Detection of Bone Loss and Dietary Interventions to Reverse It.
Healthy Bones should last a lifetime.
How healthy are yours?
Most people don’t realize that bone is actually living tissue containing a plethora of minerals. They think it’s static rather than ever changing. Normal bone metabolism consists of osteoclast activity, which breaks down bone and frees the minerals contained into your blood stream, followed by osteoblast activity, which creates new bone. This break and build cycle allows you to continuously have fresh new bone.
When your bone breaks down, certain by-products appear in your urine and your blood. 
The N-telopeptide or NTx test is one way to evaluate the rate at which your bones are undergoing bone resorption. NTx is a stable and specific breakdown product of type I collagen, which makes up 90% of the organic matrix of bone and consists of numerous cross-linked protein strands. Elevated NTx level is reflective of increased bone resorption and correlates with diminishing bone density over time. Levels can be measured in either urine or serum.
The NTx test measures these bone by-products and provides a dynamic measurement of what’s actually happening inside your bone at any given point in time, unlike bone density tests which provide a static snapshot of your bones. With the standard bone density test, there’s no way to tell you’re currently in the process of doing at a higher rate — building or breaking down bone.
The NTX test allows you to assess the effectiveness of diet and lifestyle modifications geared towards building strong bones. It’s less invasive and less expensive than the bone density test and is a really good test to run every six months, or more frequently in the early stages of an Test results are reported as bone collagen equivalent units/mmol creatinine. The range is 5–65. A very good value is considered to be 36 collagen equivalent units/mmol creatinine and a number somewhere between 30 and the mid-40’s generally indicates a safe rate of bone turnover.
The NTx test can measure N-telopeptide levels in the urine or blood. For details about the test, visit Osteomark.com.
Click Here to order a home test kit
5 Strategies for Saving and Restoring Your Bones
So what do you do if your NTx test shows that you’re resorbing bone faster than your building it back up?
- Adopt a bone saving diet and lifestyle that contains ALL 20 of the nutrients required for strong bones, not just calcium, or calcium and magnesium. For a complete list of these nutrients and the foods that contain them, listen in here: BLOG TALK RADIO or attend Eating for Bone Health for checklists and food charts. Green leafy vegetables and sea vegetables in copious amounts can have a dramatic impact on bone health.
- Another important piece of the bone strength puzzle is maintaining a diet rich in alkaline ash foods. Using my acid/alkaline food chart as a guide, eat between 75 and 90% of your foods from the alkaline side of the chart if you’re in bone breakdown mode as reported by the NTx test or if you have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia.
- Add foods that have been shown in research studies to fortify bones, like prunes. Dr. Bahram Arjmandi says yes, the humble prune can reverse bone loss, and his research data is looking strong. Dr. Arjmandi of Florida State University in Tallahassee has been testing a variety of “functional foods” for their ability to reverse bone loss. He tested soy, blueberries, strawberries, raisins, dates, and finally prunes. He reports that no other natural substance comes even close to having the consistently beneficial bone-building results of prunes. According to Dr. Arjmandi’s special phenolic compounds in dried plums increase growth factors linked to bone formation, like IGF-1 and counter the activity of factors that inhibit bone formation, like TNF-alpha. Prunes are also high in antioxidants and contain copious quantities of a variety of key bone nutrients, including potassium, boron, and copper. In Dr. Arjmandi’s research, he found other natural substances that could halt bone loss, but only prunes restored lost bone. The quantity of prunes that was most effective in Dr. Arjmandi’s studies was quite high – 100 grams or 9-10 per day.
- Adopt a gluten free diet. Numerous studies have tied gluten sensitivity to inflammation and bone loss. Removing gluten from the diet of those with gluten intolerance and bone loss has reversed the condition within as little as six months. Of course, in addition to just removing gluten from the diet, you mush heal your gut lining, which can take u to a year or two.
- Weight bearing exercise is key to improving bone strength as is exposure to daily sunshine or a Vitamin D supplement.
Here’s a HOT off the Press New Bone Strengthening Recipe.
Bone Lover’s Arugula Pesto
- 1 5 ounce package baby arugula
- 4 ounce fresh basil
- ¾ cup macadamia nuts
- ¾ cup Brazil nuts
- ½ cup hemp seeds
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon kelp powder
- 2 teaspoons nettles powder
- 2 teaspoons ground horsetail
- 2 teaspoons ground alfalfa
- ¼ teaspoon whole unrefined sea salt
Place all ingredients in food process and process until almost smooth
I served this as follows:
1. Place a handful of greens on a sheet of Nori (I used Mache greens)
2. Form a handful of the pesto into a sausage shaped log about the length of the Nori and place on top of the greens.
3. Put a handful each of broccoli sprouts and sunflower greens on top. Roll and seal closed with a bit of water.
4. On one of my Nori rolls, I put a few slices of pickled ginger and ½ teaspoon of Ume paste (available in the macrobiotic section of the health food store)
These were very filling and delicious. My bones were very happy.
There are lots more recipes like this to support your bones in our class, Eating for Bone Health, both live and videotaped!
Strengthen My Bones Green Smoothie
Skeleton Supporting Savory Sesame Sauce
Bones Don’t Crack Crackers
Creamy Italian Bone Boosting Soup
Bone Building Super Salad
Bone Building Brownies
Love, Health and joy to you,
Dr. Ritamarie
Posted in Gluten Free Diet, Raw Foods, Success Stories, Vibrant Health, Vitamin D
Boning up on Bone Health
How strong are your bones? If you’re like most people, you probably have no idea.
Women are often offered a bone density test as a part of an annual exam once they hit menopause, so if you’re “of that age” your bone strength may have already been tested. If you’re over the age of 50 you have a high probability of having osteoporosis. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 55% of people over 50 have osteoporosis and 80% of them are women. And a whopping 75% of people over age 70 have osteoporosis.
If you would like to beat the odds, you need to start NOW, regardless of your age. The younger you are the better chance you have of avoiding osteoporosis if you’re taking care to strengthen your bones.
On Thursday April 28, I’ll be doing a Blog Talk Radio show about your bones. On it, I’ll share the details of a test most people don’t know about that will let you know if you’re losing bone or building bone. It’s a simple urine test you can do at home.
I’ll also tell you about some of the foods you can include in your diet regularly to promote stronger bones and let you know which ones to avoid.
Tune in at Dr. Ritamarie Radio to listen live or on replay. There are two parts to the broadcast. Part one is on the causes of osteoporosis and Part 2 covers natural approaches to strong bones.
Our “Eating for Bone Health” class is designed to empower you even further to healthy bones. The videos will eb avaialble in case you miss the live class on Sunday May 1 at 12PM PDT, 1PM MDT, 2PM CDT and 3PM EDT. You can attend live in Austin, TX or online. If you have a time conflict, you can register for the webclass and get access to the digital videos, organized by topic and recipe for your viewing convenience.
http://www.drritamarie.com/glutenfreeclasses/bonehealth2011-04
If you attend live, you’ll also get access to the videos, so you can watch as a refresher anytime. Plus you’ll get a beautiful recipe guide and checklists of foods that promote bone health that you can hang on your refrigerator.
In this one of a kind class you’ll get practical information and get to watch us make bone building foods right before your very eyes, including:
Strengthen My Bones Green Smoothie
Skeleton Supporting Savory Sesame Sauce
Bones Don’t Crack Crackers
Creamy Italian Bone Boosting Soup
Bone Building Super Salad
Bone Building Brownies
Don’t wait to be one of the millions that don’t even know they have osteoporosis until a bone breaks. Even if you’re a man or young women, this information can save your quality of life and even your life itself.
Love, Health and joy to you and your bones,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: blog talk radio, bone building diet, bone strength, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, Gluten Free Diet, hip fractures, osteopenia, osteoporosis, Raw Foods classes
Posted in Raw Food Recipes, Vibrant Health, Vitamin D, Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin D, Bone Health, Cancer and the Importance of Testing
In Vitamin D: Are You Getting Enough? I talked about the role of Vitamin D and why we are finding such an epidemic of deficiency in our modern world. The widespread use of sunscreen in an attempt to protect you from basal cell carcinoma, one of the easiest to treat cancers, increases your at risk for more serious disease, like colon, prostate and breast cancer.
Part 1 of a two part video series about Vitamin D discussed the role of vitamin D and why it’s important to test.
Today’s video shares how to interpret the test and bring your blood Vitamin D level up to a range that helps protect you from cancer, osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and a whole lot more.
It’s easy to get your vitamin D tested. If you don’t have a practitioner, or your doctor is unwilling to order the test for you, you can order it yourself through Direct Labs, an online testing service that allows you to take charge of your health and order your own blood tests.
If You’re Suffering from any of the Issues listed Below, Get Your Vitamin D Level tested Right Away.
- Obesity or excess bodyweight
- High blood pressure
- Osteoporosis and osteopenia
- Autism
- Autoimmune conditions (such as Hashimotos, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis)
- Cancer
- Depression
- Asthma
- Migraines
- Cystic fibrosis
- Diabetes(both types 1 and 2)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Schizophrenia
- Epilepsy
- Osteoarthritis
- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)
- Musculoskeletal pain, including joint pain and low back pain
- Muscle weakness
- Poor balance
- Systemic inflammation
- Fibromyalgia
Simple Strategies for Improving your Vitamin D status
- Get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine for at least 20 – 30 minutes a day during, preferably when the sun is highest in the sky.
- Avoid sunscreen for a full 20 – 30 minutes.
- Expose your arms and legs. You need to expose 40% of your skin to make sufficient Vitamin D.
- Be sure to avoid washing the exposed parts with soap for at least 48 hours to give your body a chance to absorb all he Vitamin D it produced as a result of the sunshine exposure.
- Get tested for vitamin D. The 25, hydroxyl vitamin D test is the one most commonly used.
- Supplement with Vitamin D if you’re low.
Vitamin D Levels — what’s optimal?
| >100 ng/mL | Excessive vitamin D |
| 75-100 ng/mL | Proposed optimal range |
| 50-75 ng/mL | Suboptimal |
| <50 ng/mL | Deficient |
| <20 ng/mL | Seriously deficient |
Remember, it’s important to test.
If you decide to skip the test and just supplement with 2000-4000 IU you run the risk of not correcting the problem. If you supplement with 10,000 – 20,000 without testing, you run the risk of vitamin D excess.
It’s important to work with a trained practitioner. Fortunately it doesn’t have to be one on one anymore. I’ve pioneered training people to assess themselves with my guidance in cost-effective group programs, where you do the assessment and can ask me questions to guide you. The program is called Assess Your Own Body Chemistry and it’s intended to teach you to read your own body’s signs, symptoms and lab tests so you can create a nutrition plan customized to your needs.
Additional reading on Vitamin D from Dr. Joe Mercola
[1] Mercola.com “Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away” August 7, 2008
[2] Mercola.com “Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year” August 24, 2007
[3] Dr. Joe Mercola Comments How Much Vitamin Do You Need?
[4] Video by Dr. Joe Mercola. 1 hour video with lots of details about Vitamin D
Medical research papers on the Vitamin D cancer connection
[1]Annals of Epidemiology April 14, 2009 Dr. Cedric Garland
[2] Annals of Epidemiology July 2009, Volume 19, Issue 7, Pages 468-483
[3] Science Daily, “New Model of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role” May 26, 2009
[4] The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology March 2007; 103(3-5):708-11
[5] American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2007; 85(6):1586-91.
[6] American Journal of Epidemiology October 12, 2007
Question of the day:
Have you been tested for Vitamin D yet? If yes, what was your level? How much are you supplementing if low?
COMMENT BELOW and LET ME KNOW if you’re supplementing and what your level is if you’ve been tested recently.
With Love and Gratitude,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: autoimmune conditions, autoimmune disease, blood tests, breast cancer, direct labs, Dr.Joe Mercola, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, mercola, sunscreen, Vitamin D
Posted in Articles, Cancer, Vitamin D, Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin D: Leaky Gut, Autoimmune Disease and Lack of Sunshine
Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem in our modern world. We spend too much time indoors, use too much sunshine and have too much stress to maintain healthy levels.
How do you know if you need to supplement? Listen in as I explain.
In “Vitamin D Are You Getting Enough?” there are lots more detail about how vitamin D works.
Go get some sunshine and get your Vitamin D level tested ASAP.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: autoimmune disease, DrRitamarie, loscalzo, sunshine, vitamin d deficiency
Posted in Vitamin D, Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin D: Are you getting enough?
Nature’s design is to offer us the ability to easily get enough Vitamin D. We were born with the ability to convert sunlight to vitamin d. Cool, huh?
The only problem is we’re deficient in sunlight.
Most of us work indoors. And we’re taught by the “authorities” to be scared of the sun because it’s dangerous and can cause skin cancer. It’s said we must slather ourselves in sunscreen or wear protective clothing whenever we go outdoors.
We’ve created a Vitamin D deficient society by virtue of our lifestyles.
By protecting yourself from the sun, you prevent the more benign form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma. You do nothing to prevent the deadly form, malignant melanoma.
And by allowing yourself to become Vitamin D deficient, you put yourself at risk for more serious forms of cancer than you prevent by avoiding sunlight. Incidences of colon, prostate and breast cancer are significantly higher in the Vitamin D deficient person.
So what exactly is Vitamin D and what does it do?
Vitamin D is actually not actually a vitamin. It’s a prohormone and it’s responsible for over 2000 genes in the body. Vitamin D fat-soluble and is naturally present in very few foods. The main naturally occurring dietary sources are cod liver oil and salmon. The only significant plant sources of vitamin D are mushrooms, in particular shitakes. When mushrooms are exposed to UV light, the level of vitamin D increases dramatically.
Some foods are fortified with Vitamin D, such as homogenized milk. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. The Vitamin D you get from sun exposure, food, and supplements is biologically inert and needs to be activated in your body. There are two activations, called hydroxylations required to produce active Vitamin D. The first occurs in your liver, which converts pro- vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], also known as calcidiol. The second occurs in your kidney and forms 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], also known as calcitriol.
The main role of Vitamin D is to promote calcium absorption in your gut and to maintain the level of calcium in your blood. Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Together with calcium, vitamin D can help protect you from osteoporosis.
Vitamin D has other roles in your body in controlling cell growth, neuromuscular activities, immune function, and reduction of inflammation. There are many genes controlled by vitamin D, including those that regulate cell growth, differentiation, and death.
Common Conditions and Symptoms Associated with Vitamin D deficiency
1- Obesity and excess weight
2- High blood pressure
3- Osteoporosis and osteopenia
4- Autism
5- Autoimmune conditions (such as Hashimotos, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis)
6- Cancer
7- Depression
8- Asthma
9- Migraines
10- Cystic fibrosis
11- Diabetes(both types 1 and 2)
12- Multiple sclerosis
13- Schizophrenia
14- Epilepsy
15- Osteoarthritis
16- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)
17- Musculoskeletal pain, including joint pain and low back pain
18- Muscle weakness
19- Poor balance
20- Systemic inflammation
21- Fibromyalgia
Tips to Improve Your Vitamin D Status
- Get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine for at least 20 – 30 minutes a day during, preferably when the sun is highest in the sky.
- Avoid sunscreen for a full 20 – 30 minutes.
- Expose your arms and legs. You need to expose 40% of your skin to make sufficient Vitamin D.
- Be sure to avoid washing the exposed parts with soap for at least 48 hours to give your body a chance to absorb all he Vitamin D it produced as a result of the sunshine exposure.
- Get tested for vitamin D. The 25, hydroxyl vitamin D test is the one most commonly used.
- Supplement with Vitamin D if you’re low.
The older you get the more unhealthy you are, the harder it is for you to make Vitamin D. During the winter in all locations north of Atlanta, Georgia, it is virtually impossible to get enough vitamin D, even with mid day sun exposure. If you are darkly pigmented, you’ll need more sun exposure to make sufficient Vitamin D.
Vitamin D Supplementation
If you’re unable to get your daily dose of sunshine, then take a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D3 is best absorbed and utilized. It’s usually from lanolin, which is from sheep. If you prefer a vegan source, the only one I know about is Vitamin Code Raw Vitamin D3. Vitamin D2, a less well absorbed form of vitamin D, is another vegan option.
In general, Vitamin D supplementation is much less effective than sun exposure. It’s best to get sunlight exposure as much as possible and only use the supplements when sunlight exposure is not possible. However, it’s best to test to determine whether you’re getting enough. So many factors affect how well you derive Vitamin D from sunlight. Most people just don’t get enough. Even if you get plenty of sun exposure, it’s possible to become Vitamin D deficient.
You can overdose on Vitamin D. That’s why I recommend a baseline test before starting supplementation. You cannot overdose on Vitamin D via sunlight exposure, but you can with supplementation.
According to Dr. Mercola, you may need 3000 units of vitamin D per 100 lbs of body weight to correct a deficiency. In the case of cancer or severe auto immune disease, optimal may be in the range of 5000 units per 100 lbs of body weight. The human body, given the right conditions, can make up to up to 20,000 units in a day!
Vitamin D supplementation can be helpful for combating acute infectious disease, like the flu or a cold. In this case, you should take 2000 units /kg per of body weight each day for 3 days.
Vitamin D has a long half life, which means that you can take it once a week rather than daily.
Vitamin D Testing
Testing for Vitamin D is very important to make sure you optimize your levels and avoid overdose. You should test 25-Hydroxy vitamin D not the more expensive 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin d.
You can get tested by going to Directlabs.com
Learn more about Vitamin D testing at Lab Tests Online. This is a site where you can find information about any lab test. It is very thorough and informative.
I have found in my practice that it’s SO important to get vitamin D tested …not just once but every 3 months until your levels are in the optimal range (I target for 75 in general, but since there are so many factors involved, I tailor my recommendation to the person).
Vitamin D Levels — what’s optimal?
| >100 ng/mL | Excessive vitamin D |
| 75-100 ng/mL | Proposed optimal range |
| 50-75 ng/mL | Suboptimal |
| <50 ng/mL | Deficient |
| <20 ng/mL | Seriously deficient |
For anyone with levels below 20 I generally recommend 10,000 and sometimes more for 3 months then recommend retesting.
In many cases the levels come up to the 30s by then and I recommend the same for another 3 months. If the levels come up higher than 30′s, I’d probably drop that down a bit and retest in 3 months. If lower, I would increase the dose and monitor again soon.
The key is testing. If someone is really low and has serious conditions, like autoimmunity, I often recommend higher doses and retesting sooner.
If you decide to skip the test and just supplement with 2000-4000 IU you run the risk of not correcting the problem. If you supplement with 10,000 – 20,000 without testing, you run the risk of vitamin D excess.
It’s important to work with a trained practitioner. Fortunately it doesn’t have to be one on one anymore. I’ve pioneered training people to assess themselves with my guidance in cost-effective group programs, where you do the assessment and can ask me questions to guide you. The program is called Assess Your Own Body Chemistry and it’s intended to teach you to read your own body’s signs, symptoms and lab tests so you can create a nutrition plan customized to your needs.
Additional reading on Vitamin D from Dr. Joe Mercola
[1] Mercola.com “Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away” August 7, 2008
[2] Mercola.com “Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year” August 24, 2007
[3] Dr. Joe Mercola Comments How Much Vitamin Do You Need?
[4] Video by Dr. Joe Mercola. 1 hour video with lots of details about Vitamin D
Medical research papers on the Vitamin D cancer connection
[1]Annals of Epidemiology April 14, 2009 Dr. Cedric Garland
[2] Annals of Epidemiology July 2009, Volume 19, Issue 7, Pages 468-483
[3] Science Daily, “New Model of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role” May 26, 2009
[4] The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology March 2007; 103(3-5):708-11
[5] American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2007; 85(6):1586-91.
[6] American Journal of Epidemiology October 12, 2007
Question of the day:
Have you been tested for Vitamin D yet? If yes, what was your level? How much are you supplementing if low?
With Love and Gratitude,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: breast cancer, cod liver oil, deficient person, dietary sources, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, Dr.Joe Mercola, DrRitamarie, malignant melanoma, skin cancer, sources of vitamin d, ultraviolet rays, Vitamin D, vitamin d testing
Posted in Autoimmune, Cancer, Vitamin D
