Osteoporosis and Calcium Balance

Written by Don Tolman – www.thedontolman.com

Osteoporosis is usually called the “silent disease” because bone loss occurs without symptoms.

Some people may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a hip fracture or a vertebra to collapse.

A collapsed vertebra may first be felt or seen in the form of severe back pain, loss of height, spinal deformities such as kyphosis, also called severely stooped posture.

What is it?
It is a disease that makes bones fragile and likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can develop painlessly until a bone like the hip, spine or wrists breaks.

The particular concern if for the fractures of the hip and spine, although any bone can be affected. A hip fracture requires hospitalisation and major surgery most of the time. It can damage a person’s ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Loss of height, severe back pain and deformity can accompany spinal or vertebral fractures.

Women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease although millions of people are at risk.

The most direct and serious factors that influence bone loss are nutrition from whole food, sunlight and water combined with exercise. These factors also play an important role in maintaining a soft tissue cushion to protect the skeleton from the impact of a fall.

Calcium and Calcium Balance
Calcium is a vital nutrient for bone health, required for the heart, muscles and nerves to function properly and for blood to clot normally.

Calcium is lost daily through urine, feces, sweat and shed skin, hair and nails. The lost calcium is generally replaced by calcium in the diet. Bone is broken down to release calcium when the diet does not hold enough calcium to offset such losses.

Many nutrients, like vitamin D, significantly influence calcium balance. It has a positive impact on calcium balance because it increases calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.

Direct sunlight is the most readily obtainable source of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is a problem among the elderly, those in institutional settings, and people with chronic neurological or gastrointestinal diseases. The biggest setback is among those who avoid sunlight and/or use sunscreen and sun block!

Protein is necessary in our diets to build tissue during growth and to repair and replace tissue throughout life. It is also demanded for fracture healing and proper function of the immune system. Protein deficiency is an important factor contributing to death, institutionalisation and loss of independence among the elderly following hip fractures.

By increasing calcium excretion, protein also increases the body’s need for calcium. Additional protein in the diet is used by the body for energy, just like fats and carbohydrates. Though, as protein is burned for energy, it produces a chemical called sulphate, which the body excretes through the kidneys. Sulphate increases the excretion of calcium, which is how the body replaces its entire old skeleton with a new one every two years!

What is bone?
Bone is living, growing tissue. It is made up of a protein that provides a soft framework, called collagen and a mineral that adds strength and hardens the framework, called calcium phosphate. This mixture of collagen and calcium makes bones strong yet flexible to withstand stress. More than 99 percent of the body’s calcium is found in the bones and teeth; the remaining one per cent is found in the blood.

Risk Factors
Risk factors mean the particular factors that are linked to the development of osteoporosis or contribute to an individual’s likelihood of developing the disease. Some people with osteoporosis may have all of these risk factors, while other people with osteoporosis may have none. Some risk factors are unchangeable while others can vary.

Risk factors you cannot change include:  Age, body size, ethnicity, family history and gender.

Women have a greater chance of developing osteoporosis because women have less bone tissue and lose bone faster than men because of the changes involved in menopause.

The older you are, the greater your risk of osteoporosis. Your bones become less dense and not as strong as you age.

Petite, thin-boned women are at greater risk.

Asian and Caucasian women are at highest risk. African-American and Latino women have a lesser but significant risk.

Risk factors you are able to change include:  Anorexia, certain medication, cigarette smoking, diet low in calcium, excessive use of alcohol, inactive lifestyle and sex hormones.

Calcium: An important role in contributing to the development of osteoporosis is an inadequate supply of calcium over the lifetime. Many published studies show that low calcium intakes seem to be associated with low bone mass, rapid bone loss and high facture rates.

Good sources of calcium include:
Almonds, breads and cereal grain, citrus, dark leafy vegetables, organic dairy products and tofu.

Calcium demands change during one’s lifetime: the body’s demand for calcium is more intense during childhood and adolescence, when the skeleton is growing rapidly, and during pregnancy and breast feeding.

Also, postmenopausal women and older men need to consume more calcium. This may be caused by inadequate amounts of vitamin D, which is essential for intestinal absorption of calcium, so make sure you get sunshine everyday!

For more on this topic and thousands of other Self Care tips, check out my “encyclopaedia of wholefood medicine”, the Farmacist Desk Reference.

Diabetes – The Medical Mystery

Written by Don Tolman – www.thedontolman.com

Stop eating junk foods, processed sugars, soda pop and sports drinks.

If you really want to cure Diabetes, only eat whole foods – 80 per cent raw and 20 per cent heated until it remisses.  Exercise and be patient and Diabetes will resolve in anywhere from 30 days to 6 months.

Only two types of sugars exist and they are the multibillion dollar, medical mystery of Diabetes.

Simple sugars, called fast sugars are all processed, refined or artificial, synthetic sugars. Simple sugars cause diabetes. Their molecular size is so small that they cross the blood brain barrier quickly, hence their name, “fast” sugars. This causes the brain to tell the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin in the blood stream sends messages to the body, which tell it that it is in “extreme danger” and to “lie down”; Insulin zaps your energy so you’ll have to rest or take a break. It also tells your body to “put on layers of fat to protect yourself”, and the body responds to the message.

Complex sugars are “slow” sugars. They are unrefined and occur in nature as fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, and contrary to the public option, even sweet potatoes and honey. They cross the blood-brain barrier slowly, sending a message through the blood to the body that all is safe and well. This causes the pancreas to release glucagons, which energise you, making you want to walk, run and play. Glucagons even cause you to burn stored fat.

That’s it. That’s the big mystery. Diabetes testing, also known as testing your blood sugar, is nuts! It’s nothing more than an open invitation to your health, your money and your life over to a lifetime of ritual invasion.

Just as a bad diet can aid in the cause of diabetes, a good one can help control or even prevent it. A good diet consists mainly of higher fiber, high-complex carbohydrate foods such as taro, poi, greens and fruits. Carbohydrates, which are found in nearly all foods except animals, fish, pigs, cows and poultry – are the body’s main source of energy.

There are two types of carbohydrates, starches and simple carbohydrates. Starches include foods like rice, beans, potatoes and pasta. Simple carbohydrates, called sugars include the natural sugars found in milk, fruits and vegetables, as well as honey. The body turns both complex (slow) and simple (fast) carbohydrates into glucose, which is either immediately converted into energy or stores until needed. Contrary to former belief, most people with diabetes should eat a diet that’s higher in carbohydrates, particularly the complex kind.

Fruit is it. Eat up!

A high fiber diet has been shown to relieve everything from constipation to heart disease. It also plays a powerful role in controlling blood sugar.

Reversing Diabetes
When you go to the doctor, diabetes becomes a death sentence. You get medications to “control” the problem. You take insulin injections for the rest of your lie and make sure your blood sugar testing kit is always within reach. But eventually, you know it’s going to kill you.

Nutritional whole food practitioners, on the other hand, have been reversing diabetes for decades. Their “miracle cures” result from a simple fact, given the right whole-food nutrients, the body is fully capable of healing itself.

Nutritional whole food practitioner, Farmacist, make sure that the body gets nutrients it needs, while making sure to avoid the metabolic poisons that are so prevalent in the American food supply. The result, predictably, is yet another “miracle” that modern medicine can’t explain. It’s another sad reflection on a long list of medical ignorance. At the very least, one would expect modern medicine to understand how such cures work when they repeatedly occur.

To reverse the condition, it is necessary to eliminate the bad fats and supply good fats.

When the diet is optimal, it still takes about two years for the complete healing cycle. That’s how long it takes for the soft tissues of the body to be replaced.

Where do you find good fats?

• Take a tablespoon of unrefined oils from the health food store every morning in a glass of water.
• Avocado, olives, raw seeds and raw nuts.

Fasting
To speed up the healing process, you may also want to consider fasting. A lot of housecleaning goes on during a fast and many triglycerides (fatty acids) are eliminated. Fasting can speed up the process of eliminating bad fats that have already accumulated.

Raw Foods
Consistent consumption of raw vegetables and fruits has a surprisingly beneficial and speedy effect on diabetes, provided the person has not taken insulin or at most, only small quantities of it for a year or two. Whole foods help when the person has taken large doses of insulin for several years, but the process does take longer.

Several raw vegetable contain insulin, especially Jerusalem artichokes. In their raw state, most vegetables contain the precursor of insulin.

Stop eating crap. Get a life off the couch. Lose the doughnuts, sodas, candy and synthetic chemical sweeteners, starting eating fresh whole foods and drink water, go for a walk and kiss diabetes goodbye!

For more on this topic and thousands of other Self Care tips, check out my “encyclopaedia of wholefood medicine”, the Farmacist Desk Reference.

Hearing Loss

Written by Don Tolman – www.thedontolman.com

Sound consists of vibrations in the form of waves. The ear is able to pick up these vibrations and convert them into electrical signals that are sent to the brain, and translated into meaningful information, such as language or music.

The ear contains three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear.

The outer ear is the visible part of the ear. The soft outermost part of the outer ear collects sound waves, which travels down the ear canal into the eardrum.

Help with Heart Burn

Written by Don Tolman – www.thedontolman.com

Despite the name, heartburn does not affect the heart.

Heartburn, also called acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a burning sensation in the lower chest, accompanied by a bitter or sour taste in the mouth and throat.

It usually occurs after eating a big meal or while lying down and can last up to a few hours.