Saturday, February 6, 2010

Building Bone 101

I promised you some information from the book I'm reading so I will start today. I definitely can't fit it all in one post, but this will be a start.

The book I'm reading, Building Bone Vitality, states that, "Bone contains three calcium compounds: calcium carbonate, phosphate, and hydroxide. When the blood's pH falls below normal, the body must restore it as quickly as possible. It does this by pulling calcium compounds into the blood to neutralize excess acids. The body obtains these acid-neutralizing calcium compounds from the reservoir that contains 99 percent of the body's calcium store....bone."

That paragraph is basically what the entire book is about. It tells you ways to keep that "robbing of the bone" from happening. pH stands for "potential of hydrogen". Basically it means how acid or alkaline the blood is. Our bodies are pretty picky and when something isn't quite right, our bodies will try to find a way to repair it....at all cost.

We all know that fruits and vegetables should comprise a large part of our daily diet, but do they? I don't know about your house, but they don't in my house. I was also under the assumption that protein is the key to good health. Most people get their protein from meat. I happen to be a vegetarian so I turned to dairy. I thought I was doing great things for my bones. I wasn't.

I am not a very science minded person, but I do understand this. Most foods contain protein and protein introduces amino acids into the bloodstream, which in turn increases it's acidity and in turn the acidity of urine. My body will do what it needs to do to balance my blood...and in order to do that, it will pull calcium out of my bone.

Thinking I was helping my bones, I kept upping the amount of calcium I was consuming by way of food and supplements. I was consuming as much dairy as I could because I thought I needed that protein. For the past seven years I have eaten 10 hard boiled egg whites per week, about 2-3 egg yolks plus whole eggs on Friday and more if we made them for breakfast on the weekends. What I wasn't doing was upping my consumption of fruits and vegetables to provide the alkaline to keep things in balance.

The book suggests lots of fruits and vegetables, some nuts and legumes, modest amounts of bread, pasta and cereal and not much if any meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs. I can do that....I might not love it....but I can do it.

I already figured out that a Starbucks Chai with soy milk would be okay and that instead of an egg and cheese croissant, I can get the egg and cheese on a wheat bagel and have it with some fruit!

Did you know that Vitamin D increases the body's ability to absorb calcium. I didn't. Guess who was Vitamin D deficient? Yep. Me. I had Melanoma in 1998 and for many years didn't allow the sun to come anywhere near me. We need sun. We need 15-20 minutes on our upper bodies each and every day! I got none for years. I started on Vitamin D supplements and it is finally back to normal.

What about exercise? Well, everything I have looked at says 30-60 minutes of walking per day....every day. That is crucial. I will be getting a treadmill today.

The book did say that the Osteoporosis drugs do work reasonably well, but they are not a cure. The drug companies always exaggerate the effectiveness of their products and the advertising makes them all seem so wonderful. I'm just not ready to go that route yet. I may have to some day....but not today.

I will continue to read and learn about my disease and treatment options. I will share anything I find that sounds worthwhile.

I am headed to the grocery store right now. You will find me in the produce aisle! Make it an awesome day today and hey....do something nice for yourself today. I plan to!

11 comments:

Lanyardlady said...

Helpful information that has helped me understand the disease much better.Especially good to learn the part about calcium intake.

Cathryn said...

I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables compared to what I used to do. But this winter, the fruits and veggies haven't been that tasty. I've switched to dried fruits but I crave fresh, tasty veggies!

Thanks for sharing the research. I need to get back to my walking regime!

Tins and Treasures said...

Thank you for sharing this...I'm planning to join you in this plan of eating more fruits and veggies...more walking...

Keep us posted. Happy Weekend ~Natalie

Mary Richmond said...

i have always been a big fan of fruits and veggies so i'm all for this! yay!!! there are so many wonderful ways to prepare them--and most are wonderful just the way they are, too! have fun ;-)

gayle said...

Thanks so much for the info! I love fruit but veggies ..not so much. My dr. told me that there are more and more women V D deficient. I was so I had to take Vd for several months. Last blood check was fine. Not sure I really understand why the book says to cut down on protein. I need to start working out more. Thanks again!

Oklahoma Granny said...

Extremely interesting and informative post. Thanks!

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

It's always good to understand our particular syndromes and illnesses. And it's almost comical to realize--as hubby and I have on so many occasions--that once again it boils down to "eat a balanced diet and get more exercise."

The info on vitamin D is important, too. Doctors tell folks to stay out of the sun, but in fact we all need SOME of the bright stuff, as you point out.

LiPeony said...

it's great you went to look at research and get a very balanced way of going about helping with the bone loss. My diet is leans towards more veggies and fruit more so then protein. Great research and reinforces things I've known =)

Ms Sparrow said...

It sounds like you're not only accumulating a lot of knowledge but a lot of wisdom (especially from your blog friends). My Dr found I was D-3 deficient last year and also B-12 deficient. I've been taking both ever since along with omega-3 fish oil, calcium and a multi-vitamin.

Angela said...

I knew you could do it!! I love fruit and veggies!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you are learning a TON!

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