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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Calcium supplements and drug interactions
A large number of people take calcium supplements
including those who are concerned about bone health or who have reflux. Even minerals, like calcium, taken on a regular basis
can interfere or interact with medications.
Best to be safe than sorry. If you are on medications for heart disease or if you
are taking an antibiotic it is best to talk to your doctor before taking any kind of supplement including calcium. If
you take medications for asthma/COPD, epilepsy/seizures, chronic inflammation or thyroid disease, your need for calcium can
go up.
One very useful web-site
to check on drug-nutrient interactions ishttp://www.mitamins.com/library/Index/Drug-Interactions.html
It’s always best to take
medications and supplements, including calcium, at different times of the day.
9:52 am edt
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Vitamin D; Whats the Difference?
Many vitamin supplement makers are
using a vitamin D like compound, ergocalciferol or D2, sourced from cultured fungus. D2 is not normally found in animal tissue.
D2 is used because it is less costly than natural vitamin D. The naturally occurring vitamin D found in animals, cholecalciferol or D3, is produced
when sunlight activates a cholesterol like compound in the skin. D3 is also found in cod liver oil and in higher quality supplements.
Both D2 and D3 are changed by the liver into their circulating form, 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. The problem
is that D2 does not have as strong an attraction for vitamin D landing sites in the body as D3 does and therefore more D2
has to be used to be as effective as a comparable amount of D3. Also, when labs provide blood levels of vitamin D they
may not be measuring both D2 and D3 levels. If you are supplementing with D2 and the lab measures D3, false
levels will be reported. Then you start taking more D2 in the mistaken belief you are vitamin D deficient. Too much vitamin
D, whether D2 or D3 can be toxic.
The research is
clear about the many bone health benefits of vitamin D. I would point out that the research studies used the naturally formed
D3 and not D2. It is therefore unclear if D2 has the same benefits as D3.
I only provide products for my patients that are D3 sourced.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Rebuilding bone
Bisphophonates
like Fosamax, work, as do Calcium and vitamin D, by slowing down bone breakdown. Bisphophonates effectively kill existing
bone breakdown cells but they do not act on the bone building cells therefore Bisphophonates do not increase the body’s
ability to build new bone mineral density. Bone mass continues to fall even while a person is on anti-resorptive drugs.
Strontium is a metallic element in the same family as calcium.
It is widely distributed in minute amounts in various compounds, seawater, marine plants, food, bones and teeth. Strontium by itself is not well absorbed by the gut so
it must be attached to a well absorbed compound. In Europe, a form of strontium attached to a synthetic
compound, Ranelic Acid or Ranelate, is patented and is available by prescription. Strontium ranelate is approximately the
same cost per month as Fosamax. If the attaching compound is, for example, a naturally occurring compound like citrate,
it is not eligible for patent. Strontium citrate appears to be a form of strontium that is easily absorbed,
very soluble, and has good gastric tolerance. Because citrate is a natural compound it can be purchased as a dietary
supplement rather than a drug. Strontium slows the rate at which immature bone
breakdown cells called osteoclasts develop but it does not kill the cells as Bisphophonates do. Strontium will cause immature
bone building cells called osteoblasts to multiply and develop more quickly, which in turn supports bone growth. The
net effect is a reduction in bone degradation and an increase in bone mineral density (BMD). Thus you increase bone
strength and may reduce osteoporosis risk. For more information see the Grow Bone Kit in my products section. |  |
Cementing cracks in bones
That's right. One of the most popular procedures for spinal compression fractures due to osteoporosis
and other bone thinning diseases is to inject a cement into the bone; sort of like patching a cracked sidewalk.
The procedure is performed many thousands of times per year at a Medicare cost of $1,500-$2,100
each. Guess what? It doesn't help.
Recent research released in the New England Journal of Medicine
says that the procedure is no more effective than placebo at removing the pain, disfigurement and disability caused by
compression fractures of which osteoporosis is the main cause.
If this procedure is recommended to you or a loved
one, discuss what other options are available to you. Hopefully you have embarked on a course of prevention of osteoporosis
by eating properly, exercising and taking supplements that grow bone. Prevention is always the best medicine.
8:53 am edt
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Office Hours: By Appointment
Saturday appointments are available
Dr. Robert Lawrence, MEd, DC, DACBN
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