diets do not get nearly enough of the bone nutrients. We are surprised their bones last as long as they do without more problems.

One also cannot be properly nourished with just raw foods, as raw vegetables are difficult for most people to digest. Also, vitamin pills usually do not contain all the trace minerals.

Also, beware of products that claim to contain all the minerals. These often contain toxic metals as well, a topic we will discuss below. In short, there is not substitute for an excellent diet if one wishes to heal old wounds and fractures and to avoid osteoporosis.

Toxic Metals. Toxic metals such as lead and cadmium, in particular, but also fluoride, copper, iron, manganese and others may accumulate in the bones.

Toxic metals replace vital minerals in the bones, causing them to be more brittle in the case of cadmium, or weaker in the case of lead and fluoride. These metals are actually incorporated into the structure of the bones, so they will not be revealed on any simple tests. Such tests include urine challenge tests with EDTA or blood, hair, stool or other tests either in many instances.

However, they are there in most people today. If one eats poorly, smokes or just does not care too much about nutrition, chances are one has some of the toxic metals embedded in the bones, weakening them to some degree.

Also, we are all born today with some toxic metals from our mothers, most all of whom are toxic to some degree. These metals pass easily through the placenta to the developing child.

For this reason, I assume that everyone has some of these so I do not need to bother with the sometimes costly tests used for this purpose. I use the hair analysis strictly to figure out how to correct the problem, not for a thorough assessment of toxic metals.

Drugs Can Cause or Contribute To Osteoporosis. Cortisone is the best-known pharmaceutical agent that causes osteoporosis. However, in fact any drug that interferes with nutrients at any step of their incorporation into the body tissues can cause osteoporosis.

For example, if one does not absorb food as well due to an anti-acid drug, or other anti-ulcer or anti-gastric reflux drug, this can lead directly to osteoporosis. These drugs inhibit normal acid production in the stomach, or absorb the acid so that it does not irritate the lining of the intestine. However, they also disrupt digestion seriously.

Other drugs include antibiotics, which adversely affect intestinal flora. Others include anti-arrhythmia drugs that slow down the heart and its rhythm. These affect digestion as well, as do most other drugs if they irritate the intestines, such as many pain killers including aspirin, NSAIDS such as ibuprophen and most others.

Other drugs such as birth control pills and patches affect hormone production and are known to deplete zinc and perhaps magnesium and other micronutrients. This discussion could go on and on, but the reader can see that drug use definitely can be linked to osteoporosis for the reasons given here.

HAIR ANALYSIS AND OSTEOPOROSIS

Hair mineral analysis can be very useful to help assess some of the many causes of osteoporosis. One of the easiest and most important distinctions has to do with the oxidation rate. One can be a fast, slow, mixed or sub-oxidizer type. There may be more subtle types, but these are less important. Here is a brief idea of how they relate to osteoporosis.

Fast Oxidation. This is a state of excessive adrenal glandular and often excessive thyroid gland activity. It is not common in most adults, but is seen more in children today. This state of body chemistry is indicated on a properly performed hair mineral analysis by low levels of calcium and magnesium, in relation to the levels of sodium and potassium.

These individuals lose calcium and magnesium in larger than ideal amounts as part of the fight-or-flight response. Their calcium may also be deficient due to overactive thyroid glandular activity, which tends to lower calcium in the body. Parathyroid glandular activity tends to increase calcium, in contrast. This is more characteristic of slow oxidation.

Slow Oxidation. This is an opposite condition of low thyroid and often higher parathyroid activity. It is also characterized by lower adrenal gland activity, which lowers sodium. As a result, calcium tends to precipitate out of the blood and deposit in the soft tissues.

However, as calcium leaves the blood, more is drawn out of storage from the bones to replace that which was lost from the blood. This process goes on slowly and unnoticed for years. Eventually the bones become demineralized and osteopenia and osteoporosis are the result. This pattern is far more common in adults and less so in children. It is the most important cause of osteoporosis that I encounter.

Mixed Oxidation. This is a temporary and usually unstable oxidation pattern that usually resolves to fast or slow oxidation. It can have qualities of both types, so the causes of osteoporosis can be mixed in these instances. This pattern is more complex and beyond the scope of this article. Other articles on this website discuss it in more depth.

Sub-Oxidation or Four Low Electrolytes. This pattern is seen on a hair analysis in which the hair is not washed at the lab by a calcium level less than about 40 mg%, a magnesium level less than about 6 mg%, a sodium level less than about 25 mg% and a potassium level less than about 10 mg%. For more information about this pattern, click here. This pattern is also commonly seen with osteoporosis. The reasons are complex, and combine the causes discussed above.

Hair analysis is thus helpful to assess some causes, but not all, for a case of osteoporosis. Many physicians use hair analysis only to look for calcium in regard to osteoporosis, and this is definitely a mistake. One can also glean a large amount of information by determining the oxidation rate and by assessing the energy level, digestive strength, tendency for inflammation, trace element nutrition and much more that the test reveals. For much more information about hair mineral analysis, view the articles on this website on this topic.

The proper way to use the hair mineral analysis is to use it guide correction of the entire stress response and body chemistry. This is a lengthy program and yet it is worthwhile to prevent or heal most cases of osteoporosis and improper wound healing.

CORRECTION OF OSTEOPOROSIS

While symptomatic remedies may be helpful, I suggest a complete nutritional balancing program. This is the only way to get rid of deep-seated lead toxicity, for example, that often contributes to stubborn cases of osteoporosis and other difficult to correct symptoms. It includes an inidividualized diet, lifestyle changes, proper drinking water, several highly targeted nutritional supplements depending on the hair test results, sauna therapy (discussed below), more rest, some exercise and sunshine, and perhaps other procedures to improve the balance of the body chemistry.

OTHER FACTORS NEEDED FOR BONE HEALTH

These may include:

1. Some exercise, though it need not be vigorous to be effective.

2. Good attitudes. This may sound strange, but discouragement, for example, tends to harm the bones. Bones are your support, and when you do not feel supported, it can affect the bones.

3. Making the body more yang in Chinese medical terms. We do this using nutrition, mainly. This is important for the bones, that are very yang structures.

4. Getting rid of your traumas is very helpful for bone health. This is a psychological factor, but important.

5. The bone matrix must be strong. This is a protein matrix within which calcium deposits forming the bones. It is not enough just having enough minerals in the bones. The proteinaceous cartilage-like bone matrix must also be healthy. It requires dozens of nutrients for its health.

6. A balanced oxidation rate is very helpful for strong bones.

7. As mentioned earlier, removing metals like lead and aluminum is imperative as well. Chelation will not remove them deeply enough. I don’t know of any way to do it as well as with a nutritional balancing program.

SYMPTOMATIC REMEDIES AND ADDITIONS TO A NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM

Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite Crystals or MCHC. This is a bone extract that can be most helpful as it contains a number of trace elements needed for the bones. It is sold by Endomet Labs at 1-602-995-1580. You can ask for a discount as my client, but you must mention Dr. Wilson when you talk to the order people. In a nutritional balancing program, this product can replace Paramin. However, one must also supplement magnesium with it, as it does not have enough in the product. Usually one needs about 3-4 MCHC per day and 2-3 magnesium tablets of 133 mg of chelated magnesium daily with it.

To prevent osteoporosis, start building good bones when you are young. This means as a teen or earlier. Otherwise you will start off life with weak bones and thus be more prone to osteoporosis later in life.

Young people won’t have any symptoms when young, however, although occasionally a young person suffers from fractures that seem to be excessive. Also, one might have other bone problems such as pain or Osgood-shlatter Syndrome, which can be related to osteoporosis later.

WOUNDS THAT WILL NOT HEAL

Nutritional balancing programs are fabulous for any type of wound or bone that will not heal properly. Poor healing of soft tissue injuries such as bone fractures and other similar wounds often have some of the same causes as osteoporosis. These include subtle nutrient deficiencies, low energy in the body, toxic metals or other causes such as lack of proper rest, healing is greatly impaired.

SAUNAS, OSTEOPOROSIS AND HEALING OF OLD WOUNDS

Sauna therapy may seem to be an unlikely way to handle osteoporosis and wound healing. However, it can be very effective if the right sauna is used and used enough.

The near infrared lamp or light sauna uses three or four infrared heat lamps that are reddish in color. Click here for an article about this sauna and purchasing information as well. This home spa device works well to greatly improve circulation, remove many toxic substances from the body through the sweat, clear chronic infections and much more.

An extra lamp down at the legs or feet is helpful for leg fractures or wounds. Turning in the sauna is also very helpful to direct more of the infrared energy toward the area in need of healing.

There is much more that can be said about how the nutritional balancing program can alter wound healing and reverse osteoporosis. Read the other articles on this site about nutritional balancing such as Nutritional Balancing, Why I Prefer It and others for more information.

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