Note from Sarah: Thank you Jason for yet another powerful and eye-opening post! Be sure to pre-order Jason’s AMAZING book The Paleo Coach (review coming soon to the blog) and find him here on Facebook and over at EPLifeFit!
I’m keeping it short and sweet today as I continue on a strong bones crusade I started here. Women, if you haven’t read that post, be sure you do. It’s important.
Low bone density is a big problem for a lot of women. If you are a typical woman over 30 years old living in the western world, you have more than likely been told that you need to be supplementing with calcium to keep your bones healthy and to avoid osteoporosis. Unfortunately, calcium supplementation has returned only marginal improvements in bone density while also correlating to increased risk of heart attack. The question becomes: is an inadequate increase in bone density worth the increase chance of having a heart attack? Since fractures can be very problematic, especially late in life, I imagine the answer to that question might be yes if there were no other options. Hmmm, could there be other options?
At this time, the gold standard for bone density testing is the DEXA Scan (Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). Two X-ray beams are aimed at the bones of the spine and the hip and bone density is measured by how much of each beam is absorbed by the bones. The results are produced in the form of a T score and a Z score, but the T score is the more important one. T scores of -1.0 to -2.5 indicate osteopenia, low bone density without full osteoporosis. T scores of -2.5 or lower indicate full osteoporosis.
Michelle has been a client of mine at CPC for a couple of years. She is 46 years old and, like most 46 year old women, her doctor has shown concern regarding her bone density. Her DEXA Scan in 2010 produced a T Score of -1.1 (osteopenia) in her spine, but she was still doing okay in her hip with a T score of 0.0 (average). Jumping ahead to 2013, Michelle’s DEXA Scan produced a T score of -0.7 in her spine (within the healthy range and out of osteopenia) in her spine, and -0.2 (improved and slightly above average) in her hip. Here’s what that information looks like side by side:
|
T Score 2010 |
T Score 2013 |
|
| Spine |
-1.1 |
-0.7 |
| Hip |
0.0 |
0.2 |
This kind of progress is certainly not the norm. Her doctor’s response to these numbers was something to the effect of, “I don’t ever see this.”
So why is this significant? Because Michelle did not supplement with calcium to facilitate these improvements. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. What she did do was eat solid paleo nutrition and lift heavy things. Who would have thought that giving the body what it expects to be healthy would result in better health without the risk of side effects? Oh, wait… I guess we all should have thought that.
Go forth and be awesome.
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I wish I could get my mom to make these sort of changes. She was diagnosed with osteopenia several years ago and takes a cal/mag supplement, as directed by her doctor and does NOT exercise. She’s never liked to exercise. She says she doesn’t like to sweat, which is the lamest excuse. On the rare occasion that she does exercise, it’s zumba or maybe some gentle yoga. She used to walk and be on her feet more, but it’s less since she retired a year ago (she was a surgery nurse). No matter what I share with her, she still believes a lot of the common health myths that have been drilled into our heads for so many years. I can share information, experiences, stories, books, etc. until I’m blue in the face, but it doesn’t completely click. I only see her a few times a year since she and my dad live in Michigan, but it’s hard when I go home and see both of their habits and poor food choices, not to mention the growing piles of pill bottles on the kitchen counter (most are my dad’s). They’re good about eating meat and veggies, but unfortunately, they’re good at eating all problematic stuff too. It breaks my heart
It’s frustrating, but the people closest to us can often be the most resistant to our advice. I feel your pain!
My grandmother is 96. A survivor of breast cancer in her 60′s. Currently battling bone cancer. In between, she lifted weight. She has never developed osteoperosis, in part because of a wise doctor who told her to stop playing around on weight machines and go lift heavy with the boys.