Whassup?

As in “What supplement should I take?” Good question. I believe they recommend that you take 1500 mg of Calcium, 600 mg of magnesium, 500 mg of Vitamin C, and between 1000 and 2000 IU of Vitamin D (although see the earlier post about the Vitamin D council recommendation of a minimum of 2000 IU of Vitamin D).

But what about all the other stuff we’re supposed to have? Calcium, Magnesium, D and C can’t do it alone. There’s also Boron and Selenium, Riboflavin and Manganese, Vitamin K and Lutein and Lycopene and Potassium and and and and and.

It’s very hard to get the right amount of all the vitamins and minerals we’re supposed to have from diet along. Especially since there’s a whole theory out there that, due to industrialized farming and chemical fertilizers, our food is no longer as nutrient rich as it used to be because we’ve killed our soil.

But if you buy individual bottles of all those things, it’ll cost you a fortune.

The Better Bones, Better Body people sell a package of pharmaceutical grade multivitamins that are sent to you each month, divided into daily doses, for $109.00 a month. $119 if you get the menopause brand.

That’s a lot of carrots. Plus, when I see a price tag like that — $119 for a bottle of vitamins — it just pushes all kinds of buttons for me. I can’t help but feel I’m being preyed upon. Not that Dr. Brown is doing that at all! She’s written a great book, full of really important, valuable information. And maybe those pharmaceutical grade vitamins really do cost that much to produce and she’s barely netting a profit on them at all. Hell, maybe she’s operating at a loss.

I’m just talking about me. It irks me that someone wants to charge that kind of money. But then I’m also in favor of a Public Option, so take it for what it’s worth. Although, if they came out with a pill that they absolutely knew cured Osteoporosis, and it had no side effects at all, and that pill cost $1,000 a month, would I pay for it? I’d by-golly try.

But no one has that pill, so for now I’m looking at vitamins. I copied the label from Dr. Brown’s vitamins, then let my fingers do the walking on the internet and found what I feel is a comparable brand. You’ll see from looking at the labels, the amounts/ingredients are not the same. As my band teacher used to say, “Close enough for jazz.” But perhaps not. I know that too much vitamin A can interfere with vitamin D absorption. And not enough Magnesium can prevent Calcium absorption. It’s a very delicate dance. It could be that every little mg counts.

But here are the labels, compare and decide for yourself. From Dr. Brown’s Women to Women Better Bones Basics Supplements. I couldn’t get a screen capture of the entire label, so I had to split it in two.

If you already have osteoporosis, Dr. Brown’s program recommends you further supplement with her Better Bones Builder (hence the price differential of $109 and $119). Again, the label is long, so I had to split it in two.

My substitute is Doctor’s Choice 45+ Women. This label is so long, it’s divided into three parts. The cost is between $22.00 and $27.00, depending on where you buy it. It is by no means a replica of the Better Bones vitamins, but it has most of the same ingredients, and it’s 1/4 of the price. Caveat… does the adage “you get what you pay for” apply here?

Getting a Leg Up.

So this researcher in Tokyo named Sakamoto did a study back in 2006 to see what effect unipedal standing (i.e., standing on one leg) would have on bone density. He had his subjects stand on one leg (on each side) for one minute with their eyes open, three times a day.

Sakamoto figured that standing on one leg would increase the weight load on the femoral head by a factor of 2.75 versus standing on two legs. He further postulated one legged standing for one minute would have the same effect on bone density as walking for 53 minutes.

Wait. Lemme do the math here: stand on one leg for three minutes? Or walk for 159 minutes? Uh…I’ll take the standing.

Unfortunately, his first study (which only lasted six months) had less than stellar results. While the test subjects definitely had a lower incidence of falls (due to improved balance), the bone mineral density was not effected in any significant way. Cue the “ha! ha! ha!” chorus.

So fast forward to November 2008, when Sakamoto published his second paper. This time he revealed he’d been following a separate group of women doing unipedal standing for ten years. From 1993 to 2003, 86 women religiously stood on one leg for a minute three times a day. At the start of the program, the average age was 68; at the end it was 78. The results were pretty impressive. After three months, 63% of the ladies had increased bone density. After six months (even with the seasonal variations that occur because of less sunlight), 41% still had greater bone density. They continued testing at the one year mark, at the two year mark, at the three year — I think you can see where they’re going with that.

The numbers fluctuated up and down over the years. But at the end of the ten year study, one-third of the group had managed not just to hang on to their bone density — but they gained bone density. Definitely not something you’d expect to see in a population that aged from 68 to 78. Plus, there were absolutely no hip fractures among the ladies who continued to do the exercises for the entire 10 year period. So ho, ho, ho, who’s got the last laugh now?

Many experts (a/k/a the naysayer brigade) feel the study group was too small to make definitive predictions about the efficacy of unipedal standing. But Sakamoto knows what’s what. Oh — and he’s no longer calling it “unipedal standing.” Now it’s called “Dynamic Flamingo Therapy.” Because branding is everything.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go shake a tree. A Vrksasana tree, that is.

Editor’s Note: If you want ideas for standing on one leg, beside just… er… standing on one leg, check out these more recent posts: A Delicate Balance, and While You’re At It. The latter may seem too difficult, but if you continue all the way to the end of the post, you’ll find modifications to make things easier.

Shall we dance?

Saw this on the Inspire website today. They’re coming out with a ballroom dance exercise dvd for people with osteoporosis.

F-U-N!

My husband and I met in a ballroom dance class (Hum hum, “The best things… happen while you’re dancing…” And if you don’t know that song, go rent White Christmas now!)

The little promo for it reads:

Sponsored by DAIICHI SANKYO EUROPE and endorsed by the International Osteoporosis Foundation, ‘Improvement through Movement’ is a new educational programme which aims to encourage people with osteoporosis to use ballroom dance exercises to help strengthen their bones and slow the progression of the disease.

(Hopping up and down like a lunatic and clapping) Oh goody goody goody! Where (and when) can I get one, you may ask. Evidently, you’ll need a doctor’s note, but here’s the info:

Please contact DAIICHI SANKYO in your country (see affiliates) if you would like to order a DVD:

The educational programme will be available to patients on DVD through their physician practices. The DVD is subtitled into several languages. Physicians can only give this educational programme to patients.

Patients are advised to consult their physician or healthcare practitioner before undertaking any form of physical exercise.

In some countries, the DVD will be available end of 2009.

Dr. Iris Marr
International Brand Manager
Phone +49(0)89/78 08-807
iris.marr@daiichi-sankyo.eu

Olaf Lamberz
Corporate Communications
Phone +49(0)89/78 08-442
olaf.lamberz@daiichi-sankyo.eu

It may seem like entirely too much fun to be helpful, but dancing is a great way to stimulate bone growth in the hips/legs. There’s something about the unexpected changes of direction that gets those osteoblasts cooking. It’s sort of the same principal as yoga in that regards.

Hey, leader strike up the band!

Beet it!

I discovered something amazing today. I hate beets, but I like beet juice. How can my reaction to the exact same food be so different just because of the form? I believe (maybe) what I don’t like about beets is the texture. They’re slightly slimy. To me, anyway.

But in the interest of eating well, today I put down my kale juice, and picked up the beet. Here’s my recipe:

6 skinny carrots (or 3 fat ones — and neither of these options are the baby carrots)

1 medium sized beet

2 apples (Honey Crisps are the juiciest, but they’re also the most expensive. A Fuji would work, too)

1 inch of ginger

Put them in your juicer and voila.

Nutritionally, the stats are:

Beets: loaded with folate — 109 mcg, vitamin A -33 IU, Calcium-16 mg, Magnesium-33 mg, Phosphorus 40mg, Potassium 325 mg,

Carrots: 30 mg of Calcium, 12036 IU of Vitamin A (wow! Including key nutrients Lycopene (2mcg), Lutein & Zeaxanthin (207 mcg)), Vitamin K 13.2 mcg, Potassium 320 mg, Magnesium 12 mg,

Apples: Nothing significant, but extremely alkalizing.

Calcium-wise, this is not one of my better drinks. The kale/apple/ginger combination packs more of a wallop. But it’s important nutritionally to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, not to stick with a select few favorites.

If you wanted to give this drink a calcium kick, toss in the beet greens with the beets. They contain 110 mg of calcium, and an additional 762 mg of potassium.

On Monday, I’ll post some images of how to do Lat Pull downs at home, without a machine. My trusty photographer (i.e., hubby) is busy with a writing deadline, but I think I can snag him next week.

Why get a flu shot, when you can take vitamin D?

Remember how I said Vitamin D was the wonder drug? Well, it is. In more ways than one. After noticing how flu rates fluctuate throughout the year, rising in winter and spring, and lowering in summer and autumn, some scientists decided maybe it had something to do with our vitamin D levels… Hm…

Our levels of vitamin D are naturally higher in summer and autumn because the days are longer and warmer, and we get more sun. The scientists postulated that it wasn’t so much that the flu virus wasn’t around during summer and autumn (it is), but that our naturally higher levels of vitamin D in summer and autumn prevented us from getting it.

Turns out they were right. Vitamin D not only protects against regular influenza, it also protects against H1N1 (a/k/a Swing Flu). Although there are no studies in any medical journals, this letter was recently published on the Vitamin D Council’s website:

Dear Dr. Cannell:

Your recent newsletters and video about Swine flu (H1N1) prompted me to convey our recent experience with an H1N1 outbreak at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC). Unfortunately, the state epidemiologist was not interested in studying it further so I pass it on to you since I think it is noteworthy.

CWC is a long-term care facility for people with developmental disabilities, home for approx. 275 people with approx. 800 staff. Serum 25-OHD has been monitored in virtually all residents for several years and patients supplemented with vitamin D.

In June, 2009, at the time of the well-publicized Wisconsin spike in H1N1 cases, two residents developed influenza-like illness (ILI) and had positive tests for H1N1: one was a long-term resident; the other, a child, was transferred to us with what was later proven to be H1N1.

On the other hand, 60 staff members developed ILI or were documented to have H1N1: of 17 tested for ILI, eight were positive. An additional 43 staff members called in sick with ILI. (Approx. 11-12 staff developed ILI after working on the unit where the child was given care, several of whom had positive H1N1 tests.)

So, it is rather remarkable that only two residents of 275 developed ILI, one of which did not develop it here, while 103 of 800 staff members had ILI. It appears that the spread of H1N1 was not from staff-to-resident but from resident-to-staff (most obvious in the imported case) and between staff, implying that staff were susceptible and our residents protected.

Sincerely,

Norris Glick, MD
Central Wisconsin Center
Madison, WI

Good for your bones, and good for your body. Go get some D! (Remember, Cholecalciferol is best.)

Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?

And for those of you who don’t know that knock-knock joke… uh… it’s too corny to type out here. But three-year olds think it’s hysterical.

What’s with the oranges? Well, we’re supposed to consume about 1500 mg of calcium a day, and it’s preferable (i.e., better absorbed) if that calcium comes from food.

Have you ever tried to eat 1500 mg of calcium? I mean, without eating dairy? It’s a pretty tall order. That’s why I love drinking calcium fortified orange juice. Think about it. It’s the perfect medium. Calcium is best absorbed in an acid environment, and orange juice is naturally acidic. Added bonus? Orange juice converts to an alkaline ash in your digestive tract, thus making you more alkaline. Perfecto!

Plus, all that extra vitamin C doesn’t suck either. Right now, I just stock up on the Calcium fortified Tropicana. Sometimes I make myself fruit smoothies with it. You know, toss in a banana, some strawberries, blueberries. That way, I’m getting my recommended five servings of fruit a day, some calcium, and the old alkalizing OJ. Win win win. [Editor's Note: I lurve nutritional shortcuts.]

I’d prefer not to buy some major, corporation brand OJ, but I’ve yet to find an organic fortified one. I guess the very idea of putting anything into OJ that doesn’t naturally occur in OJ kind of goes against the whole “organic” mindset. Dang.

They make fortified apple juice too, but I’m not as wild about that because of (a) the glycemic index of apple juice, and (b) you miss out on the alkaline stuff.

The Long and Short of It

So I’ve been doing yoga daily now for three and a half weeks. And although I didn’t expect much change this soon, there has been one really cool side effect. I’ve gotten an eentsy bit taller.

I had my husband mark my height on the wall before I started all this (yes, I feel like a first grader, and sorry, I think I mentioned that already on this blog). The first time he marked, I was a little under 5′ 1-1/2″ tall. The next time (after about two weeks of yoga) I was at 5′ 1-1/2″ exactly. As of last night, I am now back to my full height of 5′ 1-3/4″ tall. Weeee! No shrinkage for me.

Am I saying yoga makes you grow taller? No. Am I saying yoga helps correct postural changes that may have made you lose height? Yes.

In addition, I can get up without a chorus of “ooch, eech, ouch”-es. And I noticed day before yesterday, that I can look over my shoulder while pulling out of a parallel parking place without turning my entire upper body. I haven’t been able to do that since… 1993.

So yes, I think this yoga is a very good thing. I also think the vitamin D supplements must at long last be working because I’m finally gaining weight. My thighs are starting to brush together again when I walk. Sigh. I won’t miss brittle bones, but I will miss my skinny thighs. Too bad it took some kind of metabolic malfunction/malnutrition thing to acquire that leggy look.

Money

We’re running out of it. My husband and I both work in the arts; therefore we each have occasional bouts of unemployment.

Unfortunately, we’re currently each having one at the same time. Which puts a pinch on the old piggy bank. And it causes STRESS. In theory, our jobs will start back up in spring, but there’s no guarantee and the producer is being cagey. I’m sure she really doesn’t know. I worry that it’s more bleak than she’s letting on, and she doesn’t want tells us for fear that we’ll go get work elsewhere, and then the money for the show will come through and where will she be? My husband, the optimist, thinks the money is 90% there and that there definitely will be another season, but that she doesn’t want to say that for sure, in case the other 10% doesn’t come through. Classic glass half-empty (me)/glass half-full (him) scenario.

We’re lucky in that we’ve each had two scripts fall into our laps, so that will keep the faucet running for another two months. We’re hopeful that by the time that trickle runs out, something else will turn up. It usually does. But then, we’re not usually in this horrible of a recession.

This is another reason I’m not taking the osteoporosis drugs: my insurance is going to run out in December, and some of those meds are $600 a month. We can’t afford them. But even if our insurance wasn’t running out, I believe that since I’m under 50, the insurance wouldn’t have covered them for me anyway.

Who says we need health care reform?

It’s dreary, and gray, and cold, and I’m broke, and I just got a bunch of notes on a script, and they make me feel like people are dog-piling on me. Wee wee wee, this little piggy cried all the way home.

I’ll be better tomorrow.  Meantime, from the Inspire.com website, good news from a fellow osteoporosis sufferer:

I had my first DEXA in Feb. 2008 and this is my second test. Last year I had two pills of Fosamax, but after reading a lot about those meds I decided to go the natural way, with Calcium, Vit. D3, exercise and walking with a weighted vest.

These are my results:

IN FEB. 2008:
LUMBAR SPINE: T-score SD -2.31
LEFT FEMUR: T-score SD -3.66

Last month OCTOBER 2009:
LUMBAR SPINE: T-score SD -3.2
LEFT FEMUR: T-score SD -1.6

So yeah, her spine got worse (walking and weight vests don’t do a whole lot for your spine. You need to do specific exercises to target that). But her hips? A +2.0 improvement? Incredible! And without medication. It can be done, ladies!

Move of the Day

If you don’t know squat, you should learn. How to do a squat that is.

When I exercise, I do movements that are of use functionally. By that, I mean things that are going to help me in every day life. Being able to do a Bishop Curl may have some use in life, but I have yet to figure out what that may be.

But squats? They are the motherload of functional movements. When we sit on (and more importantly get off) a chair, a sofa, the bed, the toilet, out of the car, what we are doing is a squat. And the day you can no longer do a squat on your own, is the day you get a Jamaican nanny taking care of you, wiping your behind, all the while talking on her cellphone in a language you can’t understand.

As a child, I remember my grandmother rocking back and forth, back and forth, gearing up to get off the sofa. My brother and I used to imitate her. We thought it was hysterical. We didn’t understand that her rocking back and forth was not some quixotic peccadillo, but was instead her only way of gathering enough momentum to rise from a seated position without help. Indeed, shortly after that year of rocking, Little Granny was in a nursing home. For the rest of her life.

So squats — being able to do them, and doing them often — this is very important.

Now, whenever I go to a gym, I inevitably hear some poor trainer trying to tell a lady how to do squats. And the lady never gets it. Her knees go way out over her toes (which can destroy your knees), and the trainer keeps on explaining and explaining and explaining, and I always think: “You know, buddy. There’s one thing you could say that would make her get it like that.

[snap fingers]

The secret, magical, quick fix thing is this: Imagine you are about to use the world’s most disgusting public toilet, and there is no way you are going to let one cell of your skin touch that toilet seat.

Got it? Now you know how to do a squat. You inadvertently do them every time you are forced use the restroom at a gas station in the middle of Bug Tussle, USA.

But to be safe, start without a weight. Just have a chair behind you, and something in front of you that you can grab onto, like a person! Seriously. I’m not kidding. It’s good to start out with someone holding your hands. Because if you do this move correctly, your weight is on the back of your heels, which can make you feel a little tippy. So have someone hold your hands. If you don’t have a person handy, then use a towel bar, a wall, a large piece of furniture (maybe the footboard of your bed?)

Okay. So.

Place your feet directly under your hips, knees just slightly bent, shoulders back. [Editor's Note: I look frighteningly skinny in these photos. It's the camera lens. Our real camera is on the fritz and these were taken with my cellphone, which makes things look all stretched out and wonky. My husband will attest I am not this weenie in real life. I am, however (sadly), this flat chested.]

Now imagine that the chair behind you is that yucktastic, utterly grotesque toilet seat. Inhale and stick your butt way out in back as you hinge your upper body forward from the hips and squat. Keep your arms extended out in front of you (to keep you from tipping backwards). Keep your back flat. Be careful to bend only from the hips, not from your waist or back.

Tap your butt onto the seat (okay, it’s not really a disgusting toilet), then exhale as you come back up. Do this a couple of times to get the hang of it. You can even just squat down and hold the position for a while, maybe resting your elbows on your knees, and feel your quadriceps working.

Exhale as you come back up. Why do you inhale on the way down and exhale on the way back up? Because coming back up is harder, it’s where the exertion in the movement lies. When you exhale, the abdominal muscles contract and (in theory) prevent unwanted movements in your core, thus protecting your spine.

So once you’ve got the squating down, add some weights. In some ways, the move is easier with weights because they act as a ballast and keep you from tipping backwards.

Obviously (or maybe not so obviously), when you have weights, your arms will stay by your side rather than extending in front.

If you are doing the movement correctly (i.e., your weight is far enough back), you should be able to look down and see your toes. If you can’t see your toes, your weight is too far forward.

Here’s to a life without a nanny!

Maybe it’s time to rethink things

I’m about to say something that many people will find blasphemous, but here goes.

I’m not certain NOF knows the best way to handle osteoporosis in the younger population. GASP!

There. I said it. Let’s face it, until ten years ago when DEXA machinery came on the scene, no one knew they had osteoporosis until they broke something or developed a hunchback. So it really could be that there were tons of 20, 30, 40-year olds out there with osteoporosis who didn’t know they had osteoporosis, and continued living their lives normally. Hell, there were probably tons of 70, 80, and 90-year olds doing the same thing — and who maybe never, ever fractured.

So when I read all these cautions about don’t lift weights, don’t bend over, don’t twist — while I know those cautions are apt and sound advice — I can’t imagine how anyone in their twenties or thirties or forties could adhere to them. Those are prime child rearing years. You’re going to tell me that a mother is not going to bend down to pick up her kid? Her kid’s toys? Books? Clothes?

And forget mothers, let’s just talk about women period. You’re going to tell me that I’m not going to put on my own socks and shoes? I could buy mules and clogs — then I wouldn’t have to bend over. But I do like to wear socks, and I haven’t figured out how to reach my feet without bending things. No, I am not going to ask my sweet husband to put on my socks for me.

But let’s suppose he did. And let’s suppose he also he agreed to do all the vacuuming and to scrub the tub and load the dishwasher and bathe the dog, there’s still the rest of life to contend with. I keep thinking that if I ever fracture, it will be while I’m doing something utterly stupid. Like reaching back for my house keys as I’m running out the door. Or moving the car seat forward. (The handle is underneath the seat. You have to bend over to get it). Or turning over and reaching for the alarm clock.

That’ll be when it happens. When I least expect it.

But I digress.

I can see exercising extreme caution with the older population because in many cases (certainly not all — you triathalon, cross-country skiing, kick boxing septuagenarians, don’t come yelling at me) they have been more sedentary for a longer period of time, may have balance issues, may have frailty issues.

But a twenty year old? It’s only been four years since high school gym class, the prom, and marching band practice. Those girls are used to moving. A twenty-year old in particular still has ten years left in which she could build bone.

And yes, I understand the risks of compression fractures and wedge fractures and and and and and–!

The fact is, we have an epidemic of young women with osteoporosis. There should be study groups left, right and center putting those girls through their paces (in terms of exercise) and seeing what happens. And no, I don’t mean that these women (regardless of age) should go from being sedentary one day, to doing a 25 pound military press the next. Like any sensible exercise program, they should work their way up to it gradually and with knowledgeable supervision. Because just taking it easy and crossing your fingers that (a) science comes up with a wonder drug with no bad side effects; or (b) you make it to 70 still ambulatory… well that seems like a pipe dream to me.