Our shells are not on the outside,
they are inside - bone. The ability to
make bone coincides with the evolution
of the hormone leptin.
Early life was
in water so it did not need rigidity
because gravity did not act on it.
When we went from ocean to land, we
encountered gravity.
Bigness affords
protection. For animals to grow on
land they had to become more rigid.
Rigidity and strength are very
different.
Internalizing our external
shell allowed us greater rigidity so
we could grow larger against gravity.
Bone is very different from shell,
though. Bones have to be strong and
flexible.
Bones are more alive than shells. The
alive part imparts strength.
Osteoclasts and osteoblasts are cells
that eat and rebuild bone to keep it
young if it is working properly. These
are living architects to model and
remodel our bones.
Osteoblasts make
bone by putting down protein not
calcium. Osteoblasts are the architect
and the protein is the clay. We
approach osteoporosis incorrectly, the
calcium causes rigid but brittle bone,
the protein makes it strong and
flexible like a green limb - like a
fly rod bending and flexing. The rod
would crack in half if it weren't
hollow.
Fracture under pressure can
be caused by a bone with more calcium
than protein in the bone.
Bone density scans measure calcium not
protein content - calcium content does
not reflect bone strength.
Babies have
the worst cases of osteoporosis ever -
their bones are very flexible and can
be maintained as the child does a lot
of falling.
Bisphosphonates -
Fosamax - these inhibit osteoclasts,
that break down cells. Old bone MUST
be broken down in order for young,
flexible, pliable protein matrix to be
formed. By inhibiting this process,
then calcium has nothing to adhere to
- take calcium alone and try to make bone - it would break apart and
crumble. The protein, the clay is
essential. It is what the calcium
sticks to.
All medical treatment
for osteoporosis right now all work
the same way by inhibiting osteoclasts
and when they do break, they shatter
by glass. Bones cannot carry much
weight because the strength, the
protein matrix, is inhibited.
We need vitamin K to allow certain
proteins to be sticky enough to hold
onto calcium. People on heart meds are
cautioned against taking this. These
are the same people who have heart
disease BECAUSE they have too much
calcium in soft tissue. Vitamin K
tells calcium where to stick - on
protein matrix on bones.
If we only
had protein and no calcium in bones,
we would only have cartilage. We would
have strong bones, but not enough
rigidity - we would be like gumby
dolls.
High dose calcium
supplements are not recommended. As
we age our cells have a harder time
keeping calcium out. This is the time
when we are told to take more calcium.
So intracellular calcium rises and
cells lose signals everything becomes
impaired and mortality rises.
Exercise does help bones. It makes
them flex and send signals that more
strength is needed - NSAIDs impair
this message. Eating more protein
will not just result in more protein
matrix either. Life is not made up of
the parts, it is made up of the
organization of those parts, the
hormonal signals that tell the parts
how to behave optimally. We have to
give protein and calcium the knowledge
of where to go and what to do in the
body.
Eat green vegetables, take
vit K and don't listen to your Doctor
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