Osteoporosis

During my time in chiropractic college, I witnessed some interesting events regarding research.

Sometimes, research goes the way you planned, and other times…not so much.

This is the purpose of research, to find out what works and what doesn’t. This is typically referred to as ‘evidence based research.’

During one research project in particular, there were 4 groups of people with osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones). The first group received a well known medication to help harden bones, known as a bisphosphonate. The second group received a chiropractic adjustment. The third group received a chiropractic adjustment and juiced leafy greens once per day. The fourth group received no treatment whatsoever.

Involved in this process were chiropractors and a medical doctor (in Georgia, where I went to school, there are no prescriptive rights for chiropractors, thankfully, so an M.D. was a necessity).

When the results came back from the DEXA scans (a scan to determine bone density) the medical doctor quit and refused to be a part of the study.

This is the equivalency of a kid losing in a game of backyard football, throwing a temper tantrum, then saying, “This is my ball. I’m leaving and taking it with me so you can’t play anymore!”

The group receiving chiropractic adjustments alone outperformed the medicine. The group receiving chiropractic adjustments and juicing grew more quality bone in 1 month than the medicine could provide in 4 years. The group that did nothing was only marginally worse off than the one receiving the medication.

Ouch!

To my knowledge, this study was never published, and likely never will be. When one of the main players decides the results only serve to undermine their career, it’s an easy decision to not bite the hand that feeds you and walk away (with or without their binky). Anyhow, that is all water under the bridge.

If you’re osteoporotic or osteopenic here is a brief list of items to incorporate (or remove) into your daily diets that will help build the proper bone density so that you can enjoy an active lifestyle well beyond your retirement.

1. Get plenty of natural sunlight. Use some common sense with this one. Don’t go out and get fried in an attempt to make up for 50 years of living under artificial light. If you’re fair skinned and panic every time you get in the sun, read up on the use of coconut oil for sunscreen. No harmful chemicals and this will still allow your body to absorb vitamin D.
2. Take cod liver oil. It is a great source of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Take a whole food source of vitamin D. Standard Process (Cataplex D) and Innate Choice liquid vitamin D are both good options. Take 1,000 international units (IU’s) per 25 pounds of body weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, take 6,000 IU’s per day.
4. Supplement 50 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K2 for every 1,000 IU of vitamin D you are taking. Again, if you’re taking 6,000 IU’s of vitamin D, take 300 mcg of vitamin K2. Again, whole food supplementation is best. Standard Process has a chlorophyll capsule that has 120mcg per capsule (going a little over with the K2 won’t hurt). Most people understand vitamin K as a crucial compound for blood clotting, however that is K1. K2 activates an important protein that moves calcium to where it should be in the body, particularly the teeth and bones.
5. Juice or drink a smoothie daily that contains leafy greens. Kale, spinach, bok choy, etc. Add into this either organic kefir, or probiotic yogurt. The leafy greens will provide a good source of calcium and magnesium.  
6. Eat organic, raw dairy cheese from grass fed cows! This must be raw (unpasteurized) and grass fed. Ideally it will also be organic to limit the low level antibiotics and hormones.
7. Stop drinking store bought cows milk! I won’t dive into this, as it would take a whole new post to explain the reasons why this is not good for you, your teeth or your bones (I will eventually get around to writing on this topic). If you choose to continue drinking cows milk, do yourself and your family a HUGE favor and enter into a herd share agreement. This is where you pay a monthly amount to own a portion of a dairy cow that you will never have to lift a finger to take care of or milk (unless you’re into that sort of thing) and then receive a portion of the cows milk to be picked up or delivered to you depending on the agreement. Make sure the milk comes from grass fed only cows and the milk does not go through a pasteurization process. If you’re in the Dayton/Springfield area, here is a link to a trusted farmer I personally know who does this the right way.

Spend a little extra time and money investing in your health! In the long run, it is still much cheaper than the bills you’ll wrack up from a broken hip.

In Health,

Dr. Andrew R. Burns