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Most people are quite familiar with the importance of good nutrition and
quality exercise for improving bone mass, but if we do not have an endocrine system that is functioning optimally or we are taking drugs like corticosteroids that alter the function of the endocrine system, good nutrition and exercise won’t work,
as we need our hormones to actually get the minerals into the bones.
Calcitrol is an important hormone that is involved in calcium deposition into bones. The raw material from which calcitrol is made is cholesterol, so low cholesterol levels may affect the synthesis of calcitrol. Our thyroid, which sits in the front of our neck, secretes a hormone called calcitonin, and when the thyroid is not functioning as it should, calcitonin secretion may be affected, which will have a direct impact on the state of our bones. Proper functioning of the thyroid is very tied in to proper adrenal and cortisol function. Cortisol is your stress-response hormone, so if you are suffering from chronic stress, either physical, emotional or spiritual or any combination of the above, or if you are feeling fatigued on a daily basis, you may be losing bone mass due to endocrine dysfunction.
It is also well established that corticosteroid drugs, both oral or inhaled, cause a decrease in bone
mass just like excess endogenous cortisol does, probably through its affects on
the thyroid, so if you are on these drugs it may be wise to talk to your doctor
about safer alternatives. If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis,
get your physician to order saliva circadian rhythm
adrenal and thyroid hormone
tests, and then do whatever is necessary to rectify any issues through
functional-medicine protocols and by adjusting
lifestyle. So although osteoporosis, like almost all the degenerative diseases faced by society today, is a complex disease physiologically speaking with a variety of “causes”, it can also be viewed as a very simple disease that is caused by living a lifestyle that breaks the laws of nature (eating fake food,
inadequate amounts of quality flesh foods, not exercising enough or inappropriate intensity, not enough dark time, and being chronically stressed).
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Wilson, James Adrenal Fatigue, 21st Century Stress Syndrome Smart Publications, Petaluma, CA 2001.
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Hunt CD et al. Calcium requirements: new estimations for men and women by cross-sectional statistical analyses of calcium balance data from metabolic studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Oct;86(4):1054-63.
Copyright 2007 Vreni Gurd
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