8 million American women and 2 million American men are estimated to have osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures in 2005 were responsible for an estimated $19 billion in costs according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. So, it would be wise to understand more about osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. Such breaks are generally in the hips, spine, ribs or wrists.
The current theory on the cause of osteoporosis is that heredity, hormones, exercise and diet play major roles in this causing this disease. However, the diet focus is on deficiencies, that is not consuming enough calcium and Vitamin D. This ignores something even more important in your diet! (Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General)
Osteoporosis can result from not getting enough calcium and Vitamin D in your diet. However, it can also result from eating too many sweets even if you do get sufficient calcium in your diet because sugar consumption lowers the amount of calcium in your blood. To maintain the correct amount of calcium in your blood, your body pulls calcium from your bones and teeth!
Do you know the two major functions of bone? The first one is obvious—it supports the muscles and organs of the body. Without the skeleton, we would all be jellyfish. The second, however, is not so obvious. It acts as a storehouse for two minerals: calcium and phosphorus. Most people are not aware that their bones are continuously dissolved and built up. Your skeleton’s cells are completely replaced every ten years by these two actions. This process is called remodeling. Osteoporosis is the result of bones dissolving, without being built up. They are dissolved from the inside, so they appear to be strong until they break.
When there is a sudden need for more calcium in the blood, special bone cells (osteoclasts) that dissolve bone go to work to make the calcium available. What causes the body to withdraw calcium from the bones (and teeth)? A major one is eating foods containing refined sugar. (“Degeneration – Regeneration,” Melvin Page, DDS) By the way, Dr. Page also points out that sugar consumption throws the blood chemistry out of balance causing calcium deposits (arthritis) in the soft tissues of the body, such as joints.
Given the increase in sugar and high fructose corn syrup consumption in the last 50 years, is it any wonder that we see osteoporosis increasing?