The term "Osteoporosis" refers to a loss of total bone mass and not just bone thinning due to calcium deficiency. Bone loss in adults increases the risk of bone fractures and may contribute to the loss of teeth in healthy postmenopausal women. Low bone mass in women is attributed to a genetic tendency, estrogen deficiency and lack of regular physical activity.

A high calcium intake and adequate Vitamin D will promote optimal bone mineralization in youth and decrease the rate of bone-mineral loss in the later postmenopausal period. Lack of Vitamin D in children leads to Rickets -soft, poorly mineralized bone that bends easily.

Women, fearing the stooped posture of old age, are eager to take milk or calcium supplements. TV ads, promoting calcium ingestion, show the degenerating profiles of an aging woman and are deceptive. Osteoporosis is more a problem of disuse atrophy, with age-related reduction of bone growth-factors than of calcium deficiency. Daily, weight-bearing exercise is the best method of maintaining bone-growth at any age. Women over 50 years of age show the most bone thinning because of deficiency of anabolic sex hormone production, especially estrogen and declining physical activity.

Osteoporosis is confused with Osteomalacia

Osteomalacia refers to the reduction of the mineralization of bone. The problem of demineralization of bone is often confused with loss of whole bone tissue (osteoporosis).

Bone stores 99% of body calcium and calcium salts, laid down in a soft protein matrix, are responsible for the hardness of bones. Long-term calcium deficiency and/or vitamin D deficiency leads to bone thinning or osteomalacia. Magnesium, copper and manganese are also essential for normal bone matrix formation, and must be considered in the overall nutrient equation.

The term osteoporosis now refers generally to loss of bone density and increased risk of fractures, especially of the spine and hips. Originally, the term referred only to the loss of the bone matrix - a soft tissue and did not refer to the state of mineralization of the bone. With loss of bone matrix, there is less to mineralize and bone density decreases regardless of mineral status.

A high calcium and magnesium intake and adequate Vitamin D will promote optimal bone mineralization in youth and decrease the rate of bone-mineral loss in the later postmenopausal period. Lack of Vitamin D in children leads to Rickets -soft, poorly mineralized bone that bends easily. In older women, a high plasma level of vitamin D enhances calcium absorption, whereas high sodium, protein, alcohol and caffeine intakes will cause increased urinary losses and negative calcium balance. Other regulatory changes and/or vitamin D deficiency may alter the balance between calcium absorption from the bowel and excretion from the kidney.

Osteoporosis is in part a problem of disuse atrophy, with age-related reduction of bone growth factors. Daily, weight-bearing exercise is the best method of maintaining bone-growth at any age. Women over 50 years of age show the most bone thinning because of deficiency of anabolic sex hormone production, especially estrogen and declining physical activity. In early menopause, estrogen replacement is effective therapy for conserving bone mass in women.

Exercise and supplementation with calcium  plus other minerals - magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc - are recommended as part of a treatment program for post-menopausal osteoporosis. Postmenopausal women given calcium alone show progressive bone de-mineralization. Vitamin D is added up to 800 iu per day in postmenopausal women with established osteoporosis.

Measuring Bone Mineral Density

The measurement of bone mineral density is is "a poor way of predicating which woman will suffer from a hip or spinal fracture..." according to Dr. Ken Basset of the B.C. Office of Health technology assessment. An English study ( Law et al Br. Med J,1991:303:453-9) showed that low bone density measurements only identified 6% of women who later suffered fractures. The lifetime risk of hip fracture in women is about 18% and the incidence increases with age.  One of the reasons for doing a bone density measurement is to focus attention  the need for preventive strategies in postmenopausal women. The test can be replaced by a policy that states that all postmenopausal women need preventive strategies, starting with daily exercise, proper nutrition and optionally, hormone or drug therapy if there are no contraindications.

Biophosphonates

Alendronate (Fosamax) 5.0 to 10.0 mg per day prevents osteoporosis in younger postmenopausal women, an alternative therapy for women who cannot take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and an adjunctive therapy for women on HRT. The drug also prevents steroid induced osteoporosis should be considered for use in all patients who require long-term steroid therapy.  In multicenter randomized study  (Fracture Intervention trial, reported 1998 at the European Congress of Osteoporosis ), Alendronate decreased the rate of hip fractures by 58%( at mean follow-up period of 3.8 years) in postmenopausal women who took 5 mg/day for 24 months then 10 mg per day. In another study, combined therapy with Alendronate 10 mg/day, Vitamin D 4000 iu/day, and 1000 mg calcium/day had increases in bone density 2-5 times greater at 12 months than women on HRT alone.

Calcitonin (salmon hormone nasal spray) has also been effective in reducing spinal fracture rate in women over a 4 year period; the women already had one spinal fracture- 200 IU per day over 4 years reduced the risk of fracture by 36%. Bone density increases of .7 to 1.6% were observed.  Raloxifene (Evista 60-120 mg/day), an estrogen hormone receptor modulator reduced spinal fracture rates by 38% in a group of postmenopausal women who already had one fracture.

Alpha OMX is designed

• To promote bone growth and strength

• To prevent and treat osteoporosis

• To prevent and treat calcium and magnesium deficiency states

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All Alpha Nutrition formulas are ordered at Alpha Online. We ship through the Post Office to all destinations in Canada, Continental USA, Alaska, Hawaii. Alpha Nutrition ®is a registered trademark and a division of  Environmed Research Inc., Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada. In business since 1984. Online since 1995. Prices are quoted in Canadian dollar. US $ cost depends on the dollar exchange rate.

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