From the Desk of Carolyn Dean MD ND
I recently proved that my formulas, and especially ReMag®, build strong bones. I took a tremendous fall on concrete at the Farm Store and had extensive bruising to one knee and one elbow, but my bones refused to break! That’s the type of experiment you don’t choose to do voluntarily, but that’s the immediate conclusion I had after I took that fall. Another interesting part of the experiment is that as I sat up, with some help, I felt myself going into shock, so I asked for my water bottle filled with my ReMag®, ReMyte®, Pico Potassium®, Pico Silver®, ReCalcia®, Pico Zinc Plus®. After a long swig, the shock subsided entirely, and the pain was less.
Calcium in Balance
Most people, including MDs, do not understand the importance of balancing calcium and magnesium at the cellular level for all our tissues, including our bones. Without adequate levels of magnesium, calcium cannot build bones or prevent osteoporosis. If our bones are made entirely from calcium, they become brittle and can shatter, like a stick of calcium carbonate chalk falling on the sidewalk. So, the standard recommendation for women to take more calcium to prevent bone loss is terrible advice.
In his calcium studies, Dr. Mark Bolland found that women who take calcium supplements are at greater risk for heart disease as calcium builds up in arteries causing atherosclerosis. The point to make here is that all the calcium supplementation in the past two decades has not prevented the osteoporosis epidemic that we suffer today.
Magnesium and Other Factors
However, with the correct percentage of magnesium, bone has the proper density and matrix that makes it flexible and more resistant to shattering. I’m afraid many elderly people are suffering bone fractures because they have too much calcium and not enough magnesium.
Other important factors in the development of osteoporosis include diet, drugs, endocrine imbalance, allergies, vitamin D deficiency, and lack of exercise. A detailed review of the osteoporosis literature shows that chronically low intake of magnesium, vitamin D, boron, and vitamins K2, B12, B6, and folate leads to osteoporosis. Similarly, chronically high protein intake, table salt, alcohol, and caffeine adversely affect bone health. The typical Western diet (high in protein, table salt, and refined and processed foods) combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle contributes to the epidemic incidence of osteoporosis.
Another important aspect of bone health is that vitamin D must be taken along with magnesium to activate it. The ambivalence in vitamin D research might rest on the fact that none of the studies consider magnesium.
Magnesium provides the resilience factor along with water and a matrix of collagen, which form the soft tissue scaffolding for minerals to deposit. Proper hydration includes sea salt with its 72 trace minerals. Here are my guidelines: Take your weight in pounds, divide that number in half, and drink that many ounces of water daily. To each liter, add ¼ tsp of a good, colorful sea salt. Start with a pinch and work up.
The Collagen Matrix
What about the collagen matrix? Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein, making up about 90 percent of the bone matrix. It has its own list of requirements for proper structure and function, and vitamin C is especially important. Elastin is also present in healthy bone matrix to provide more flexibility, and it depends on magnesium for its proper structure and function.
A good animal-protein diet can provide collagen. Along with picometer minerals, organic, food-based vitamins (A,B,C,D,E,K2), and Omega-3 Algae, you can also have strong and healthy bones.
Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future
