In my last column on bone health I emphasized a broader
view: that the elasticity and flexibility of the living protein fiber framework
of a bone is much more important than its calcium content in protecting our
bones from fractures. DEXA bone mineral density scans are commonly prescribed
by doctors to assess one's risk of fractures and to diagnose a mild (osteopenia)
or moderate (osteoporosis) low-calcium status of one's bones. However, in an
excellent article on bone health in the winter 2003 issue of LILIPOH, Clinton
Greenstone, M.D. stated, "Actually, these [bone density] tests alone don't
predict fracture rates or show true bone strength in the overwhelming majority
of patients." Dr. Greenstone further explained that bisphosphonate drugs
like Fosamax cause slight increases in bone density and a slight lowering of
the fracture rate only for about two years and that "after five or six
years the fracture rates increase because the bone formed while on these
medications is actually weaker."
In the narrow focus on calcium that dominates most media
stories on bone health today, we are seldom told that the first step in
building strong, resilient bone is the laying down of a dense, elastic and
well-structured living protein fiber framework, or bone matrix. The second step
is the attachment of calcium phosphate mineral crystals to the protein fiber
framework, i.e. the protein fibers become calcified. A tightly woven protein
fiber matrix will attract more calcium to a developing bone and result in a
stronger and denser bone than the bone formed from a loosely woven protein
fiber matrix. This explains why osteoporosis never results from calcium
deficiency alone but rather from those factors which hinder the formation of a
tightly woven protein fiber matrix as our bones continually remodel themselves
throughout our lives. In the last LILIPOH I said that the wise forces of life,
growth and remodeling in us are responsible for the strength and resilience of
our bones, skin, connective tissue and all the organs and tissues of our body.
These wise forces of life, or etheric forces, are our inner highly skilled
construction crew which builds the protein fiber matrix of our bones and
everything else in our body. Yet, these forces need the direction of our
"inner architect” to maintain our bones and our body in good health
throughout life. Just as an architect knows the materials needed for a building
as well as the plans, our inner architect knows exactly how much and what kind
of foods are needed to maintain strong bones and tissues. This inner architect is our inner instinctive
sense that humans and animals are born with, a “life sense: that guides our
food choices as our needs change throughout life. Animals in the wild have a
keen instinctual life sense which unerringly guides them to eat what they need
to maintain health lifelong. We humans
lose this function of our life sense after early childhood, so that, except
during pregnancy or illness or other special circumstances, we are left with
only our habitual likes and dislikes to guide our food choices.
Osteoporosis and many other chronic conditions prevalent in
developed nations owe their existence to the sad fact that for most of us, our
likes and dislikes in food and lifestyle have little or nothing to do with what
our bodies need to maintain good health. This keeps doctors busy. The good news
however, is that we can educate our life sense to begin wanting the foods that
we actually need, if we're willing to make the effort.
I find that many of my patients don't eat enough vegetables,
fruits or whole grains. Modern research confirms that vegetables, leafy greens,
and whole grains like oats, rye and brown rice, are rich in the forces and
nutrients needed by our inner construction crew, our etheric life forces, to
build a strong protein fiber bone matrix and to calcify it into a sturdy yet
flexible bone.
Perhaps surprisingly, countries with the highest dairy
intake have the highest hip fractures rates. In the Nurse's Health Study in
1980 of 761 women aged 34 through 59-years-old who had never used calcium
supplements, the women who drank two or more glasses of milk per day had a 45
percent increased risk of hip fracture compared to women consuming one glass or
less per week.
Many of the causes of osteoporosis mentioned in my last
column, such as tobacco use and excessive intake of protein, (including dairy),
caffeine, alcohol, sugar, processed foods and soft drinks have in common an
acid-forming effect in the body. An acidic inner environment is also created by
stress, nervousness, exhaustion, excessive exercise and by an overactive
thyroid gland. All of these factors increase the tendency to osteoporosis by
depleting our vital etheric forces. When our life forces are strong and our
stress is low, our inner environment becomes alkaline and we slow down and
relax and become more cow-like in our behavior. When the hectic pace of life
depletes our etheric forces, then our inner condition is acid and, if we have
not yet reached the stage of exhaustion, we are tense, nervous, irritable, and
generally bird-like in our behavior. Many of our modern illnesses, including
osteoporosis, stem from dietary and lifestyle influences that speed us up, make
us inwardly acid and brittle and deplete our etheric vitality.
In the natural world, cows are the epitome of strong etheric
life forces; that's why they are considered holy in India. Birds are the
epitome of strong nerve forces, (which deplete life forces), and which give
birds their typical nervous, hyperactive behavior. With their low life forces,
birds easily die after shock or injury, not so with cows. The modern epidemic
of osteoporosis is linked to our prevailing high-stress, accelerated, bird-like
lifestyle. So the bottom line is: to have strong bones, be bovine, not
aquiline!
DR. INCAO maintains a medical practice in Denver, Colorado.