Article for Women Issues

"It is a bone-deep change you are going into
my beloved
counsels Grandmother Growth.
You must open to your very marrow for this transformation. No cell is to remain untouched. You are to open more than you ever dreamed you could open
more than you have opened in birth or in passion. You open now to the breath of mortality as it plays the bone flute of your being. What can you do but dance to the haunting melody
develop a passion for an elegant posture and a long stride?

"Ah
yes
Grandmother Growth smiles rather wantonly.
It would do you well to develop a taste for dark greens tarted with vinegar and mated with garlic. These things will build strong flexible bones to support you as you become Crone."

Did you know that your bones are always changing? Every day of your life
some bone cells die and some new bone cells are created. From birth until your early 30s
you can easily make lots of bone cells. So long as your diet supplies the necessary nutrients
you not only replace bone cells that die
you have extras left over to lengthen and strengthen your bones.

Past the age of 35
new bone cells are more difficult to make. Sometimes there is a shortfall: more bone cells die than you can replace. In the orthodox view
this is the beginning of osteoporosis
the disease of low bone mass. By the age of forty
many American women have begun to lose bone mass; by the age of fifty
most are told they must take hormones or drugs to prevent further loss and avoid osteoporosis
hip fracture
and death.

Women who exercise regularly and eat calcium-rich foods enter their menopausal years with better bone mass than women who sit a lot and consume calcium-leaching foods (including soy "milk
tofu, coffee, soda pop, alcohol, white flour products, processed meats, nutritional yeast, and bran). But no matter how good your lifestyle choices, bone mass usually decreases during the menopausal years.

For unknown reasons, menopausal bones slow down production of new cells and seem to ignore the presence of calcium. This
bone-pause" is generally short-lived
occurring off and on for five to seven years. I noticed it in scattered episodes of falling hair
breaking fingernails
and the same "growing pains" I experienced during puberty.

I did not see it in a bone scan
because I didn't have one.

The idea behind bone scans is a good one: find women who are at risk of broken bones
alert them to the danger
and help them engage in preventative strategies. There's only one problem: bone scans don't find women who are at risk of broken bones
they find women who have low bone density.

I would like to help you let go of the idea that osteoporosis is important. In the Wise Woman Tradition
we focus on the patient
not the problem. In the Wise Woman tradition
there are no diseases and no cures for diseases. When we focus on a disease
like osteoporosis
we cannot see the whole woman. The more we focus on one disease
even its prevention
the less likely we are to nourish wholeness and health.

Focusing on osteoporosis
defining it as a disease
using drugs to counter it
we lose sight of the fact that postmenopausal bone mass is a better indicator of breast cancer risk than broken bone risk. The twenty-five percent of postmenopausal women with the highest bone mass are two-and-a-half to four times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those with the lowest bone mass. And that hormones which maintain bone mass also adversely affect breast cancer risk. Women who take estrogen replacement (often given to prevent osteoporosis)
even for as little as five years
increase their risk of breast cancer by twenty percent; if they take hormone replacement
the risk increases by forty percent.

Focusing on bone mass
we lose sight of the fact that a strong correlation between bone density and bone breakage has not been established
according to Susan Brown
director of the Osteoporosis Information Clearing House
and many others. We lose sight of the fact that women who faithfully take estrogen or hormone replacement still experience bone changes and suffer spinal crush fractures.

Bone-pause passes and the bones do rebuild themselves
especially when supported by nourishing herbs
which are exceptional sources of bone-building minerals and better at preventing bone breaks than supplements. The minerals in green plants seem to be ideal for keeping bones healthy. Dr. Campbell
Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University
has done extensive research in rural China where the lowest known fracture rates for midlife and older women were found. He says
The closer people get to a diet based on plant foods and leafy vegetables, the lower the rates of many diseases, including osteoporosis.
Women who consume lots of calcium-rich plants and exercise moderately build strong flexible bones. Women who rely on hormones build bones that are massive
but rigid.

Hormone replacement regimes do not increase bone cell creation; they slow (or suppress) bone cell killers (osteoclasts). There is a rebound effect; bone loss jumps when the hormones are stopped. Women who take hormones for five years or more are as much as four times more likely to break a bone in the year after they stop than a woman of the same age who never took hormones. Women who build better bones with green allies and exercise nourish the bone cell creator cells (osteoblasts).

Hormone or estrogen replacement
taken as menopause begins and continued for the rest of your life
is said to reduce post-menopausal fracture rates by 40-60 percent. Frequent walks (you don't even need to sweat) and a diet high in calcium-rich green allies (at least 1500 mg daily) have been shown to reduce post-menopausal fractures by 50 percent. The first is expensive and dangerous. The second
inexpensive and health promoting. It's easy to see why more than eighty percent of American women just "say no" to hormones. It is never too late to build better bones
and it is never too soon. Your best insurance for a fracture-free
strong-boned cronehood is to build better bones before menopause. The more exercise and calcium-rich green allies you get in your younger years
the less you'll have to worry about as you age.

"A woman has lost half of all the spongy bone (spine
wrist) she'll ever lose by the age of 50
but very little of the dense (hip
hand
forearm) bone. Attention to bone formation at every stage of life is vital; there is no time when you are too old to create healthy new bone." - American MD

CALCIUM

"Osteoporosis is much less common in countries that consume the least calcium. That is an undisputed fact." -T. C. Campbell
PhD. Nutritional Biochemistry


Step 1: Collect Information

Calcium is
without a doubt
the most important mineral in your body. In fact
calcium makes up more than half of the total mineral content of your body. Calcium is crucial to the regular beating of your heart
your metabolism
the functioning of your muscles
the flow of impulses along your nerves
the regulation of your cellular membranes
the strength of your bones
the health of your teeth and gums
and your vital blood-clotting mechanisms. Calcium is so critical to your life that you have a gland (the parathyroid) that does little else than monitor blood levels of calcium and secrete hormones to ensure optimum levels of calcium at all times.

When you consume more calcium than you use
you are in a positive calcium balance: extra usable calcium is stored in the bones and you gain bone mass (insoluble or unusable calcium may be excreted
or stored in soft tissue
or deposited in the joints). When you consume less calcium than you use
you are in a negative calcium balance: the parathyroid produces a hormone that releases calcium stores from the bones
and you lose bone mass.

To ensure a positive calcium balance and create strong
flexible bones for your menopausal journey
take care to:

• Eat three or more calcium-rich foods daily.
  
• Avoid calcium antagonists.
  
• Use synergistic foods to magnify the effectiveness of calcium.
  
• Avoid calcium supplements.

Step 2: Engage the Energy

• The homeopathic tissue salt Silica is said to improve bone health.
  
  
• What does it mean to you to support yourself? To be supported? To stand on your own? To have a backbone in your life?

Step 3: Nourish & Tonify

• What do we need to make strong flexible bones? Like all tissues
  bones need protein. They need minerals (not just calcium
  but also potassium
  manganese
  magnesium
  silica
  iron
  zinc
  selenium
  boron
  phosphorus
  sulphur
  chromium
  and dozens of others). And in order to use those minerals
  high-quality fats
  including oil-soluble vitamin D.
  
  
• Many menopausal women I meet believe that protein is bad for their bones. Not so. Researchers at Utah State University
  looking at the diets of 32
  0
  postmenopausal women
  found that women who ate the least protein were the most likely to fracture a hip; and that eating extra protein sped the healing of hip fractures.
  
  
• Acids created by protein digestion are buffered by calcium. Traditional diets combine calcium- and protein-rich foods (e.g. seaweed with tofu
  tortillas made from corn ground on limestone with beans
  and melted cheese on a hamburger). Herbs such as seaweed
  stinging nettle
  oatstraw
  red clover
  dandelion
  and comfrey leaf are rich in protein and provide plenty of calcium too. Foods such as tahini
  sardines
  canned salmon
  yogurt
  cheese
  oatmeal
  and goats' milk offer us protein
  generous amounts of calcium
  and the healthy fats our bones need. If you crave more protein during menopause
  follow that craving. CAUTION: Unfermented soy (e.g.
  tofu) is especially detrimental to bone health being protein-rich
  naturally deficient in calcium
  and a calcium antagonist to boot.
  
  
• Bones need lots of minerals not just calcium
  which is brittle and inflexible. (Think of chalk
  calcium carbonate
  and how easily it breaks.) Avoid calcium supplements. Focus on getting generous amounts of calcium from herbs and foods and you will automatically get the multitude of minerals you need for flexible bones.
  
  
• Because minerals are bulky
  and do not compact
  we must consume generous amounts to make a difference in our health. Taking mineral-rich herbs in capsule or tincture form won't do much for your bones. (One cup of nettle tincture contains the same amount of calcium - 300 mg - as one cup of nettle infusion. Many women drink two or more cups of infusion a day; no one consumes a cup of tincture a day!) Neither will eating raw foods. I frequently come across the idea that cooking robs food of nutrition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cooking maximizes the minerals available to your bones. Kale cooked for an hour delivers far more calcium than lightly steamed kale. Minerals are rock-like
  and to extract them
  we need heat
  time
  and generous quantities of plant material.
  
  
• Green sources of calcium are the best. Nourishing herbs and garden weeds are far richer in minerals than ordinary greens
  which are already exceptional sources of nutrients.
  
  
• But calcium from green sources alone is not enough. We need calcium from white sources as well. Add a quart of yogurt a week to your diet if you want really healthy bones. Because the milk has been changed by Lactobacillus organisms
  its calcium
  other minerals
  proteins
  and sugars (no lactose) are more easily digested. This carries over
  enhancing calcium and mineral absorption from other foods
  too. (I have known several vegans who increased their very low bone density by as much as 6 percent in one year by eating yogurt.) Organic raw milk cheeses are another superb white source.
  
  
• Horsetail herb (Equisetum arvense) works like a charm for those premenopausal women who have periodontal bone loss or difficulty with fracture healing. Taken as tea
  once or twice a day
  young spring-gathered horsetail dramatically strengthens bones and promotes rapid mending of breaks. CAUTION: Mature horsetail contains substances which may irritate the kidneys.

Step 4: Stimulate/Sedate

• Beware of calcium antagonists. Certain foods interfere with calcium utilization. For better bones avoid consistent use of:
  
  
  • Greens rich in oxalic acid
    including chard (silver beet)
    beet greens
    spinach
    rhubarb.
    
  • Unfermented soy products
    including tofu
    soy beverages
    soy burgers.
    
  • Phosphorus-rich foods
    including carbonated drinks
    white flour products
    and many processed foods. (Teenagers who drink sodas instead of milk are four times more likely to break a bone.)
    
  • Foods that produce acids requiring a calcium buffer when excreted in the urine
    including coffee
    white sugar
    tobacco
    alcohol
    nutritional yeast
    salt.
    
  • Fluoride in water or toothpaste.
    
  • Fiber pills
    bran taken alone
    bulk-producing laxatives.
    
  • Steroid medications
    including corticosteroids such as prednisone and asthma inhalers. (Daily use reduces spinal bone mass by as much as ten percent a year.)
    
  • Restricted calorie diets. Women who weigh the least have the greatest loss of bone during menopause and "neither calcium supplements
    vitamin D supplements
    nor estrogen" slow the loss. Among 236 premenopausal women
    all of whom consumed similar amounts of calcium
    those who lost weight by reducing calories lost twice as much bone mass as women who maintained their weight.
  
  
  
• Although chocolate contains oxalic acid
  the levels are so low as to have only a negligible effect on calcium metabolism. An ounce/3000 mg of chocolate binds 15-20 mg of calcium; an ounce of cooked spinach
  100
  mg calcium. Bittersweet (dark) chocolate is a source of iron. Recent research has found chocolate to be very heart healthy. As with any stimulant
  daily use is not advised. Chocolate is an important and helpful ally for women. Guilt about eating it and belief that it is damaging to your health interferes with your ability to hear and respond to your body wisdom. If you want to eat chocolate - do it; and get the best. But if you're doing it every day - eat more weeds.
  
  
• Excess phosphorus accelerates bone loss and demineralization. Phosphorus compounds are second only to salt as food additives. They are found in carbonated beverages
  soda pop; white flour products
  especially if "enriched" (bagels
  cookies
  cakes
  donuts
  pasta
  bread); preserved meats (bacon
  ham
  sausage
  lunch meat
  and hot dogs); supermarket breakfast cereals; canned fruit; processed potato products such as frozen fries and instant mashed potatoes; processed cheeses; instant soups and puddings.
  
  
• To avoid phosphorus overload and improve calcium absorption:
  
  
  • Drink spring water and herbal infusions; avoid soda pop and carbonated water.
    
  • Eat only whole grain breads
    noodles
    cookies
    and crackers.
    
  • Buy only unpreserved meats
    cheeses
    potatoes.
    
  • Avoid buying foods with ingredients; they are highly processed.
  
  
  
• Excess salt leaches calcium. Women eating 3900 mg of sodium a day excrete 30 percent more calcium than those eating 1600 mg. The main sources of dietary sodium are processed and canned foods. Seaweed is an excellent calcium-rich source of salt. Sea salt may be used freely as it contains trace amounts of calcium. Salt is critical for health; do not eliminate it from your diet.
  
  
• Increase hydrochloric acid production (in your stomach) and you'll make better use of the calcium you consume. Lower stomach acid (with antacids
  for example) and you will receive little bone benefit from the calcium you ingest. Some ways to acidify:
  
  
  • Drink lemon juice in water with or after your meal.
    
  • Take 10-25 drops dandelion root tincture in a little water before you eat.
    
  • Use calcium-rich herbal vinegars in your salad dressing; put some on cooked greens and beans
    too.

Step 5a: Use Supplements

• I really wish you wouldn't use calcium supplements. They expose you to dangers and don't prevent fractures. A study in Australia that followed 10
  0
  white women over the age of 65 for six and a half years found "Use of calcium supplements was associated with increased risk of hip and vertebral fracture; use of Tums antacid tablets was associated with increased risk of fractures of the proximal humerus."
  
  
• If you insist on supplements
  go for calcium-fortified orange juice or crumbly tablets of calcium citrate. Chewable calcium gluconate
  calcium lactate
  and calcium carbonate are acceptable sources. Dolomite
  bone meal
  and oyster shell are best avoided as they usually contain lead and other undesirable minerals.
  
  
• For better bones
  take 500 mg magnesium (not citrate) with your calcium. Better yet
  wash your calcium pill down with a glass of herbal infusion; that will provide not only magnesium but lots of other bone-strengthening minerals
  too.
  
  
• Calcium supplements are more effective in divided doses. Two doses of 250 mg
  taken morning and night
  actually provide more usable calcium than a 1000 mg tablet.

Step 5b: Use Drugs

Even if you take hormone therapy (ERT or HRT) you must get adequate calcium to maintain bone mass
according to researchers at Columbia University. That's 1200-1500 mg a day (a cup of plain yogurt
two cups of nettle infusion
a splash of mineral-rich vinegar
plus three figs is about that). As you increase your intake of calcium-rich foods/herbs
gradually cut back on your hormone dose if you wish.

Step 6: Break & Enter

Bone density tests are frequently used to push women into taking hormones or drugs. If your bone density is low
use the remedies in this section and schedule another test (for at least six months later) before agreeing to such therapies.



Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock
NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081