By Underground Health Reporter

It’s a fact.

Considered one of the most complicated health practices of our time,

10 million Americans are diagnosed with osteoporosis, a degenerative bone condition that leads to an estimated 1.5 million bone fractures each year.

Osteoporosis has traditionally been linked the measurement of calcium in our bones, or bone mineral density (BMD). The higher your BMD, then the stronger and denser your bones. It was thought that this meant you had less chance of developing osteoporosis.

But, the countries who populations consume very little milk or dairy have lower rates of osteoporosis compared to the populations that consume the most milk and dairy products. The Western medical establishment is baffled by this.

Average BMD levels are, as expected, higher in those countries with a substantial intake of dairy. Citizens of countries such as Peru, Japan, China and Poland, which have notoriously low calcium intakes, have much lower BMD levels. No contradiction there.

But, when you analyze osteoporosis and milk together, the confusion arises. For example, China consumes 246 kilograms LESS milk, on average, to America. Yet, there are 6x as many hip fractures in the US than China.

Harvard conducted a medical study over 12 years with 78,000 women. Those that drink the USDA recommended 3 glasses of milk per day ended up having more broken bones than those who rarely drank milk.

Even in Australia, the results from a study published in the American Journal of Edipemiology, those participants who consumed larger quantities of dairy suffered from more bone fractures than those on a limited dairy diet.

We have to conclude that large amounts of calcium, while promoting denser bones and a high BMD, do not protect against the damaging effects of osteoporosis, and can in fact contribute to the advancement of the disease.

How can we explain this paradox?

Our bones have the answer.  They are never resting, but our bones are continually breaking down and rebuilding.

The two cells responsible for building bone are osteoclasts, which dissolve old bones, and osteoblasts, which build new bones.

Whenever the balance of osteoclasts and osteoblasts is upset, we develop osteoporosis. Bones break when the supply of osteoblasts has been depleted.  This happens when large amount of calcium is consumed and osteoblasts work overtime, eventually being used up.  So, when the osteoclasts break down old bones, there is not enough osteoblasts to build new bone, thus leaving brittle bones fractures susceptible to breakage.

While calcium intake is important – calcium does support strong teeth and bones, regulate blood clotting and heart rhythm, and transmit nerve impulses – too much calcium can have adverse effects.

Rather than absorbing higher than necessary amounts of calcium from milk or dairy, try some of the following tips to help protect your bones against fractures:

  • Engage in weight-bearing activities such as hiking, dancing, jogging and weightlifting.
  • Monitor your Vitamin D intake: Look for a multivitamin that contains 800 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D
  • Eat green, leafy vegetables high in vitamin K
  • Lower caffeine, soda and sugar  consumption
  • Avoid eating high-protein diets
  • Take a multivitamin with vitamin A from beta-carotene only.

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