Your Bones, Give Them What They Need

“In order to understand how to avoid or treat bone related problems, we need to understand what our bones are made of.”

Human infants typically have around 270 bones, which fuse together to become 206 to 213 bones in the human adult and keeping them healthy takes care and awareness. “Osteoporosis is estimated to affect 200 million people worldwide, and 82% of bone specialists believe it is a silent epidemic.”[1] According to the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System Report from 2020 “in 2015–2016, approximately 2.2 million (or 11.9%) Canadians aged 40 years and older were living with diagnosed osteoporosis; about 80% were women. (…) Over the surveillance period, more than 1.8 million fractures at skeletal sites most commonly attributable to osteoporosis were identified among Canadians 40 years and older. In 2015–2016 alone, there were a total of 130,000 fractures.”[2] Another alarming fact is that “about 25% of those with a hip fracture die of any cause within the following year.”[3] This is associated with the fact that T cells, our bodies immune defence, reside in human bone marrow, mainly the iliac crest or the femur shaft, and why the importance of taking thymus gland.

Research continues to point to calcium deficiency as the primary cause of osteoporosis, the demineralization of bones. Osteoporosis occurs mostly in postmenopausal women causing more deaths than is claimed by breast, cervix and uterus cancer combined. This disfiguring, deadly condition referred to as “brittle bones” seems to be the result of a diet deficient in calcium and supportive minerals over a period of years, compounded by a lower absorption of this essential element due to the aging digestive organs.

In order to understand how to avoid or treat bone related problems, we need to understand what our bones are made of because then we will know what to supplement with to improve bone health. The chemical/mineral composition of human bone can be broken down as follows:

  1. hydroxyapatite: primarily composed of calcium and phosphate ions.
  2. collagen
  3. water
  4. other minerals and elements: magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, and fluoride.

Calcium

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, essential to life itself, with 99% found in bones and teeth. The remaining one percent is responsible for strengthening cell membranes and is a cofactor in many enzyme reactions. Calcium supports the nervous system, hormone formations and proper blood clotting plus regulates cardiovascular physiology.

Based on the medical research indicating the problems connected with calcium deficiency, a wave of calcium supplementation has begun, which, in many cases, fails to take into consideration calcium metabolism. This means that a mineral that is not absorbed cannot get into the bones; it just floats in the blood stream and then forms deposits in the joints and can plaque the brain. The amount absorbed is much more important than the quantity consumed.

Calcium and all minerals are inorganic. Consequently, they are not easily absorbed. It is required they be bound to some other substance (preferably organic) in order to be utilized at all. The inorganic salt, carbonate, neutralizes a required stomach acid. Among many key physiological requirements and ratios, stomach acid is desperately needed for absorption of all minerals.

Most supplements on the supplement market today contain calcium carbonate—one of the cheapest and most prevalent forms of calcium, that is low in bioavailability, which means it is difficult for the body to use (and carries more risk of accumulating rather than absorbing)—and manufacturers attach a simple chelating agent like citric acid to make it more absorbable. However, the end product is inferior to other calcium supplements such as calcium orotate, which is the only known form of calcium that can effectively penetrate the membranes of cells.

Calcium and dairy products

The myth about dairy products says that consuming them in a pasteurized form increases calcium levels. Unfortunately, this is not the case because the pasteurization process only creates calcium carbonate which has absolutely no way of entering the cells without a chelating agent. The body requirements extracts the calcium from the bones and other tissues in order to buffer the calcium carbonate in the blood which process actually causes osteoporosis. Another problem with dairy products is that they contain too little magnesium needed at the proper ratio to absorb the calcium. Most would agree that a minimum amount of magnesium in the calcium-magnesium ratio is 2 to 1, preferably 1 to 1 so e.g. milk with a 10 to 1 calcium-magnesium ratio definitely cannot assure proper absorption. On the other hand, non-pasteurized raw dairy sources, such as raw milk or yogurt, could help maximize calcium absorption.

Orotates

Orotates are the mineral salts of orotic acid, a natural substance found in our bodies and in some types of foods e.g. dairy products. Hans Nieper, a German physician, concluded that molecules of calcium orotate and magnesium orotate can pass through cell membranes intact without “dissociating” or breaking apart into their component ions.

As mentioned before, there are several different sources of calcium yet not all of them provide the same benefits. As opposed to other forms, calcium orotate can be transported through complex cell membranes where other simpler calcium forms cannot, creating calcium deposits throughout the body. It also liberates the liver’s calcium ion in such a way, that it has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Calcium orotate protects the body from arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) as well. It has also been proven to have a beneficial impact on the degenerative bone changes characteristic of osteoarthritis and in treating inflammatory and osteoporotic decalcification.[4]

A randomized double blind prospective study showed that “2 months of calcium orotate therapy in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis significantly increased serum calcium levels and reduced the symptoms of osteoporosis with no side effects. These results suggest that calcium orotate is an important therapeutic option in the treatment of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis when compared to calcium carbonate + vit D3 treatment.”[5]

Magnesium orotate has been proven to be beneficial in cardiovascular disorders, cholesterol-lowering and heart-energizing, it has also been reported to improve the elasticity of blood vessels.

Life Choice® Opti-Cal/Mag Complex With Vitamin K2

Medical research has shown that the addition of calcium supplements to the diet can restore strength to the bones, particularly when the calcium is balanced with minerals that enhance the absorption and utilization of this important element, as in Opti-Cal/Mag Complex.

Opti-Cal/Mag Complex was designed to promote bone growth by increasing the production of osteocalcin in osteoblasts, which allows calcium to anchor to bone and thus build bone. It also inhibits the production of osteoclasts, which break down bone thereby acting as an inorganic calcium scavenger for reabsorption.

The 100% pure pharmaceutical grade formulation uses an advanced delivery method for cellular delivery via natural electrolyte carriers for distributing minerals throughout the body. This way they are delivered to the cell nucleus without being eliminated from the body. It is also very important that calcium and magnesium are present in 1 to 1 ratio.

Besides calcium, there are other ingredients in the Opti-Cal/Mag Complex that are also present in the human bone, thus they can actively help to achieve optimal bone health.

Magnesium: an essential mineral, activates certain enzymes, especially those related to carbohydrate metabolism. It is essential for proper heartbeat and nerve transmission. It is closely related to calcium and phosphorus in body function. About 70% of the body’s magnesium is contained in the teeth and bones.

Orotate: an oratic acid salt (nucleic acid), an effective molecule for transporting minerals through cellular membranes. It functions as an essential part of every living cell.

Boron: affects calcium and magnesium metabolism and proper membrane function. Supplements with boron have been shown to reduce the urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium. Boron assists in synthesizing and raising the level of estrogen and testosterone balance in older women, thereby playing a major role in preventing bone loss.

Potassium: an electrolyte that is involved in the balance of fluid within the body. It is important in controlling the activity of the heart, muscles, nervous system and has been shown to be involved in bone calcification.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane): supports the body’s connective tissue and may benefit a huge range of health problems including allergies, arthritis, gastro-intestinal issues, acid stomach, muscle and joint pains, and lung problems.

Vitamin D: regulates the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the blood by improving their absorption and utilization. This vitamin is necessary for normal growth and formation of bones and teeth.

Pyridoxine–P5P: the active form of Vitamin B6, plays a role as a coenzyme in the breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It facilitates the release of glycogen for energy from the liver and muscles and participates in the utilization of energy in the brain and nervous tissue.

Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone-7): a long chain vitamin K2 molecule that protects against osteoporosis and reduces the risk of bone fractures. When combined with vitamin D, the MK7 form of vitamin K2 has actually been shown to promote bone growth. It does this by increasing the production of osteocalcin in osteoblasts, which allows calcium to anchor to bone and thus build bone. It also inhibits the production of osteoclasts, which break down bone.

Additional Reading:

References:

[1] Libanati, Cesar. 2020.

[2] Public Health Agency of Canada. 2020.

[3] ibid.

[4] Nieper, Hans. 1969.

[5] Yasmeen, Nazia et al. 2013.