WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 Prepare to have your health questions answered 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:06.599 here on Safe, Effective, Natural Solutions with 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.000 Dr. Todd Binkley, owner of Binkley Healing Center 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.970 in downtown Ventura. Now, here's Dr. Todd. Good 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:16.850 afternoon. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley, board -certified 00:00:16.850 --> 00:00:19.309 doctor of non -force chiropractic and practitioner 00:00:19.309 --> 00:00:21.429 of functional medicine. I've got an exciting 00:00:21.429 --> 00:00:23.149 show for you today. We're going to talk about 00:00:23.149 --> 00:00:26.149 osteoporosis. How do you figure out if you have 00:00:26.149 --> 00:00:29.690 osteoporosis or the precursor osteopenia, low 00:00:29.690 --> 00:00:32.729 bone density? Well, the main way is with a test 00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:34.530 called a DEXA scan. We'll talk more about that 00:00:34.530 --> 00:00:36.850 in a minute. But most importantly, how can you 00:00:36.850 --> 00:00:39.090 reduce your risk of bone density? How can you 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:41.990 reduce your risk of having a fall and fracturing 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:45.289 your hip or your spine? the severe consequences 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:48.289 of that. Most doctors don't do that test, by 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:51.549 the way, until you're in your 60s, late 60s usually. 00:00:51.630 --> 00:00:55.009 If you have a family history or a history of 00:00:55.009 --> 00:00:57.770 fractures, a family history of osteoporosis or 00:00:57.770 --> 00:00:59.810 a personal history, if you've broken several 00:00:59.810 --> 00:01:02.109 bones and you tell your doctor that, then they 00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:05.730 may do a DEXA scan as early as age 50. And, you 00:01:05.730 --> 00:01:08.310 know, you should be able to ask any doctor to 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:10.290 order that test for you and your insurance should 00:01:10.290 --> 00:01:13.310 cover it. But if it won't, that test is actually 00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:15.329 become really, really inexpensive lately. For 00:01:15.329 --> 00:01:17.469 years, it was about a few years, it was about 00:01:17.469 --> 00:01:19.769 $150. And I think last time I checked, it was 00:01:19.769 --> 00:01:23.689 less than a hundred to get a bone mineral density 00:01:23.689 --> 00:01:27.450 scan. It's called a DEXA scan. So if you have 00:01:27.450 --> 00:01:30.209 any trouble, too much hassle getting your doctor 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:32.290 to order it for you or order it again, if you 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:34.909 haven't had one done in a while, I'm happy to. 00:01:35.450 --> 00:01:38.409 order that for you. But before I get back, I'm 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:40.549 going to also talk about some patients that I've 00:01:40.549 --> 00:01:45.430 had that have reversed osteoporosis back to low 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:50.150 bone density or osteopenia and reversed osteopenia 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:53.730 back to normal bone density with nutrients and 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:55.950 not drugs. But before I start with that, I want 00:01:55.950 --> 00:01:59.370 to begin with a rant against the myopic intransigence 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:01.629 of the medical profession's latest recommendations 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:05.680 for osteoporosis. They're pathetic. And unfortunately, 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:08.099 they're probably not going to change anytime 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:09.840 soon. So here they are. These are the current 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:11.479 recommendations that just came out, published 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:14.900 June 30th, 2025, in the Journal of the American 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:17.939 Medical Association. This is a document the physicians 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:21.219 around the country and around the world look 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:24.199 to for guidance on how to treat patients with 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:26.759 osteoporosis. So it begins with risk factors 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.759 for osteoporosis include older age, female sex, 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:33.840 prior fractures, prior falls, low body weight. 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.479 history of hip fracture and apparent glucocorticoid 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:42.699 use, steroids, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:45.800 consumption, and certain inflammatory conditions 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.500 like inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.360 chronic liver and kidney disease, and of course, 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:56.580 low bone mineral density measured by a DEXA scan, 00:02:56.740 --> 00:03:00.759 dual energy x -ray absorptometry is DEXA scan. 00:03:01.229 --> 00:03:03.669 Well, so far so good. That's all true. That's 00:03:03.669 --> 00:03:06.830 all great to keep in mind. But the next part 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:10.270 is where the problems begin. For patients at 00:03:10.270 --> 00:03:12.449 high risk of fracture, those with AT score of 00:03:12.449 --> 00:03:16.319 minus 2 .5 or less, equivalent to a bone mass 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:21.139 that is greater than equal to 2 .5 standard deviations 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:23.580 below that of young adults. So these tests are 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:25.900 always kind of confusing to see because you're 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:28.520 usually looking if something's bad, it will be 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.340 high and it'll be a positive number. But bone 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:36.300 density scans measure the relative density compared 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:39.849 to a healthy population. So you want your bone 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:42.509 density to be equivalent to a healthy population. 00:03:42.610 --> 00:03:47.009 And if it is less dense, then it shows up as 00:03:47.009 --> 00:03:52.270 a minus number than the normal. And the diagnosis 00:03:52.270 --> 00:03:58.030 of osteoporosis is a T -score of minus 2 .5 or 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:01.110 less, which is actually a bigger minus number. 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:06.629 So, for example, minus 2 .7 or minus 3 .0 is 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:10.969 less than... A T -score of minus 2 .5. So it 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:12.710 gets really confusing. But if you have questions 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:14.490 about that, email me. Of course, I'd be happy 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:16.829 to answer questions about that. But here's the 00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:20.269 problem. If someone has this high risk, a T -score 00:04:20.269 --> 00:04:24.790 of minus 2 .5 or less, T -score of minus 2 .5 00:04:24.790 --> 00:04:26.550 or a bigger number with a minus in front of it, 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:30.449 then obviously what you need to immediately do 00:04:30.449 --> 00:04:34.189 is give them bisphosphonates. anti -resorptive 00:04:34.189 --> 00:04:37.389 agents to reduce the risk of vertebral and hip 00:04:37.389 --> 00:04:40.490 fractures. So there's no mention of the side 00:04:40.490 --> 00:04:42.850 effects of these drugs or the fact that they 00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:45.730 can actually cause bone necrosis in the jaw, 00:04:45.829 --> 00:04:48.310 cell death, and even in the hips where you're 00:04:48.310 --> 00:04:51.670 trying to prevent your risk of a fracture, or 00:04:51.670 --> 00:04:53.689 the fact that they work. They're a mechanism. 00:04:53.750 --> 00:04:56.089 They're called anti -resorptive agents. They 00:04:56.089 --> 00:04:59.860 work by stopping the resorption of bone. So your 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:02.420 body's smart. It has two major types of cells 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:07.500 to control bone growth and maintenance. Osteoclasts 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:12.740 and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts, with a C, clear 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:15.939 old bone out so that you have room to make new 00:05:15.939 --> 00:05:20.759 bone. Osteoblasts build new bone. So obviously 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:22.620 building new bone is usually good as long as 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:26.339 you don't have a bone tumor. But so the assumption 00:05:26.339 --> 00:05:30.750 with... taking these drugs is that clearing old 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:33.910 bone is not important. If you have low bone density, 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:36.110 then you shouldn't clear out any of the old bone. 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:39.889 You should keep all the old bone you can. No, 00:05:40.029 --> 00:05:43.670 that's not a good idea. Imagine just shoving. 00:05:43.670 --> 00:05:46.410 The reason these drugs quote unquote work is 00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:48.329 because they make your tests look better. They 00:05:48.329 --> 00:05:51.750 increase your bone mineral density. They make 00:05:51.750 --> 00:05:54.850 the test numbers look better. But do they make 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:58.300 your bones stronger? That's the question. And 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:01.759 the answer is often, no, they don't. Because 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.040 they don't increase the strength of your bones. 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:06.759 They just increase the density of your bones. 00:06:07.149 --> 00:06:09.689 So your bones are made of a collagen matrix, 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:12.970 which is embedded with minerals like calcium, 00:06:13.189 --> 00:06:16.009 strontium, and a few others to make them strong. 00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:18.810 So it doesn't make any sense. Imagine if you 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:22.269 had a part of your house that was falling down, 00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:26.149 and instead of doing any demolition to clear 00:06:26.149 --> 00:06:28.269 out the damaged structure, like say you had a 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:31.620 flood. and the drywall's all wet, or you've got 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:35.000 mold or something else, wood rot that's damaging 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:38.660 the framing. Imagine just covering that up or 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:43.480 injecting the wall with more something to stiffen 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:45.639 it up, maybe just injecting a rotten wall with 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:49.240 concrete to make it more dense. Is that going 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.899 to make that wall stronger? Of course not. You 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:56.279 need to clear out the old, damaged, weak, decayed 00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:00.350 tissue. so that you can rebuild ongoingly, continually 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:03.189 rebuild strong new bone. That's the way our bones 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:04.850 are designed. That's the way all of our bones 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:09.470 have both the clear out the old cell cells, osteoclasts, 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:13.029 and the build new bone cells, osteoblasts. So 00:07:13.029 --> 00:07:16.149 the drugs work simply by just shutting down the 00:07:16.149 --> 00:07:18.709 osteoclasts. And that's just not good, especially 00:07:18.709 --> 00:07:20.910 when it works so much better just to take the 00:07:20.910 --> 00:07:23.509 nutrients you need that your body needs to heal 00:07:23.509 --> 00:07:26.850 and repair bone. So these current standard recommendations 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:29.850 that probably your doctor and everyone you know's 00:07:29.850 --> 00:07:33.069 doctor is getting continually. It hasn't really 00:07:33.069 --> 00:07:35.050 changed. It's the same recommendations that have 00:07:35.050 --> 00:07:37.970 been around for years. Patients are recommended. 00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:40.709 The Journal of American Medical Association 2025 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:43.990 current recommendations for osteoporosis. Patients 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:45.790 are recommended to follow appropriate intake 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:49.730 of calcium, 1 ,000 to 1 ,200 milligrams, and 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:54.060 vitamin D, 600 to 800 international units. and 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:56.560 to pursue a regimen of muscle resistance exercises 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:59.579 like squats and push -ups, and balance exercises 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:03.439 like heel raises, standing on one foot. All right, 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:05.220 let's break that down. Here's the problem with 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:06.959 the first part, appropriate intake of calcium. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.500 If you look at the studies that all of this information 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:13.079 is based on, it's always taking calcium carbonate. 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.639 Calcium carbonate is ground -up rocks and seashells. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.600 No one should take calcium carbonate. Most people 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:22.939 do take calcium carbonate because it's cheap. 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:27.149 And it is the calcium that's in almost 100 % 00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:30.529 of one -a -day multivitamins and many, many, 00:08:30.550 --> 00:08:33.669 many of the calcium supplements that people take, 00:08:33.730 --> 00:08:36.450 even if it's a standalone calcium. So vitamin 00:08:36.450 --> 00:08:40.769 D, and if you take the better forms of plant 00:08:40.769 --> 00:08:44.850 -like forms of calcium. then the dose is half 00:08:44.850 --> 00:08:46.789 of that, 500 milligrams. So I'm going to come 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:49.529 back to that in a bit as well. Vitamin D, 600 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:52.309 to 800 international units is ridiculous. The 00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:56.149 standard adult dose for vitamin D is 5 ,000 units 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:59.230 a day. Some people do fine, especially as they 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:02.070 get older or who have any kind of chronic illness 00:09:02.070 --> 00:09:06.590 or inflammatory condition, cancer, anything that 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:10.649 requires immune system action or decreased bone 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:14.620 density. A lot of people take 10 ,000 a day and 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:16.340 do fine. And how do we know if they're doing 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:19.519 fine? We test the blood level of vitamin D. And 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:21.659 the serum level of vitamin D should be between 00:09:21.659 --> 00:09:25.340 50 and 90. Well, the standard range on most lab 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:28.860 tests is 30, which is way too low, but up to 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:32.139 100. And I have patients all the time that come 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.580 back and say, oh, yeah, my doctor told me I should 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:37.299 stop taking vitamin D because my vitamin D level 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:40.480 was 40. Now, they read the range. It says 30 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.799 to 100. And they've never seen anybody that's 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:47.100 above 30 because most people they see don't take 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:49.980 any vitamin D at all. And they ignore the fact 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:51.740 that the normal range is actually up to 100. 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:53.980 And the healthy range is, they don't know that 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:55.700 the healthy range is 50 to 90. So they actually 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.440 tell people to stop taking vitamin D when their 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.299 level is 40, which is still too low for most 00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:05.350 people. Okay, so these guidelines also say pursue 00:10:05.350 --> 00:10:07.789 a regimen of muscle resistance, exercise, squats, 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:10.909 push -ups, great. Balance exercises, heel raises, 00:10:11.110 --> 00:10:14.250 standing on one foot, also great. But what's 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:16.610 even more important, especially when you consider 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:19.129 the fact that a lot of people don't want to exercise 00:10:19.129 --> 00:10:22.070 for various reasons because of inconvenience 00:10:22.070 --> 00:10:25.809 or difficulty with arthritis, pain, but most 00:10:25.809 --> 00:10:29.389 people are still walking, and just walking is 00:10:29.389 --> 00:10:32.230 an excellent exercise to maintain your bone density. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.080 And if you can tolerate it, something that's 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.840 even better, a category of exercises that's even 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:41.120 better, is anything with just even a little bit 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:43.480 of impact. And by impact, it doesn't mean you 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:48.779 have to jump up and down off of a stair. Well, 00:10:48.779 --> 00:10:51.580 there's some severe impact exercises that are 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:53.440 not appropriate for people beyond a certain age. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:56.519 But something as simple as lightly jumping rope, 00:10:56.679 --> 00:10:59.820 if you have the balance to do that, or simply 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:04.350 standing. raising your heels up and gently, not 00:11:04.350 --> 00:11:07.549 intensely, but gently dropping them down quickly. 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:10.029 You know, not slamming hard, but, you know, just 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:12.070 dropping, lifting up on your heels with both 00:11:12.070 --> 00:11:14.330 feet, holding on to something so you're not going 00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:16.590 to lose your balance depending on your age. And, 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:18.730 you know, basically slamming your heels down. 00:11:18.809 --> 00:11:21.870 Boom, boom, boom. Pounding them down because 00:11:21.870 --> 00:11:26.029 that impact stimulates bone growth. You hear 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:29.350 about astronauts that are in zero gravity. for 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:32.450 even a few months come back and that's one of 00:11:32.450 --> 00:11:34.490 the main side effects and one of the main challenges 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:36.490 for people that go up to the space station is 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:39.750 they very quickly lose muscle mass and bone density 00:11:39.750 --> 00:11:42.049 and they have equipment there to exercise to 00:11:42.049 --> 00:11:44.409 try and maintain it as best they can but when 00:11:44.409 --> 00:11:46.169 you're not in gravity when you're not actually 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:49.029 bumping your bones into something every day through 00:11:49.029 --> 00:11:52.450 normal daily activities like walking then your 00:11:52.450 --> 00:11:57.139 bones very rapidly decrease, decline. Your bones 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.919 are there to provide a framework for your muscles 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:02.440 to pull on and to support the weight of your 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.580 body. And they respond, they remain strong when 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:09.179 you're walking around in gravity, heels hitting 00:12:09.179 --> 00:12:12.220 the ground. So doing something that involves 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:14.940 a slight amount of impact that doesn't cause 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:17.000 any pain, doesn't aggravate arthritis, you know, 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:19.259 depending on your general level of fitness and 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:21.919 your age, do a little bit of, you know, pounding 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.240 your heels on the ground, jumping, will maintain 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:27.679 bone density. And of course, I should mention 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.379 that what's really the most important thing that 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:32.399 kind of just, you know, most people don't want 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.240 to hear about, but if you have children and grandchildren, 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:37.779 the most important thing for preventing osteoporosis 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:43.450 is to get adequate Exercise and calcium and vitamin 00:12:43.450 --> 00:12:46.409 D and vitamin K when you're an adolescent and 00:12:46.409 --> 00:12:48.950 in your early teens and 20s. That's when you're 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:51.169 building all of your bone. Up to about age 30, 00:12:51.330 --> 00:12:53.690 you're still building bone density and then it 00:12:53.690 --> 00:12:56.429 starts to decline. And the more you build up 00:12:56.429 --> 00:12:59.789 in adolescence and in your 20s, the more you'll 00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:02.289 have for the rest of your life. And any cause 00:13:02.289 --> 00:13:04.870 of the decrease on that will be less likely to 00:13:04.870 --> 00:13:09.059 send you full -blown into osteoporosis. I'm Dr. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.399 Todd Benkley. You're listening to Safe, Effective 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.659 Natural Solutions to Almost Any Health Challenge. 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:16.659 Today we're talking about osteoporosis. The most 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:19.679 important nutrients to prevent osteoporosis and 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:25.080 even reverse it are bioavailable calcium, adequate 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.580 amounts of vitamin D, adequate amounts of vitamin 00:13:28.580 --> 00:13:34.139 K2, and sometimes supplemental collagen. So let's 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:37.440 break those down. Adequate bioavailable calcium. 00:13:38.190 --> 00:13:40.049 This is the most important one. Everyone knows 00:13:40.049 --> 00:13:42.029 you need calcium to build bones and maintain 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:44.830 bones. And most people take, if they're taking 00:13:44.830 --> 00:13:47.750 any supplemental calcium when they need it. And 00:13:47.750 --> 00:13:49.570 an older, you don't need to supplement calcium 00:13:49.570 --> 00:13:51.409 when you're in your, if you're less, if you're 00:13:51.409 --> 00:13:53.409 younger than 50, you probably don't need to take 00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:55.769 a calcium supplement unless you find that you're 00:13:55.769 --> 00:13:59.049 very easily falling and breaking bones in an 00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:01.129 unusual way. And, you know, if you're barely 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:03.850 falling, you break something. That's pretty unusual. 00:14:05.070 --> 00:14:08.090 Until you're older than 50, you usually don't 00:14:08.090 --> 00:14:10.870 need to supplement calcium more than the amount 00:14:10.870 --> 00:14:15.840 that is in a good multivitamin. The problem is 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:20.600 not necessarily the amount, and especially with 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:23.100 calcium, it's a classic example of just the wrong 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:26.820 form. So most calcium supplements that you buy 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:31.100 in stores at Costco or Trader Joe's or a pharmacy, 00:14:31.259 --> 00:14:34.080 any kind of store that sells vitamins other than 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.340 a health store, and even some of them there, 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:39.039 most calcium supplements are calcium carbonate, 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.730 and no one should take calcium carbonate. But 00:14:42.730 --> 00:14:45.330 nearly all of the research done on osteoporosis 00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:48.850 and calcium is done with calcium carbonate. Most 00:14:48.850 --> 00:14:51.970 doctors say, oh, the most cost -effective form 00:14:51.970 --> 00:14:54.590 of calcium is calcium carbonate. Well, it's not 00:14:54.590 --> 00:14:57.450 cost -effective. It's cheap. It's not effective. 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:00.610 So something that's cheap that doesn't work is 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:03.190 not effective at anything, therefore also not 00:15:03.190 --> 00:15:07.009 cost -effective. So check your labels. If your 00:15:07.009 --> 00:15:09.470 calcium supplement says calcium carbonate on 00:15:09.470 --> 00:15:12.490 it, throw it away and get something better. Of 00:15:12.490 --> 00:15:14.250 course, the best place to get any nutrient is 00:15:14.250 --> 00:15:18.009 from food. Good food sources of bioavailable 00:15:18.009 --> 00:15:21.149 calcium are leafy greens, sesame seeds, beans, 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.450 and almonds, among others. And then if you're 00:15:24.450 --> 00:15:27.049 not getting enough from your diet, take a good 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:29.830 calcium supplement with more than one form, with 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:32.490 three or four different forms of plant -like. 00:15:33.210 --> 00:15:37.090 calcium forms like calcium hydroxyapatite, calcium 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.610 bisglycinate, calcium malate. I'm going to come 00:15:39.610 --> 00:15:41.830 back to these. I'll tell you about the calcium 00:15:41.830 --> 00:15:43.730 product that I recommend and have recommended 00:15:43.730 --> 00:15:46.690 for 20 plus years to hundreds and hundreds of 00:15:46.690 --> 00:15:49.490 patients and seen my, I hear my colleagues talk 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:51.730 about the results of recommending it to thousands 00:15:51.730 --> 00:15:54.230 and thousands of patients who have been able 00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:57.289 to reverse osteoporosis back to low bone density, 00:15:57.409 --> 00:16:00.429 osteopenia, or reverse osteopenia back to normal 00:16:00.429 --> 00:16:04.230 bone density by getting adequate. So I mentioned 00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:07.289 before that you don't want to take calcium carbonate. 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:09.870 Well, how do we know that? I mean, isn't it better 00:16:09.870 --> 00:16:12.590 than nothing? Well, not really, especially considering 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:14.990 that other alternatives are better, which work, 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:17.850 are available, which are not that expensive and 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:20.289 work much better. But what is the problem with, 00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:22.629 where's the data? I like to base everything I 00:16:22.629 --> 00:16:25.409 speak about on this show on available research. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.500 plenty of research that shows problems with calcium 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:32.179 carbonate. For example, here's a study published 00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:36.500 in Cancer Epidemiological Biomarkers in 2003, 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:40.240 which says intake of calcium and or dairy products 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.139 has been associated with an increased risk of 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:46.659 prostate cancer in some epidemiological studies. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.559 It goes on to say that one potential biological 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:52.860 mechanism is that high calcium intake downregulates 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:56.480 dehydroxyvitamin D in the blood. bloodstream, 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:59.019 which may increase cell proliferation in the 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:01.940 prostate. Well, what that really means is that 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:04.900 most people don't take enough vitamin D. If you 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:06.880 have enough vitamin D in your system, then it's 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.200 not going to downregulate the form that is involved 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:13.400 in making it bioavailable to you when you do 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:16.000 take it. And most people don't take enough. And 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.960 in fact, almost all, pretty much all studies 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.289 that properly examine the effects of vitamin 00:17:22.289 --> 00:17:25.089 D on human health, show that adequate doses of 00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:29.049 vitamin D, 5 ,000 more units a day, achieving 00:17:29.049 --> 00:17:32.069 a serum level of 50 to 90, dramatically reduce 00:17:32.069 --> 00:17:34.509 your risk of almost every type of cancer, and 00:17:34.509 --> 00:17:38.009 especially breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. 00:17:38.289 --> 00:17:41.470 You know, these are among, I think the last reference 00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:46.470 I saw was 40 % of cancer deaths. are from breast, 00:17:46.650 --> 00:17:48.470 colorectal, and prostate cancer. And there's 00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:50.829 robust data that shows that getting adequate 00:17:50.829 --> 00:17:53.970 vitamin D in your system dramatically reduces 00:17:53.970 --> 00:17:56.049 your risk. Something like 50 or 60 % reduced 00:17:56.049 --> 00:18:00.210 risk of those types of cancer. And the real reason 00:18:00.210 --> 00:18:03.630 that this study showed a slight increase in the 00:18:03.630 --> 00:18:05.609 risk of prostate cancer is because it was all 00:18:05.609 --> 00:18:09.309 based on ground -up rocks and seashells, calcium 00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:13.190 carbonate. Close listeners to this show and who 00:18:13.190 --> 00:18:16.990 do their own research and pay attention to alternative 00:18:16.990 --> 00:18:20.490 health and functional medicine related newsletters 00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:22.869 and podcasts and things like this may remember 00:18:22.869 --> 00:18:26.210 hearing that calcium can increase your risk of 00:18:26.210 --> 00:18:30.029 heart disease, of arteriosclerosis. Well, of 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:33.150 course, calcium from food doesn't do that, but 00:18:33.150 --> 00:18:37.089 calcium carbonate does. So here's another study 00:18:37.089 --> 00:18:39.980 that was from the... Journal of American College 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:42.440 of Cardiology published in 2021. If you just 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.079 tuned in, we're talking about why most people 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.960 and most doctors especially are so misinformed 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:51.240 about the proper form of calcium people should 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:53.279 be supplementing and getting into their diet 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.440 to prevent and reverse osteoporosis. So American 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:58.640 College of Cardiology 2021, we're talking about 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:02.400 why you shouldn't take calcium carbonate. This 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:05.400 paper talks about both taking vitamin D and calcium. 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:08.730 in combination. Vitamin D and calcium supplements 00:19:08.730 --> 00:19:10.670 are commonly used often together to optimize 00:19:10.670 --> 00:19:13.089 bone health. Multiple observational studies have 00:19:13.089 --> 00:19:16.849 linked low blood levels of vitamin D with increased 00:19:16.849 --> 00:19:21.190 cardiovascular risk. And subsequent randomized 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:23.809 controlled trials failed to demonstrate cardiovascular 00:19:23.809 --> 00:19:27.670 benefit with vitamin D supplementation. Although 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.450 vitamin D supplements do not appear to be harmful 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:33.990 for cardiovascular health, The lack of benefit 00:19:33.990 --> 00:19:37.009 in randomized controlled trials should discourage 00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:39.630 their use for this purpose, favoring optimization 00:19:39.630 --> 00:19:41.950 of vitamin D through healthy lifestyles such 00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:45.509 as specific foods, which are not listed specifically, 00:19:46.029 --> 00:19:49.789 and modest sunlight exposure. Well, first of 00:19:49.789 --> 00:19:52.150 all, what is modest sunlight exposure? Most people 00:19:52.150 --> 00:19:55.470 have no idea what that is, and the only way you 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:57.720 can tell if you're getting... enough vitamin 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:00.279 d is to do the blood test and when we test millions 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.579 of people if they're only getting it from the 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:05.940 sun they're usually not getting enough so this 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:10.279 paper goes on to describe the original 2008 auckland 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:12.519 calcium study which first raised concerns that 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:15.059 calcium supplements may increase cardiovascular 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:19.640 risk again if you read the bought the data, how 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:22.720 they actually did this study and all calcium 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:24.539 studies in the medical literature, they always 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:27.569 use calcium carbonate because it's cheap. or 00:20:27.569 --> 00:20:30.549 as they say, cost -effective. Since that time, 00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:32.269 multiple studies have shown that calcium supplement 00:20:32.269 --> 00:20:34.769 users have greater risk for cardiovascular events 00:20:34.769 --> 00:20:37.930 than non -users, particularly for calcium intake 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:41.890 in excess of 1 ,400 milligrams a day. Well, no 00:20:41.890 --> 00:20:45.009 one takes 1 ,500 milligrams a day of calcium 00:20:45.009 --> 00:20:48.170 unless they're taking calcium carbonate, because 00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:49.589 that's what their doctor tells them to do. Take 00:20:49.589 --> 00:20:53.009 1 ,200 to 1 ,500 milligrams, air quotes, the 00:20:53.009 --> 00:20:55.109 only kind of calcium that's cost -effective, 00:20:55.269 --> 00:20:58.819 calcium carbonate. In the MESA study, the multi 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:01.839 -ethnic study of atherosclerosis, calcium supplement 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.480 use was associated with an increased risk for 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:08.980 coronary artery calcification, 22 % increased 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:12.119 risk. In contrast, higher intake of dietary calcium 00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:15.140 from food sources was not associated with elevated 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:18.779 cardiovascular risk. So the sad thing is that 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:21.940 all these studies use cheap calcium that is ground 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:23.940 up rocks and seashells. And why should we be 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:27.190 surprised if you increase that? that's not well 00:21:27.190 --> 00:21:31.069 absorbed, any nutrient you take, you don't want 00:21:31.069 --> 00:21:32.890 it to just increase your blood levels. That's 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:35.690 one measure that's the starting point. But you 00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:37.630 want it to end up in your cells. Calcium goes 00:21:37.630 --> 00:21:40.849 to your muscles and your bones primarily. So 00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:42.630 why should it be surprising if you take ground 00:21:42.630 --> 00:21:45.630 -up rocks and seashells that increase your blood 00:21:45.630 --> 00:21:48.849 levels but then are not efficiently absorbed 00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:50.750 into your muscles and bones, not efficiently 00:21:50.750 --> 00:21:52.869 absorbed into your tissues? They're just increasing 00:21:52.869 --> 00:21:55.869 your blood levels. And what would you imagine 00:21:55.869 --> 00:21:58.809 would be more likely to increase the hardening 00:21:58.809 --> 00:22:01.869 of your arteries, which is formed partly by calcium. 00:22:01.930 --> 00:22:04.089 Plaques in their arteries are formed by calcium, 00:22:04.230 --> 00:22:07.569 cholesterol, and fibrin, scar tissue. And if 00:22:07.569 --> 00:22:11.059 you already have plaques, then taking... Calcium 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:14.480 carbonate will slightly increase your risk for 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.740 arteriosclerosis, heart failure, stroke, as this 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:20.140 study goes on to mention, and type 2 diabetes. 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.740 Add to that list kidney stones. The main reason 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:25.440 most doctors freak out if you're taking more 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:28.519 than 400 units of vitamin D a day when you should 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:30.460 be taking 5 ,000 is because they're convinced 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:32.720 you're immediately going to get kidney stones. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.779 Well, it's the form of the calcium. Calcium that 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:40.259 is not absorbed into your tissues. stays too 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:42.359 long in your bloodstream and then is filtered 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:45.000 out by the kidneys where it can increase your 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:47.380 risk of a kidney stone so even that's really 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:51.119 really rare but that's that's why that's one 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:53.619 of the reasons why the mainstream medical recommendations 00:22:53.619 --> 00:22:57.440 are the way they are so the takeaway is read 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:59.960 your labels carefully if you're taking any supplement 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:02.599 that has calcium carbonate in it throw it away 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:05.519 and to make this task easier if you're taking 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.839 any one a day multivitamin you can be virtually 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.400 assured that it has calcium carbonate in it. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.579 The reason one -a -day multivitamins can fit 00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:16.660 the minerals, which is the most important reason 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:18.599 to take a multivitamin, is not for the vitamins, 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:20.519 which you can get from food, but for the minerals 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:22.599 that most people are missing from their diet. 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:24.420 The reason you want to take a multivitamin is 00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:27.099 for the minerals. And the minerals in one -a 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:29.000 -day multivitamins are always in forms that are 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.359 very, very difficult for your body to absorb. 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:34.299 So you can get vitamins from food relatively 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:38.940 easily, but most people are deficient. in minerals 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:41.880 and that's why taking a good four capsule a day 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:45.000 multivitamin to replace those missing minerals 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.039 is something that I recommend to almost everyone. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.099 Most good multivitamins are for the minerals 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:52.940 and they're usually three to four capsules a 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:55.420 day. I've got some more really important material 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:57.779 to present about osteoporosis but it looks like 00:23:57.779 --> 00:23:59.240 we're going to run out of time here in a bit 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:01.180 so I promised I'd talk about some patients that 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:03.420 I've seen and Unfortunately, we're just not going 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:05.319 to have time to mention someone in specific and 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:07.740 do it justice. But the general situation is they 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:10.680 come in and we reverse the osteoporosis with 00:24:10.680 --> 00:24:14.079 safe, effective, natural alternatives like adequate 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:17.799 calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K2, and sometimes 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.619 for some people, adequate collagen supplementation. 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:22.970 As always, thank you for listening. Send me your 00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:24.990 questions about osteoporosis. Have a fantastic 00:24:24.990 --> 00:24:28.329 weekend. You've been listening to Safe, Effective, 00:24:28.329 --> 00:24:31.690 Natural Solutions with Dr. Todd Binkley. If you 00:24:31.690 --> 00:24:33.650 have a health question you want discussed on 00:24:33.650 --> 00:24:37.029 the show, email your health questions to drbinkley 00:24:37.029 --> 00:24:41.009 at binkleyhealingcenter .com. Take advantage 00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:43.849 of this opportunity to ask questions for yourself 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:47.410 and for your loved ones because our health matters. 00:24:47.650 --> 00:24:51.990 Join him next Friday at 2 p .m. for Safe, Effective, 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:55.559 Effective Natural Solutions, here on 98 .3 FM, 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:56.519 The Word.