The Battle Plan

This post was supposed to be a couple weeks earlier, shorter, and something directly about running nutrition.  But after the start of the year I began digging deeper into bone health and somehow came across the link between Fosamax, an osteoporosis medication my mom has taken, and a mysterious fracture in her jaw.  So I took a little detour — but ultimately landed on a path I need to be on anyway.

Delving deeper into the Fosamax/jaw fracture connection, it became clear to me my mom has jaw necrosis, which is associated with osteoporosis meds containing bisphosphonate.  Jaw necrosis is the death of jaw bones due to interruption of the blood supply to bone cells, leading to bone destruction, pain, and loss of joint function.  Some cases of jaw necrosis are pretty gruesome.

Now I see that my mom’s jaw necrosis began at least in the last few years.  It started with her losing a lot of teeth despite regular visits to the dentist and good oral hygiene.  Then, in mid-2010, a fracture appeared in her jaw.  What caused it was a mystery.  Her doctor said she would undergo pretty invasive surgery on the right side of her face if the fracture wouldn’t heal.

At the time my family and I thought the fracture and loss of teeth were a natural part of her osteoporosis troubles.  It didn’t occur to us that her suffering could be the side effects of a drug sold as bone strengthening meds.

My sister and I took turns giving my mom energy therapy sessions to help heal the fracture.  I also plied her with whey protein and more expensive calcium.  Eight months later my mom’s jaw fracture did heal but some of her teeth are still coming loose, and her dentist doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about it.  There’s also the weird crumbly sound my mom still hears when moving her jaw, which gives her the feeling her jaw is disintegrating.

Her doctor didn’t warn her about jaw necrosis and other possible nasty side effects – including sudden femur fractures.  Instead of taking her off bisphosphonate containing meds, a couple of months ago the doctor prescribed Prolio injections.  Prolio also contains bisphosphonate and also boasts jaw necrosis as a possible side effect.  (See New Osteoporosis Drug Same Old Problem.)

Learning a couple of weeks ago about jaw necrosis and that it’s one of Prolio’s possible side effects, my mom immediately wanted to stop future Prolio injections.  So I dove into intensive research on natural treatments for bone thinning, hoping to find natural alternatives to Big Pharma drugs that really works.

I was relieved to find a natural battle plan that a few doctors, nutritionists and others are passionate about, and that makes sense to me.  The Battle Plan isn’t as easy as taking a pill or getting an injection but it’s a path we should all be following, more or less, just for good health.

We used to think it’s impossible to rebuild naturally once bone loss occurs, but that’s not true.  Bone is dynamic, living tissue that is engaged in a continual cycle of resorption (old bones being broken down), and rebuilding.  From what I’ve gathered, things that disrupt the bone remodeling cycle include: a long term acid-forming diet (please keep reading), inadequate nutrition, poor digestion, low hormone levels, lack of proper exercise, Big Pharma osteoporosis and other drugs, excessive boozing, and smoking.  Which is why the Battle Plan must contain these main strategies:

pH Balancing

This sounds a little off the chart if you’ve never heard of it before, but there’s a reason why we’re told to eat lots of fruits and veggies.  It’s believed that the body becomes acidic from taking in too much acid forming food (such as animal meat) and too much bad stuff (like alcohol, soda, cigarette smoke, and processed food).  An acidic body leaches calcium from the bones to attempt to maintain pH equilibrium.  A long-term state of acidosis spells danger for bones.  To protect our bones we need to alkalinize with alkalinizing food and other actions.   Click here to read more on this topic.

Getting Adequate Nutrients

We must also feed our bones calcium and essential minerals that support calcium absorption.  Calcium alone doesn’t cut it.  Certain vitamins and minerals (such as phosphorus, magnesium, boron) are necessary for calcium metabolism.  For more info and a list of key bone-building nutrients click here.

Healthy Digestion

To maximize all that intake of wonderful new food and quality supplements, the digestive system should be functioning well.  As we age digesting food becomes less easy.  Taking digestive enzymes to aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients might be necessary for an older person or someone with digestive trouble.

(Fosamax also wreaked havoc on my mom’s digestive system and gave her bad acid reflux, which prevented her from getting adequate nutrients to her bones, in addition to messing with the bone remodeling cycle.)

Natural Hormone Replacement

Both women and men experience a decline in hormone levels with age.  Women usually begin to lose progesterone in their 30’s, a time when most women also begin to experience bone thinning.  Progesterone has been shown to be key for bone building (Progesterone for Osteoporosis Treatment).  Women who test low in progesterone should consider using natural bio-identical progesterone in conjunction with a bone building program.

It’s now believed that testosterone is also important for bone health in both women and men.  Testosterone levels start declining around 40 in men.  Men and women with low levels of testosterone have natural options for increasing testosterone levels:

• How to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally in women
• Testosterone Needed for Male Bone Health
• How to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally in Men Over 40

Weight Bearing Activities/Exercise

Sitting on your butt all day will not prevent bones from fracturing.  Just the opposite.  Bones generally get tougher with proper stress either from activities or exercise.  Walking, jogging, weight training, yoga and pushups are some of the exercises that help to fortify bones.  (5 Ways to Boost the Bone Building Power of Your Workout)

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Last week I put mom on the following regimen:

1. Cutting out too much acid-forming food and products (she already eats a fair amount of fruits and vegetables)
2. Taking turmeric and bromelain to aid digestion and anti-inflammation (she’s already raving about the results: she can drink things like orange juice without stomach troubles now!)
3. Adding more vegetable calcium into her diet such as chia and seseame seeds
4. Continuing to take whey protein as it’s a low alkaline, quality protein, and bones also need protein to build and heal
5. Taking Microcrystalline Calcium Hydroxyapatite Complex (MCHC) with supportive vitamins and minerals
6. Using a natural progesterone cream on a daily basis
7. Adding a tad bit more to her exercise routine for now.

Surprisingly my mom was a very willing patient.  In the past she only trusted doctors, and distrusted natural or holistic approaches.  Then there’s the cost issue.  Herbs and supplements are expensive and are usually not covered by health insurance, while Big Pharma drugs are.  (There’s something seriously wrong with this picture!)

But my mom has taken osteoporosis meds for over 13 years, yet her bones remain porous.  On top of it she has jaw necrosis.  So she’s willing to give natural a try now.

If the Regimen works, it would appear I was meant to fall in love with barefoot running to help my mom.  Everything that transpired put me on the road to helping her, especially my foot fracture from overdoing barefoot running at the start, which forced me to consider the possibility of my own bone thinning (see About)!

But the Regimen, tweaked a little for my needs (like cutting out a couple of extra margaritas a week), should help my bones, too, and my barefoot running ambition.

Hopefully both of us will be in much better bone shape six months to a year from now, and my mom’s jaw necrosis condition will not get any worse.

A few valuable sites about bones:

• Better Bones
• Save Our Bones
• International Osteoporosis Foundation