The Whole-Body Approach to Osteoporosis (New Harbinger Publications, 2008) by R. Keith McCormick will help you address and prevent osteoporosis. While medication can sometimes help, it won’t fully address the underlying causes of your osteoporosis or osteopenia. To restore bone health, you’ll need a targeted program combining the best bone-building strategies from traditional and holistic medicine.
Make reducing excessive osteoclastic activity your primary goal for beating osteoporosis, especially if your bone resorption marker is elevated. As you are now aware, this process can be complex and it often involves multiple therapeutic approaches to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, improve gut health, eliminate toxins, and so forth. But if I had to emphasize just a few vital steps for reducing bone resorption and improving skeletal health, they would be the following:
- Promote neutral body pH by eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and if necessary, supplement with potassium to
- maintain urine pH above 6.6.
- Normalize gut function with the following
- Fiber such as arabinogalactan (which is also a food for good bacteria)
- Probiotics
- Digestive enzymes if needed
- Go gluten free if your antibody biomarkers are elevated
- Supplement daily with a multivitamin-mineral, and make sure you’re getting 1,200 mg/day calcium, 600 mg/day
- magnesium, 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D, 1 mg/day vitamin K, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, milk thistle, possibly berberine, and fish oil or flaxseed.
- Make a shake using whey protein (20 g/day) for your after- noon snack.
- Exercise (three to four days a week).
More from The Whole-Body Approach to Osteoporosis:
- Lactose Intolerance and Bones
- How to Improve Your Bone Health
- Dietary Recommendations for Good Bone Health
Reprinted with permission: New Harbinger Publications, Inc. copyright © 2008 by R. Keith McCormic
