The 'Green Pharmacy' for Osteoporosis

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The 'Green Pharmacy' for Osteoporosis

 

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/89.cfm

 

Osteoporosis, as you probably know, is a disease caused by loss of the mineral

calcium and involves a weakening of bone. It is one of the most common

conditions associated with aging, and it affects many more women than men. About

25 percent of women over 65 show signs of osteoporosis, while the figure for

elderly men is less than 10 percent. Thin, petite women are at greatest risk.

(My wife, Peggy, who is under 65 and formerly thin, has been diagnosed with

osteoporosis.)

 

Osteoporosis causes a variety of possible symptoms: lower back pain, loss of

height (up to several inches), stooped posture (dowager's hump) and increased

risk of fractures, particularly of the hip. Currently, management of

osteoporosis costs the United States some $6 billion a year.

 

Until quite recently, the Food and Drug Administration and most physicians told

us that supplements, including calcium, were a waste of time and money. Now,

very belatedly, they tell us that we're not getting enough calcium. According to

the 1995 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Panel on

Optimal Calcium Intake, Americans (especially women) should get 1,000 to 1,500

milligrams a day. Unfortunately, most get much less than that, and many don't

get even half that amount.

 

Getting the Full Spectrum of Nutrients

 

Ironically, the very doctors and federal officials on the NIH panel who would

have said " food over supplements " a few years ago now seem to be saying

" supplements over food " when it comes to calcium.

 

The panel did say that, ideally, people should get their calcium from foods such

as low-fat dairy products, broccoli, tofu, kale, legumes, canned fish, nuts and

seeds. But the panel's report also implied that this is impossible or at least

impractical for the vast majority of Americans. The report spent a good deal of

space telling people how to take calcium supplements--between meals, to minimize

interference with iron absorption.

 

I have nothing against calcium supplements, but I firmly believe that everyone

should get as much calcium as possible from foods. It's not only possible to do

this, it's also better for your bones, because the mineral strength of bone

depends on more than calcium. For calcium to actually strengthen bone, it must

be consumed along with several other nutrients that few experts seem to talk

about. Phosphorus is particularly important, but you also need magnesium, boron,

zinc, vitamin D and vitamin A. You can get all of these nutrients from

supplements, but I prefer to get them the way Nature intended--packaged all

together in food.

 

The other news about osteoporosis that few people know is that high-protein

diets leach calcium from bone. Nutrition experts I rely on suggest that people

at risk for osteoporosis limit their protein intake to no more than one gram of

protein per kilogram of body weight, which translates into around two to three

ounces of protein--on the order of one chicken breast--daily for the average

woman. Most Americans eat considerably more protein than this, thus running a

risk of calcium loss even if they consume a lot of the mineral.

 

Green Pharmacy for Osteoporosis

 

If you're looking to consume less protein and more nutrients that help prevent

osteoporosis, here are the plant foods I'd suggest.

 

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Boron helps raise estrogen levels in the blood, and

estrogen helps preserve bone. In my database, cabbage ranks highest in boron

content among leafy veggies with 145 parts per million (ppm) on a dry-weight

basis.

 

I eat a lot of coleslaw, and it's easy to combine cabbage with high-calcium

broccoli, kale, beans and tofu in salads and steamed vegetable dishes. Cabbage

is also a key ingredient in my Bone-Strengthening Broth.

 

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Speaking of boron, dandelion shoots run a

close second to cabbage, with 125 ppm. Dandelion also has more than 20,000 ppm

of calcium, meaning that just ten grams (just under seven tablespoons) of dried

dandelion shoots could provide more than 1 milligram of boron and 200 milligrams

of calcium.

 

Dandelion is also a fair source of silicon, which some studies suggest also

helps strengthen bone. I recommend including it in my Bone-Strengthening Broth.

 

Pigweed (Amaranthus, various species). On a dry-weight basis, pigweed leaves are

one of our best vegetable sources of calcium, at 5.3 percent. This means that a

small serving of steamed leaves (1Ž3 ounce or 1Ž10 cup) provides a hearty 500

milligrams of calcium. Other good plant sources of calcium, in descending order

of potency, include lamb's-quarters, broad beans, watercress, licorice,

marjoram, savory, red clover shoots, thyme, Chinese cabbage (bok choy), basil,

celery seed, dandelion and purslane.

 

 

Bone-Strengthening Broth

 

Here's a recipe that will appeal to the economy-minded woman who is eager to

explore every possible avenue for preventing osteoporosis. Both the fish bones

and the veggies provide generous amounts of calcium and other nutrients that

prevent this debilitating disease.

 

In a large pot, place some leftover fish bones in a few quarts of water. (If the

bones are really tiny, you might want to tie them in a cheesecloth bag to make

it easier to retrieve them later.) Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30

minutes. Add a couple of handfuls each of finely chopped cabbage, dandelion

greens, stinging nettle greens, papaya, pigweed and purslane. (You'll need to

wear gloves when harvesting stinging nettle greens, but the leaves lose their

sting when the plant is cooked.) Simmer until the greens soften slightly.

 

Season to taste with salt and pepper and any other seasonings that appeal to

you. Remove the fish bones before serving. Serve as a vegetable/herb soup topped

with avocado slices and black pepper. Or use it as a stock for even heartier

bean soups.

 

Properly prepared, a generous serving of my Bone-Strengthening Broth could

easily contain generous amounts of calcium, magnesium, boron, beta-carotene

(plus other vitamin A & shy;like carotenoids) and vitamin C, as well as some

vitamin D, fluorine and silicon.

 

 

 

Avocado (Persea americana). As one reputed vegetable source of vitamin D (and

the tastiest), avocado can help the body turn calcium into bone. Some people

shun avocados because they are fairly high in fat, but if you eat a generally

low-fat, vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diet, I don't see much harm in them,

especially if you're at risk for osteoporosis. I suggest mashing an avocado into

nonfat cottage cheese or yogurt so you get your calcium and some vitamin D at

the same time. Avocados are also rich in heart-healthy vitamin E.

 

Soybean (Glycine max) and other beans. Vegetarian and Japanese women have a

lower incidence of osteoporosis and fractures than Western or meat-eating women.

The reason, according to James Anderson, M.D., of the University of Kentucky

College of Medicine in Lexington, appears to be that Western-diet meat-eaters

excrete more calcium in their urine.

 

Beans are a good source of protein, but they cause less calcium loss in the

urine than meat. In addition, soybeans and other beans contain genistein, a

plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) that acts like the female sex hormone in the

body.

 

Pharmaceutical estrogen replacement helps preserve bone and prevent heart

disease, but it also increases the risk of breast cancer. Genistein from beans

has never been shown to increase cancer risk, and I'd be willing to bet that a

diet rich in beans would strengthen bone and prevent heart disease almost as

well as, or equally as well as, estrogen pills.

 

Black pepper (Piper nigrum). According to my database, black pepper contains

four anti-osteoporosis compounds. If you like pepper, you might consider

sprinkling it generously on your avocado or bean soup or salad, assuming that

every little bit helps.

 

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense). French research suggests that silicon helps

prevent osteoporosis and can be used to treat bone fractures. Horsetail is among

the richest plant sources of this mineral, in the form of the compound

monosilicic acid, which the body can readily use.

 

Aging and low estrogen levels decrease the body's ability to absorb silicon.

Some people recommend up to nine 350-milligram capsules a day. You should use

this herb only in consultation with a holistic practitioner. If you're advised

to use horsetail tea, add a teaspoon of sugar to the water along with the dried

herb. (The sugar will pull more silicon out of the plant.) Bring it to a boil,

then let it simmer for about three hours. Strain out the leaves, then let the

tea cool before drinking.

 

papaya (Petroselinum crispum). That dark green garnish, which is so often thrown

away instead of eaten, is generously endowed with boron. It would take about

three ounces of dried papaya to provide the three milligrams deemed useful in

raising estrogen levels. That's more than most people want to consume, but every

sprig helps.

 

In my database, papaya is also among the highest food sources of fluorine,

another bone strengthener. Freshen your breath while you save your bones by

routinely eating every sprig of papaya garnish placed on your plate in

restaurants.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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