Osteoporosis, which natural health advocate and columnist, Dato’ Dr Rajen M, describes as a sexist, bully and thief, is a preventable disease.
It is a sexist disease because it targets women, and a bully due to its tendency to target people of smaller built. The disease is also a thief since it robs people of bone density for years before the effect could be seen or felt.
Citing the largest study carried out in Malaysia called the Asian Osteoporosis Study, he says 44.8% of all hip surgeries in the country involve Chinese ladies over the age of 60. The remaining 45% include Chinese men and Chinese ladies below the age of 60, Indian and Malay men and ladies and those from other ethnicities.
Prevention
Prevention is possible, according to Dr Rajen. He outlines three ways for the prevention of osteoporosis, which includes eating right, getting enough sunlight, and exercising.
Eating habit is important to ensure that we get the much-needed calcium from natural food sources. Eggs, spinach and anchovies are among the calcium-rich food sources that could naturally provide for our calcium needs.
Something as simple as sunlight can tremendously help in keeping the calcium levels up. Sunlight helps the body in making vitamin D, which enhances the absorption of calcium. Dr Rajen shares that in natural food sources, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, which are required for healthy bones, always come with vitamin D.
In terms of exercises, Dr Rajen recommends weight-bearing exercises to enhance bone strength. He recommends crawling and arching the back, as “this forces strain on the bone, and the strain will cause the bone to pull in the calcium, magnesium and phosphorus which it needs to keep good bone density.”
Calcium needs and absorption
Osteoporosis is always linked to calcium, and Dr Rajen says we need between 1,000 milligrams to 1,500 milligrams daily. It also depends on gender and how much calcium we already have stored in our body. The lesser calcium we have, the more our body needs it.
It should be noted that calcium intake does not guarantee absorption. Poor digestion, for one, could hinder calcium absorption. “That’s the reason why as we age, we all tend to lose calcium,” Dr Rajen says.
The lack of sun, consuming certain food that would not bind calcium, and taking drugs that could remove calcium from our system could potentially reduce our calcium levels. Dr Rajen also adds that lack of bone activity could also result in the bones not pulling in calcium.
The myth
A myth surrounding calcium is that it is believed that taking too much calcium could result in an overdose or renal stones. Touching on the myth, Dr Rajen explains that our body understands calcium so well that it will expel the excess, so there is no possibility of an overdose or the formation of kidney stones.
To illustrate this, he says babies do not get renal stones regardless of their calcium intake in milk. He explains renal stones are more common in older people due to the lack of calcium, and this happens because the body is trying to hold back the calcium.
Of course, in this case, Dr Rajen is talking about natural calcium.
Calcium in supplements
Not everyone could get adequate calcium supply from their daily intake of natural food sources, so the best way to provide for our bodily needs is by taking calcium supplements. The best calcium supplement should come from natural sources.
MOO® Plus calcium supplement from Holista, for example, is sourced from milk and has the right ratio of minerals and vitamin D to provide for the body’s calcium needs. According to Dr Rajen, milk is the best source of calcium. “So it’s a very, very positive source.” It is also clinically proven to increase bone density.
However, not all supplements are sourced from milk or natural sources. Consumers should therefore be cautious when purchasing calcium supplement to ensure that the calcium that enters their system is absorbable.
Choosing the right supplement
Calcium supplements come in different forms and sources. In choosing the right calcium supplement, we should look into how much we could absorb, Dr Rajen says, instead of the price. This brings us back to the natural calcium sources.
To check the source, Dr Rajen recommends checking the packaging. “Most calcium supplements are made of calcium carbonate, and calcium carbonate is very poorly absorbed. And calcium carbonate is not real food; it is limestone, it is chalk.”
He says that it is important that we get the calcium from real food source and that most of the supplements available in the market are sourced from calcium carbonate or calcium citrate.
“Look for milk minerals, they’re the best way to get calcium. And make sure that it has vitamin D as well.”
Getting advice
The best person to recommend or prescribe supplements to the end user, according to Dr Rajen, is the pharmacist. This is because a pharmacist is trained on disease process, supplements and nutritionals, side effects, and drug interactions.
Not dismissing the importance of consulting a doctor, Dr Rajen says the doctor is the point of call for diseases and it would be best to consider the points of view from both the doctor and the pharmacist.
Dr Rajen, who has been involved in various pharmaceutical initiatives, says that the awareness on traditional medicine has been on the rise among pharmacists around the world. Pharmacy schools have been putting more emphasis on complementary, traditional, and phytomedicine or nutritional medicine.
