By Michael Biamonte, C.C.N.

Osteoporosis is a disease where calcium loss occurs from the bone. When this occurs, bones become brittle and may break. Osteoporosis is commonly found in elderly people who–due to lack of calcium or a difficulty in utilizing calcium–now have brittle, fragile bones, and who have spinal columns which are actually beginning to hump or bend over. This explains why sometimes people as they get older actually shrink a few inches. This is due to the fact that they are now hunched over, due to the loss of calcium from the bone. This makes the spine weaker, and it begins to bend like a bow. The standard treatments for Osteoporosis have included diets high in calcium, calcium supplements, and hormone therapy to attempt to help the calcium to be retained by the body.A new breakthrough has been made which helps us identify how to best help someone with Osteoporosis. We’ve discovered two different types of Osteoporosis, based on two uniquely different types of metabolism.The first type is the standard one, which has served as the basic medical model for Osteoporosis. This is a situation where a person has low calcium levels, is calcium deficient, and therefore not able to supply enough calcium to their bones. In this case. the body will rob the bone of calcium in order to keep the blood levels normal. In a case like this. calcium supplements, a calcium-rich diet, Vitamin D, magnesium and copper are all essential in order to help the body retain and utilize calcium. This is the simple case of the person who has an absolute deficiency of calcium, and merely taking calcium will aid the person in reversing the Osteoporosis.A special type of calcium has now been discovered which goes directly to the bone, re-mineralizing the bone and allowing the Osteoporosis to actually be reversed.

This new type of calcium also makes use of an additional mineral called boron. Boron is an element found in many foods, which has an actual estrogen effect in the body, allowing the bone to retain more calcium. It does this without any of the possible harmful side effects, such as cancer, that estrogen therapy is known to produce. Calcium levels on such a person can be monitored by testing the Ph of the saliva and urine and calcium excretion in urine. This helps tells us how well the calcium is being utilized. The reason for this is that the Ph of the body is a determining factor in calcium utilization. If your body is either too acid or alkaline, calcium will not be utilized correctly. Certain glands and organs are essential to help utilize calcium. A thyroid gland or adrenal gland which is excessively functioning, in other words, too high of a metabolism will cause the body not to be able to hold on to calcium, and will use it up excessively. A diet which is high in carbohydrates, sugar, soda and foods containing phosphorus (soda is a good example) and vegetables which are high in oxalic acid, will all rob the body of calcium and create Osteoporosis. This applies particularly in the type of person with the fast metabolism–the type of person who is the standard medical model for Osteoporosis. Many of the things I’ve mentioned up to this point are not known to the average medical doctor, so they may come as a great surprise to him.

What may be even more surprising to the average medical doctor is that there is a second type of Osteoporosis which occurs in the majority of people. This, until now, has not ben known. This is not a person who is deficient in calcium, as we know it, this is not a person who will benefit particularly from a diet high in calcium or calcium-rich foods. Instead, we find in this person that they have an inability to utilize calcium, due to a low metabolism. By low metabolism we don’t necessarily mean medically diagnosed thyroid problems. We mean simply that the person may be complaining of dry skin, cold hands and feet; they may gain weight, mostly from the waist down; they may feel sluggish after eating, especially a fatty or a rich meal. They may tend not to perspire easily. These are all signs of a slow metabolism, without it being medically slow.This person, as I mentioned earlier, actually has difficulty in utilizing calcium. The reason for this is they’re lacking other nutrients which help the body in utilizing calcium. These people are generally low in potassium and sodium, believe it or not, which helps keep calcium soluble in the body. In other words, they help keep calcium floating along and prevent it from accumulating in the arteries and soft tissues. When we analyze such a person what we find is that the lack of sodium and potassium in their cells is actually causing a calcium build-up in their muscles, soft tissues, and circulatory system. This build-up of calcium is actually causing a strange kind of calcium deficiency.

Because the calcium is not being utilized correctly or well, and it’s depositing in the muscles, soft tissues and circulatory system–in other words, all the wrong places–the body doesn’t have enough calcium for its normal use. This actually converts into a calcium deficiency from the way the body looks at it.The body sees it has calcium, but yet the calcium is in all the wrong places and is not utilizable by the body. When this occurs, the blood levels of calcium may actually be low, even though they may show high in the fingernails, hair or other tissues. In this case, the body will begin to pull calcium off the bone to keep the blood levels normal. This is a disaster, as the more calcium is pulled from the bone, the more brittle the bone gets. This person actually needs to get off fats, get off calcium-rich foods which actually tend to slow down the metabolism, avoid foods from the cabbage family, which have a thyroid lowering effect, and get on a diet with adequate protein (which contains phosphorus to help diffuse calcium and make it more soluble). Also, get on a diet high in fiber, vegetables and fruits, which will add beneficial minerals and vitamins that allow the body to use calcium.Commonly we find these people deficient in sodium, potassium, manganese, zinc, selenium, Vitamins A, E, BI, B3, B5, and B6. Also, Vitamin C is critically deficient in such a person. Now when I say deficient I do not mean that he may necessary have a deficiency such as scurvy or beri-beri. These people have lower than optimal levels of these nutrients and have had this for such a long time that it’s actually reducing their ability to use calcium. It’s also common, as mentioned earlier, that these people may have sluggish adrenal or thyroid function. Once herbs, proteins and the proper vitamins and minerals are given to help the person utilize calcium better, we find a re-mineralization of the bone occurring. It is vitally necessary to wake up the adrenal, thyroid, liver and other glands which help monitor and regulate the rate of metabolism in order to accomplish this. Essential fatty acids which are the vitamin-rich fats found in oils, nuts and seeds are many times found deficient in such a person. Magnesium is a very key mineral in this situation. Many people who have calcium problems have magnesium problems. Magnesium in the body is utilized as a key which helps unlock calcium.Many years ago, very little was known about magnesium. Over the last fifteen years, nutritional research has uncovered more and more that magnesium is essential in the utilization of calcium.

Years ago, calcium supplements contained no magnesium. Then magnesium started to be introduced. Magnesium has been found at a 2-1 ratio in calcium supplements. Recently companies have started to market magnesium at a 1-1 ratio with calcium. This is due to the growing information regarding the importance of magnesium in calcium utilization. Many times magnesium is more critical in getting the body to utilize calcium than actual calcium. Sometimes when people are improperly treated for Osteoporosis, their doctors not knowing this important new vital information, may have certain bizarre symptoms occur. Weight gain on the thighs and hips, cold hands and feet, inability to perspire, dry skin or hair, decreased body temperature, feeling sluggish and tired, inability to utilize fats or tolerate fats in the diet. All are signs that you may have been improperly treated for Osteoporosis. This is due to the fact that the average unknowing practitioner may be treating everyone the same for Osteoporosis and is absent of this information regarding the two types. If one already has a slow metabolism and is being treated for Osteoporosis in the old conventional way, his metabolism may slow down further, producing these symptoms. It is our hope that in the future, practitioners and doctors will learn of these new methods and utilize them in their practices.