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Vitamin K2 Bone effect validated: Osteoporosis results

March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

bodyAs many of my readers know, I had a rather unwelcome surprise fifteen months ago when I had a mild ‘ankle sprain’ fall off my son’s skateboard. The result? Broken leg, and after a Dexa scan, I was informed I had severe osteoporosis. A great gift after 13 years on the alkaline diet and much of the reason for Cassie’s innovation, the Alkaline Paleo Diet.

Well, I had my latest Dexa scan a month ago and my pelvis is around 8% better which is apparently good. But I can say that it wasn’t my alkaline ionized water that did it, even though i still love my water – but Cassie’s research and her bon-friendly supplementation of Vitamins K2, D and A.

K2 is also available from dairy cows on green grass, and from their meat. We are lucky enough to have a good supply of grass fed beef, and I’m supplementing daily.

I think this extract from a company site sums up the role of K2 better than i can, particularly the ‘calcium paradox’.  I’ve been concerned for quite some time at how the body manages our calcium so that it goes where it is supposed to you instead of becoming an atherosclerosis risk factor.

“Vitamin K2 MK-7 plays a crucial role in the calcium balance and aids the optimal distribution of calcium in the body.

Several recent high profile studies have reported an increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with high calcium intake from particularly dietary supplements in men & women.
MGP – the strongest known inhibitor of arterial calcification  – is activated by vitamin K2 MK-7 and works by binding calcium. As a consequence, it inhibits calcium from depositing in the arterial cell wall.
Osteocalcin is synthesized inside the bone forming cell where it is activated by the presence of Vitamin K2, MK-7. Upon this activation it can bind calcium efficiently and contribute to the formation of a stronger bone structure (hydroxyapatite).The “calcium paradox” describes the relationship between osteoporosis and atherosclerosis – a phenomenon that largely can be explained by lack of activation of osteocalcin and MGP.With the presence of vitamin K2 MK-7, sufficient activation of osteocalcin and MGP takes place. Calcium is removed from the blood stream and tied up into the bone mass.”

 

As promised, here’s the latest scientific report on the bone building effect of K2.

Worth a read by every sugar-addicted acidic human of median age.

Filed Under: arthritis, Gout, Osteoporosis, scientific studies, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Osteoporosis and Alkaline Ionized water

March 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I grabbed this scientific study with both hands. Recovering from severe osteoporosis, I needed good news, particularly given that I have been drinking electrolytically ionized water for over 13 years.

Alas, the report was, to my mind, inconclusive at best, and came down to a comparison of calcium absorption.

I am still a huge fan of alkaline ionized water, but not for bone health. Cassie’s research, on the other hand has me on daily doses of K2, D and A, plus thr Paleo diet.

For those of you interested, here is the report.

 Effects of alkaline ionized water on formation & maintenance of osseous tissues

 By Rei Takahashi Zhenhua Zhang Yoshinori Itokawa (Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Dept. of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Fukui Prefectural University)

Effects of calcium alkaline ionized water on formation and maintenance of osseous tissues in rats were examined. In the absence of calcium in the diet, no apparent calcification was observed with only osteoid formation being prominent. Striking differences were found among groups that were given diets with 30% and 60% calcium. Rats raised by calcium ionized water showed the least osteogenetic disturbance. Tibiae and humeri are more susceptible to calcium deficiency than femora. Theses results may indicate that calcium in drinking water effectively supplements osteogenesis in case of dietary calcium deficiency. The mechanism involved in osteoid formation such as absorption rate of calcium from the intestine and effects of calcium alkaline ionized drinking water on maintaining bone structure in the process of aging or under the condition of calcium deficiency is investigated.

Osteoporosis that has lately drawn public attention is defined as “conditions of bone brittleness caused by reduction in the amount of bone frames and deterioration of osseous microstructure.” Abnormal calcium metabolism has been considered to be one of the factors to contribute to this problem, which in turn is caused by insufficient calcium take in, reduction in enteral absorption rate of calcium and increase in the amount of calcium in urinal discharge. Under normal conditions, bones absorb old bones by regular metabolism through osteoid formation to maintain their strength and function as supporting structure. It is getting clear that remodeling of bones at the tissue level goes through the process of activation, resorption, reversal, matrix synthesis and mineralization.

Another important function of bones is storing minerals especially by coordinating with intestines and kidneys to control calcium concentration in the blood. When something happens to this osteo metabolism, it results in abnormal morphological changes. Our analyses have been focusing mostly on the changes in the amount of bones to examine effects of calcium alkaline ionized water on the reaction system of osteo metabolism and its efficiency. Ibis time, however, we studied it further from the standpoint of histology. In other words, we conducted comparative studies on morphological and kinetic changes of osteogenesis by testing alkaline ionized water, tap water and solution of lactate on rats.

Three week old male Wistar rats were divided into 12 groups by conditions of feed and drinking water. Feeds were prepared with 0%, 30%, 60% and 100% of normal amount of calcium and were given freely. Three types of drinking water, tap water (city water, about 6ppm of Ca), calcium lactate solution (Ca=40ppm) and alkaline ionized water (Ca =40ppm, pH=9, produced by an electrolyzer NDX 4 LMC by Omco OMC Co., Ltd.) were also given keely. Rats’ weight, amount of drinking water and feed as well as the content of Ca in drinking water were assayed every day. On the 19th and 25th days of testing, tetracycline hydrochloride was added to the feed for 48 hours so as to bring its concentration to 30mg/kg. On the 30th day, blood samples were taken under Nembutal anesthesia, and tibiae, humeri and femora were taken out to make non decalcified samples. Their conditions of osteoid formation and

rotation were observed using Villanueva bone stain and Villanueva goldner stain.

Three groups that were given different types of drinking water and the same amount of Ca in the feed were compared to find out no significant difference in the rate of weight gain and intakes of feed and drinking water.

Alkaline ionized water group had significantly greater amount of tibiae and humeri with higher concentration of calcium in the bones. The group of 0% calcium in the feed saw drastic increase in the amount of osteoid. There was not much difference by types of drinking water. Almost no tetracycline was taken into tibiae and humeri, although a small amount was identified in ferora. As a result, osteogenesis went as far as osteoid formation, but it was likely that decalcification has not happened yet, or most of newly formed bones were absorbed.

As to the groups of 30% and 60% calcium in the feed, increase in the area of tetracycline take in was more identifiable with higher clarity in descending order of alkaline ionized water, calcium lactate solution and tap water groups. Especially in case of tap water group, irregularity among the areas of tetracycline take in was distinctive.

The group of 100% calcium in the feed saw some improvements in osteogenesis in descending order of alkaline ionized water, calcium lactate solution and tap water. In any case, bone formation seemed to be in good condition at near normal level.

Alkaline ionized water was regarded to be effective for improvements of osteogenesis under the conditions of insufficient calcium in the feed. Also, the extent. of dysosteogenesis differed by the region. That is, tibiae and humeri tend to have more significant dysosteogenesis than femora.

In addition, there is a possibility that osteo metabolism varies depending on enteral absorption rate of calcium, adjustment of discharge from kidneys and functional adjustment of accessory thyroid in the presence of alkaline ionized water. We are now studying its impact on calcium concentration in the blood. We are also examining whether it is possible to deter bone deterioration by testing on fast aging mouse models.

Filed Under: Osteoporosis, scientific studies

Coca Cola’s going to HATE this video!

October 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

…and I just LOVE it!

Filed Under: Acidosis, addiction, arthritis, Candida, Candida albicans, Fun, Obesity, Osteoporosis, Teeth Tagged With: , ,

Calcium Supplementation and Heart Attacks. What about water ionizer calcium?

September 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This link is perhaps unwelcome but also important. The fact is that the more calcium there is in our water supply, the more concentrated calcium we are drinking in our alkaline ionized water. The would mean – to my thinking – that there is a possibility of excess calcium in areas with hard water. I have yet to see any data from any manufacturers of water ionizers on the dosage of calcium from a water ionizer in relation to maximum RDA, which for a 50-year old male is 1000mg daily.

The latest University laboratory  test we did on our new UltraStream ionizer showed 7.1 (at beginning of filter use) to 9.4( at end of rated life) mg of calcium per litre. Assuming, therefore we drink 2 litres a day we will get a max of 18.8mg of calcium form water that came from the tap at about half of that. Obviously nowhere near the recommended daily dose by the National institute of Health. This equates to what we expect from any electric ionizer; it will basically double to calcium in the output water, but the key is the amount in the input water. (Note: the water source was a municipal water supply supplemented with industrial size RO, meaning its initial calcium level was low)

The answer is -superficially at least – to source our calcium primarily from calciferous greens etc in diet, but the report – for me at least – opens up the whole question of calcium supplementation and what can be regarded as safe calcium. What I perceive is that as long as we accept the idea that more calcium equals better bones, without including the vital missing nutrients K2, D and A in our daily regimen, all we’ll have is a circulatory system loaded up with calcium that’s got nowhere to go.

The report also opens up the concept of the importance of ORP in our water. To me, ORP is what pH tries to give us in our bodies. ORP, particularly the ‘R’ of the ORP – the ‘reducing’ or donating of electrons ability of our water, may be the key to the health changes we see happening. Drinking water loaded with free electrons seems to me to be a short cut to giving the electrons it normally gets from its limited store of alkaline minerals. After all, that’s what they do in the body. They donate electrons to the body to neutralise equal and opposite molecules that need those electrons. So a flood of electrons from the water will find the very molecules we call free radical. Rogue oxygen that is out of balance because of its electrons.

Does this make sense to you?

Filed Under: Alkaline Diet, alkalizing, Calcium, Osteoporosis, Scientific Reports Tagged With: ,

Sugar = acid = health = NOT! Alkaline Diet Loopholes.

September 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What is it going to take before our main alkaline diet afficiaonados realise that a very large number of the recommended ‘alkaline’ foods on their alkaline food list deliver many times the amount of fructose as alkaline minerals? I’m OVER hearing about alkaline balance from people peddling acid-creating fructose-laden alternatives.

For those of us till wondering what sugar or good old ‘healthy’ fructose has to do with health outcomes, this little video may give them a hint.

Filed Under: Acidosis, Alkaline Diet, Alkaline Paleo Diet, alkalizing, Foggy thinking, Gout, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, Osteoporosis, Paleo Tagged With: , , ,

Evolution and Calcium

April 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Calcium: Just how much do we understand about it?

I’m referencing this study about how we obtained calcium in paleolithic times for a reason quite unrelated to the article itself.

calcium and paleoLast friday night Cassie and I enjoyed a lovely night with good friends. It was a general cook-up of fish, chicken wings, with a wonderful healthy salad.

We all dived into preparation.. with the exception of our two vegan friends who produced two frozen  patties of indeterminate origin and asked pointedly if they could be cooked in a way that assured them that no ‘cross-contamination’ from non-vegan foods occurred. We did it, cooking the gray coloured patties on a separate hotplate, and once everything was ready, we sat down by the swimming pool and began our feast by candle light. Amid the chatter, I heard our vegan friends ask for sauce. It seemed their grey patties were too much (or too little) to bear. A bottle of sauce was located, and the two vegans then tried as best they could to decipher the ingredients by the light of a single candle.

As an ex vegetarian (12 years) I respect people’s choices, and if veganism satisfies a moral need, God be with ‘em. But they looked like you could blow them over with a feather. And my local doctor begins muttering in his beard if I remind him of his vegan patients because they refuse to acknowledge that their diet is affecting the way their bodies and minds are functioning.

B12 isn’t the only problem vegans have. K2, sourced from grassfed beef and dairy, is a essential element in the distribution and elimination of calcium. And let’s not go into the amino acids (taurine and lysine) we get in abundance from meat. Other vegan longterm problems include thyroid and teeth.

Calcium is available to vegans if they go big on dark leafy greens like our alka-partner Brett Hayes, whom Cassie interviewed last week. To look at Brett you would believe that veganism is the ideal diet, but he’s also a green food fanatic and very learned in diet related topics. (Brett has consented to join our advisory panel of health professionals.. more on this soon)

Denise Minger, that ex-raw, paleo amazing researcher gives a very good list of points she thinks vegans need to know.
The list is here, and below you’ll find her expanded comments on each point.

Coming back to my original point.. (It is Easter Monday – that’s my excuse for the wandering rave) The study is an overview of what our ancestors ate to maintain better bones and less bone decay than what we can achive today. It shows where they got their calcium It’s a fascinating read; I was amazed to learn that we actually shrunk in height once we began eating grains, and the study pinpoints the poisons we accept as tolerable in a grain-based diet.

“Phytate-rich fiber sources tend to show the greatest effects on mineral absorption (30), but before the Mesolithic Period (which generally began no earlier than ,ı1 5 000 y ago) humans, like other primates, made limited if any use ofcereal grains and hence had little exposure to phytate.

Whether or not nongrain fiber sources have an adverse effect on mineral absorption has not yet been conclusively established but if such an effect is present it appears likely to be less extensive than that of fiber from grains (30).”

and..

“Purified proteins such as casein, lactalbumin, and wheat gluten added to a basal diet typically produce hypercalciuria (36, 37); however, long-term calcium balance studies during a high-protein (2 g/kg) diet with the protein provided as meat have shown no hypercalciuria and no indication ofcalcium loss (38).”

 

The study also pointed out that our daily bread habit ‘avidly’ binds calcium in vitro, which may prevent its absorption. (perhaps that’s why some bread vendors add calcium!). Age related bone loss is an accepted part of life today, but the report shows that  our paleo ancestors had very little loss as they aged, but this changes when we began to eat grains.

Green vegetables, of course, have some ten times the calcium of grains.

Here’s the report; I’ve talked enough. Please take your time and absorb its many important findings. I hope my lean and keen vegan friends read it too; they really do look bad.

 

 

Filed Under: Alkaline Diet, alkalizing, Calcium, Osteoporosis Tagged With: ,

Osteoporosis: are you already a victim? An Osteo story in the making.

February 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

Cassie and I just uploaded a video of our experience so far with my skateboard experience. It led to my discovery of terrible osteoporosis.
You’ll follow us through the discovery, the recommendation of calcium and exercise, the research, and the answers to osteoporosis from Dr Jack Kruse.

Here it is.

Filed Under: Osteoporosis Tagged With:

Amaaazing Video on Bone Structure, formation and disease

February 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Every now and then something just knocks me out. The videos on this site are the most amazing simulations of bone formation I think I’ll ever see. If you are at all interested in what happens to your bones you HAVE to see this. (Warning: It needs high band width or you’ll go nuts trying to see it.. like I did).
Here’s the link 

Filed Under: Inspiring, Osteoporosis

Young Americans and Osteoporosis

January 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Osteoporosis, it seems is not the preserve of the aged.

This study of US teenagers found frightening evidence of osteo in 14 year old US schoolgirls, directly related to their habit of guzzling ‘sodas’. What was even more revealing was that girls who participated in sport had even worse osteo.. presumable because they drank more soda in the form of Gatorade etc.

Filed Under: Alkaline Diet, Osteoporosis Tagged With:

You Asked For It. The SOB on Video. Goodbye skateboard, Hello Osteoporosis.

January 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

SOB? Silly old Bugger. I’m lying on the couch with a broken leg. I’ve been here since December 26 when Neil, our son and website manager, invited me to ‘have a go’ on his new electric skateboard. Now.. should a 65 year old take up the offer, and if he does, why does he? Ego? Pride? idiocy? All of the above. Here’s the video.

However, there is a ‘positive side’. It may not seem positive but I’m all about seeing the positive.

First, the negative. It hurt, it’s a nuisance, I’m confined to the couch on the best days of the year.. and in a bone density test I asked for I found that I have…

very bad osteoporosis. :cry:

Now for an alkaline philosophy guru that’s a pretty ‘out there’ announcement. But on more careful investigation it seems that I was born that way. Yes, it happens, and losing my teeth as a teen was a sure sign of the condition very early in life.  And given my previous profession of hang glider test pilot I can thank my lucky stars that I didn’t break more bones.

I ‘m also extremely lucky that I know so much about alkalizing. In retrospect I’m guessing that my 12 years as a vegetarian didn’t help, but well, I did it. I am paying. But I’m also lucky that I have the best medical researcher on the planet in my beloved Cassie. My Doc directed me to www.osteporosis.org.au which said the same old thing: calcium, Vitamin D, exercise, eat dairy and salmon with bones in it, and up the testosterone levels.

In the meantime Cassie is pounding the pavements of cyberhealth land – and finds something FAR more interesting. She discovers a good strontium supplement and 150 testimonials from more than satisfied users, many of whom have been back for a 12-month bone scan and discovered bone density increases of 12%! She researched strontium for side effects and health risk..  and apart from radioactivity if you overdose…. it’s actually very similar to calcium in the way it works in the body.
Here’s Cassie’s link to the strontium she’s ordered me

Filed Under: Calcium, Osteoporosis Tagged With: ,