What Causes Osteoporosis and Osteopenia?
It’s been estimated that over 200 million people are suffering from osteoporosis globally today. It occurs in 1 in 3 women over the age of 50. 1 in 5 men experience osteoporotic fractures.
▪️
~18 million Americans have osteopenia, which is the precursor to osteoporosis.
▪️
🦴Osteoporosis literally means “porous bone.” Many people think it happens because of lack of calcium, genetics, etc. But it’s really an imbalance in bone remodeling. Normally the body absorbs bone and replaces it at a similar rate. In osteoporosis and osteopenia, bone breakdown exceeds the rate of bone formation.
▪️
Bones, which supply us with red blood cells and immune cells, don’t just stop regenerating randomly or with age.
▪️
There are key factors detrimental to bone health, like:
▪️
🧲IRON. Excess iron prevents osteoblasts, the cells that help us regenerate bone, from doing their job. This makes perfect sense because we accumulate iron as we age. Iron is not only a big reason why we age, but it’s a silent bone killer.
▪️
💥STRESS. I’ve posted about this before: stress attracts iron and we become iron magnets. Different stress pathways also cause us to release and use up minerals from our bones, like magnesium and calcium.
▪️
⏫HIGH PROLACTIN. Prolactin has a powerful bone-weakening effect.
▪️
⏫HIGH ESTROGEN. Estrogen inhibits bone growth and is associated with thinning bones.
▪️
⏬LOW PROGESTERONE, LOW THYROID and/or LOW DHEA. These hormones actually shift bone metabolism into the growth phase.
▪️
🧴GLYPHOSATE. This herbicide swaps glycine, a protein critical to bone formation, with a different one, making bone less structurally sound. It also chelates copper, essential for regulating iron.
▪️
Of course a diet rich in fat-soluble vitamins and minerals will support overall bone health. If you’re doing this and still experiencing bone loss, you may want to look into:
▪️
Reducing your overall iron load
♻️Optimizing your iron recycling system
💆Stress management
➕Key vitamin + mineral supplementation and replenishment
➖Supporting estrogen detoxification
⤴️Support progesterone production
🦋Support thyroid function
🍊Eat organic
🧈Get enough dietary cholesterol
🏋️Weight-bearing exercise
_____________________________________________________________
This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional before pursuing any changes to your personal healthcare regime.
_____________________________________________________________
References
Office of the Surgeon General. (2004). Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45515/.
Robbins, M. (2018). Iron Toxicity Post #70: The Iron-ic truth of osteoporosis. Retrieved from; https://therootcauseprotocol.com/iron-toxicity-post-70/.
Seneff, S. (2017). Glyphosate Pretending to Be Glycine: Devastating Consequences. Retrieved from:https://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/ppt-2017/StephanieSeneff.pdf.
Sozen, T. Ozisik, L. Basaran, N.C. (2017). An overview and management of osteoporosis. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5335887/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20it%20has%20been%20estimated,osteoporotic%20fractures%20in%20their%20lifetime.
Zarjou, A. Jeney, V. Arosio, P. Poll, M. Zavaczki, E. Balla, G. Balla, J. (2010). Ferritin ferroxidase activity: A potent inhibitor of osteogenesis. Retrieved from: https://asbmr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1359/jbmr.091002.
TTC? Get empowered with Conscious Conception, the ultimate fertility blueprint created to help you optimize your fertility and enter pregnancy empowered.
Stay in touch.
Sign up for my newsletter to get access to exclusive content and resources all about fertility and beyond.
We will never misuse your information.
