We usually hear that past performance cannot guarantee future success when the topic is finance. However, that same advice could be accurate for our health as well. What about those people who know why something happens and act accordingly to improve their current and potential future health?
I have a friend who fell and broke his arm and shoulder recently. He is retired and relatively active. Bone chemistry operates with certain caveats. Calcium needs to get into the bones. Taking a calcium pill or drinking milk does not get calcium to your bones unless other chemicals are present.
The Calcium Conundrum
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002062.htm. Most articles tell us that calcium needs vitamin D3 to get calcium into our bones. The article recommends certain levels of calcium and vitamin D3. I applaud the author of that article for suggesting foods high in calcium rather than a calcium pill.
Magnesium Needed
Most calcium pills are calcium carbonate and this chemical is difficult to absorb, especially without magnesium. https://us.betteryou.com/blogs/health-hub/magnesium-and-calcium-good-for-health. Calcium citrate would be a better choice for calcium in a pill form. It is better to get magnesium and calcium from foods rather than pills.
Vitamin D3
Magnesium helps calcium become absorbed in the stomach. It leaves the stomach and will pass into the bloodstream when your body has vitamin D3 sufficient to make this happen. https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2017/12/convenient-way-to-maintain-bone-health. It can be a two-edged sword if calcium is in the bloodstream, and you do not have enough vitamin K2. Calcium will be deposited into your heart valves and arteries rather than your bones.
Bone Loss Can Be Expected If…
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2022/3/bone-loss-vitamin-k-high-dose. Keeping calcium in your bones is nearly as difficult as getting it there. Calcium will be leached from your bones to balance the pH of your blood. I found this out after my first bone density test. I was an active runner for decades and lifted weights for many years. I figured I had good strong, healthy bones. I ate a lot of dairy, and the prevailing thought that I heard was my bones would be stronger with exercise and eating right. Yet, my first bone density test indicated that I was osteopenia. Calcium was leaching from my bones, and I could not understand why.
Blood pH
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2022/3/bone-loss-vitamin-k-high-dose. Our bodies react to the foods we eat. We become more alkaline when we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and our body’s metabolism yield acidic results.
The blood stays in a narrow pH range of 7.35 – 7.45. pH is the measure of acidity and alkalinity, with 7.0 being neutral and 1.0 to 7.0 being acidic – the lower the number, the more acidic. Similarly, the alkaline range is 7.0 to 14.0, with the high number being more alkaline.
When our body’s environment remains in the acidic range (or below 7.35), your body will leach calcium from the bones to maintain the blood’s pH. This results in your bones, over time, being less dense. As a result, over a longer time, osteopenia and, eventually, osteoporosis can develop.
Conclusion
We can control the foods we eat. For example, our bodies remain alkaline when we eat more fruits and vegetables than carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The simple answer remains with magnesium, calcium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2. They are not the only required chemicals (nutrients) to get calcium to your bones. Phosphorous, zinc, potassium, iron, boron, and copper also impact bone health. https://www.dentistryrinconlorenzo.com/oral-health-and-nutrition/2018/1/4/the-why-how-to-alkalize-your-body/
I use pH paper to test my body’s pH by touching the paper strip to my tongue, and the saliva will wet the paper and turn a different color. I can tell the pH of my body immediately. It is an inexpensive way to check your body’s environment. Choosing more fruits and vegetables than proteins, fats, and carbohydrates will help you maintain a more alkaline body.
If you have been living in a more alkaline environment, the risks of many diseases are reduced. Hence, past performance can guarantee future success. And, the reverse can be said also. Past performance, poor though it may be, can guarantee some increased risk of bone density issues in the future if nothing is changed.
Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com