A
combination of calcium and vitamin D may be just what the doctor ordered for
osteoporosis patients, but a new study has found they could be exponentially
more effective by adding common greens supplements.
The University of Toronto tissue culture study found that when compared to
calcium supplements alone, some commercially available but highly concentrated
nutritional supplements proved three to four times more effective at stimulating
osteoblasts, or cells that build and repair the internal micro-architecture of
bones.
In the study, which will have "implications in the management of osteoporosis,"
says Leticia Rao, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Calcium
Research Laboratory, researchers extracted minerals, water soluble vitamins,
calcium and antioxidants from polyphenols (compounds that give fruits and
vegetables their colour) from two commercial greens supplements, and compared
their impact on osteoblasts to that of calcium alone.
The results surprised Rao: although other studies have examined polyphenols, her
findings showed that the extract stimulated osteoblast activity by 20 times;
calcium alone boosted bone nodule growth sixfold. In normally functioning bones,
calcium enters cells via osteoblast receptors, ushered along by vitamin D and K,
which help proteins bind calcium and deposit it into the bone matrix. However,
with osteoporosis, which affects one in four Canadian women over the age of 50
according to Osteoporosis Canada, osteoblast activity slows and can't keep pace
with the increased activity of other cells called osteoclasts, which tear bones
down as part of the body's natural regeneration.
"Although calcium is positively associated with increased bone mineral density,
there is also evidence to show that calcium alone is not sufficient," says Rao.
"Several antioxidants, a number of which are obtained primarily through foods
such as fruits and vegetables and nutritional supplements, have been shown in
both in vitro and clinical studies that they can counteract oxidative stress and
prevent the risk of osteoporosis. In other words, it requires other nutritional
components in increasing bone formation."
Those components, which Rao from a combination of Bone Builder and Greens +
products from British Columbia-based company Genuine Health for her study,
included three absorbable calcium sources, vitamins D, C and B, the antioxidant
lycopene, magnesium, selenium, zinc, copper, manganese and the amino acid,
L-lysine.
The study replicates the spirit of another trial Rao recently conducted in which
participants took either regular tomato juice or juice laced with additional
lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in red food like tomatoes. After four
months, those drinking the laced tomato juice decreased their bone turnover and
oxidative stress markers, and increased antioxidant status.
She says those over 50 who are at risk of osteoporosis should do load-bearing
exercises such as weights, take 800 IU(international units) of vitamin D - which
helps bones absorb calcium - along with 1500 milligrams of calcium in three 500
mg doses throughout the day and an antioxidant-rich nutritional supplement.
"It's really about somehow increasing your intake of polyphenols, absorbable
calcium and vitamin D," she says.
Equally important is increasing calcium intake from food sources such as oily
fish, lentils and broccoli, while reducing acid-forming foods like soft drinks,
red meat, saturated fats, salts and sugars from your diet, says renowned health
researcher and Genuine Health founder Sam Graci, who has worked with the William
J. Clinton Foundation to ban soda and fast food from American elementary
schools.
"What we've found is that the more acidic the diet, the more bone loss you will
suffer. Soft drinks and sugar are the worst for that," he says. "And it's not
just that we eat too much meat, it's that we eat too few vegetables, so I always
advise people to ‘colour your plate' with two-thirds vegetables and salads, and
one-third protein. Meat isn't the bad guy, but you have to temper and balance
that acidity of it with the alkalinity of a plant-based diet.
"Aside from that, the biggest issue we face is that we're seeing a significant
departure in bone growth in young people, many of whom have a sedentary
lifestyle. Bones only build when they're stressed, and they only grow to the age
of 24, so if we don't have that in place, they'll surely but slowly crumble over
time."
Rao agrees that early attention to the issue is crucial. "The Canada Food Guide
requires seven servings of fruits and vegetables but most of us don't eat the
right amounts, right from the start. Osteoporosis doesn't just come with old
age," she adds, "it starts at childhood."
Source : The National Post
