Magnesium Supplementation = Good

http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/2/463.abstract
BLUF:  Either due to leaky gut or the effect of anti-nutrients like phytates in grains, or due to the natural deficiencies in the unnatural industrial food chain, we're likely all a bit short on magnesium.  This study shows a number of benefits from supplementation.  The question is 'how'?

Natural Calm is a good choice, but any magnesium citrate or oxide will do.  You'll know when you are taking too much when your guts let you know with a certain amount of urgency to get to a restroom.  So, start small, work up the dose slowly.

Vampire Myths

The following is a study abstract, which you should read only if you like that sort of thing.  Vampire myth, by the way, is a reference to myths that "just won't die." 

The BLUF: post-menopausal women who ate a high protein, high-potential renal acid load diet, did not show markers via this study's methodology of bone demineralization (which may lead to osteoporosis over time). 

Why is that important?  It has been thought by many that a diet which has a high net acid load at the kidney (IOW, a diet with higher protein and grain intake) might serve to stimulate the body to lose calcium to bring things to a more neutral PH.  Learning how to describe this topic in detail isn't a mountain I've climbed yet.  What I have learned so far is that amongst all the possible causes of osteoporosis - diet, activity type and amount, and sun exposure - the folks that present the worst cases of osteoporosis, archeologically and in clinical practice, are those who eat a lot of grains.  As cardiologist William Davis notes in his practice (granted, that's not a scientifically valid way to establish my conjecture), those who have all the other symptoms of metabolic syndrome and heart disease also have osteoporosis, so the link is possible, and squares well with the Paleolithic model of nutrition. The study cited below at least casts doubt on the "net renal acid load" conjecture as a cause of osteoporosis.  While thed "net acid  load" issue has long been viewed as a significant reason to practice the version of the paleo diet advocated in Loren Cordain's book, it always left me wondering how we were supposed to know how much veg/fruit was "enough" to balance the acid load, and how animal eating hunter gatherers did either.  In other words, it sounded like another unmeasurable, unverifiable, unpracticeable myth like counting calories.  Admittedly, omega 3 supplementation is a similar problem, which is why don't chase some pretense of precision in fish oil supplementation (but one day, AA/EPA ratio testing will be as cheap and common as glucose testing now is, and we'll all be able to balance omega 3/6 with more than heart felt belief).

What's interesting is the obvious link between remineralization of teeth and diet, the concept of grains and gut irritation interfering with absorbtion of minerals, the near universal observations that hunter gatherers had much better bones that agriculturalists (see link above), and the possible link between osteoporosis and calcification (see link above and this).  In other words, the same patterns that correllate with all of the diseases of the West likely result from the SAD (standard American diet), inadequate sun exposure and/or inadequate physical activity.  It wouldn't suprise many if all three of these factors have created the "perfect storm" for osteoporosis.  Given how essential bone health is to the survival of the organism, I tend to think it takes a "perfect storm" of conditions to compromise the body's ability to sustain bone health.   

What to do?  Eat meat and vegetables, some nuts, seeds and fruit, little starch and no sugar/wheat, supplement DHA/EPA via fish oil to balance your omega 3/6 ratio, and supplement vitamin D to reach a minimum of 30 ng/ml. Exercise intensely, for limited duration, including weight bearing and weightlifting (bikes and pools won't get it done alone).  Get smart on how to get sun exposure while optimizing your cancer risks.  Lastly, you can measure the outcome of your science experiment on yourself through bone scans.
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Our objective in this study was to determine the effects of a high-protein and high-potential renal acid load (PRAL) diet on calcium (Ca) absorption and retention and markers of bone metabolism. In a randomized crossover design, 16 postmenopausal women consumed 2 diets: 1 with low protein and low PRAL (LPLP; total protein: 61 g/d; PRAL: −48 mEq/d) and 1 with high protein and high PRAL (HPHP; total protein: 118 g/d; PRAL: 33 mEq/d) for 7 wk each separated by a 1-wk break. Ca absorption was measured by whole body scintillation counting of radio-labeled ⁴⁷Ca. Compared with the LPLP diet, the HPHP diet increased participants’ serum IGF-I concentrations (P < 0.0001), decreased serum intact PTH concentrations (P < 0.001), and increased fractional ⁴⁷Ca absorption (mean ± pooled SD: 22.3 vs. 26.5 ± 5.4%; P < 0.05) and urinary Ca excretion (156 vs. 203 ± 63 mg/d; P = 0.005). The net difference between the amount of Ca absorbed and excreted in urine did not differ between 2 diet periods (55 vs. 28 ± 51 mg/d). The dietary treatments did not affect other markers of bone metabolism. In summary, a diet high in protein and PRAL increases the fractional absorption of dietary Ca, which partially compensates for increased urinary Ca, in postmenopausal women. The increased IGF-I and decreased PTH concentrations in serum, with no change in biomarkers of bone resorption or formation, indicate a high-protein diet has no adverse effects on bone health.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/3/391.abstract
HT:  @DrEades

Heart Scan on Osteoporosis

I may have already posted this one - but it's so good, I don't care!  Ladies, if you eat real food you're getting plenty of calcium, the health of your bones revolves around following the good doctor's advice below so that your body sends the calcium where it needs to go, your bones, vice your intima.
Coronary atherosclerotic plaque and bone health are intimately interwoven. People who have coronary plaque usually have osteoporosis; people who have osteoporosis usually have coronary plaque. (The association is strongest in females.) The worse the osteoporosis, the greater the quantity of coronary plaque, and vice versa. The two seemingly unconnected conditions share common causes and thereby respond to similar treatments.

I have seen many women increase bone density using these strategies . . . without drugs of any sort.
1) Vitamin D restoration--Vitamin D is the most important control factor over bone calcium metabolism, as well as parathyroid function. As readers of this blog already know, gelcap forms of vitamin D work best, aiming for a 25-hydroxy vitamin level of 60-70 ng/ml. This usually requires 6000 units per day, though there is great individual variation in need.
2) Vitamin K2--If you lived in Japan, you would be prescribed vitamin K2. While it's odd that K2 is a "drug" in Japan, it means that it enjoys the validation required for approval through their FDA-equivalent. Prescription K2 (as MK-4 or menatetranone) at doses of 15,000-45,000 mcg per day (15-45 mg), improves bone architecture, even when administered by itself. However, K2 works best when part of a broader program of bone health. I advise 1000 mcg per day, preferably a mixture of the short-acting MK-4 and long-acting MK-7. (Emerging data measuring bone resorption markers suggest that lower doses may work nearly as well as the high-dose prescription.)
3) Magnesium--I generally advise supplementation with the well-absorbed forms, magnesium glycinate (400 mg twice per day) or magnesium malate (1200 mg twice per day). Because they are well-absorbed, they are least likely to lead to diarrhea (as magnesium oxide commonly does).
4) Alkaline potassium salts--Potassium as the bicarbonate or the citrate, i.e., alkalinizing forms, are wonderfully effective for preservation or reversal of bone density. Because potassium in large doses is potentially fatal, over-the-counter supplements contain only 99 mg potassium per capsule. I have patients take two capsules twice per day, provided kidney function is normal and there is no history of high potassium.
5) An alkalinizing diet--Animal products are acidic, vegetables and fruits are alkaline. Put them together and you should obtain a slightly net alkaline body pH that preserves bone health. Throw grains like wheat, carbonated soft drinks, or other acids into the mix and you shift the pH balance towards net acid. This powerfully erodes bone. Therefore, avoid grains and never consume carbonated soft drinks. (Readers of this blog know that "healthy, whole grains" should be included in the list of Scams of the
Century, along with Bernie Madoff and mortgage-backed securities.)
6) Strength training--Bone density follows muscle mass. Restoring youthful muscle mass with strength training can increase bone density over time. The time and energy needs are modest, e.g., 20 minutes twice per week.
Note that calcium may or may not be on the list. If on the list at all, it is dead last. When vitamin D has been restored, intestinal absorption of calcium is as much as quadrupled. The era of force-feeding high-doses of calcium are long-gone. In fact, calcium supplementation in the age of vitamin D can lead to abnormal high calcium blood levels and increased heart attack risk.
http://www.heartscanblog.org/2010/08/homegrown-osteoporosis-prevention-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FmnKK+%28The+Heart+Scan+Blog%29