***Don't Become a Statistic in the Bone Loss Epidemic

Bone Loss

Bone loss is a big deal and a growing problem. It is also something that can be avoided or minimized with proper attention and prevention. Do you know the Six "P" Words to Optimal Health? "Prior Planning and Prevention Prevents Poor Performance." This saying also applies to our bone health. If you start early, then you can avoid involvement in the mounting bone loss epidemic.

Healthy adults—especially women over 40—can expect to experience normal bone loss. Adults lose approximately between .5 percent and 1 percent of their bone mineral density every year. While that doesn’t sound like much, years of losing a seemingly small percentage of bone mineral density adds up, and if left unchecked, osteoporosis can occur.

Currently, osteoporosis leads to 1.5 million fractures per year, mostly in the hip, spine and wrist, according to the National Institutes of Health. The condition afflicts more than 44 million Americans—68 percent of them older women. For women, bone loss accelerates during and after menopause to about 5 percent for five to seven years, and then returns to 1-2 percent per year. Simply put, women could lose a significant percent of their bone mass during their menopausal years alone. Additionally, one in three women past the age of 50 will suffer a vertebral fracture because her bones are brittle. Shrinking height is also a revealing sign of osteoporosis. Those 50 or older are at greater risk of osteoporosis, but there are steps that can help reduce that risk.

In 2004, the U.S. Surgeon General rocked the medical community. America’s top doctor at the time, Richard H. Carmona, M.D., released the 2004 Bone Health Report, which warned that if we don’t change our lifestyle habits by 2020, half of American citizens older than 50 years of age would be at risk of osteoporosis or low bone mass.

We tend to think of bone health as it relates to the elderly, but bone health—and more appropriately bone mineral loss—should be a concern at all ages of life. So, if you are over 30, the age that is associated with end of the “bone growth” stage of life and the onset of normal age-related bone mineral loss, then the Surgeon General’s report should be particularly alarming to you. Thankfully, Dr. Carmona and his team of medical experts laid out a three-part plan to address the alarming trends described in this report.

The plan includes improved diet, exercise and health literacy. Particular attention was paid to calcium and vitamin D. The FDA concurs—evidenced by its approved health claim—that adequate calcium and vitamin D intake, when combined with physical activity and a healthful diet, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Of course, many people looking to boost their bone health choose to supplement their diets. It is in this area that one of the most common myths associated with bone health is found.

The Calcium Myth

If you want healthy bones, all you need is calcium, right? That is the sum total of many people’s knowledge of bone health nutrition. Thousands of manufacturers of calcium supplements would happily have you believe that first statement. That alone should make you wary. When thousands of companies profit from a single widely-held belief, it’s probably time to question that belief.

Here is the truth. No calcium supplement, taken in the absence of other vitamins and minerals and without proper diet and exercise, has ever been proven in clinical studies to help you strengthen bones. The best that can be said is that calcium supplementation helps slow down or stop bone loss. While slowing bone loss is a great goal, it’s a far cry from making them stronger and healthier by increasing bone mineral density.

As you will learn, there are several factors that go into actually building bone mineral density or growing bone. The source of your calcium is a key factor. Did you know that most calcium supplements are ground-up rocks or oyster shells? Of equal importance to the source of calcium are a host of other vitamins, minerals and trace elements that help calcium achieve its ultimate goal in the body.

The Grow Bone System

There is good news on the horizon, however, for the millions of women and men looking to support healthy, strong bones. Garden of Life offers the Vitamin Code Grow Bone System with RAW Calcium and Growth Factor S.

Far from “just another calcium supplement” intended to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, the Grow Bone System is intended to stimulate bone growth, increase bone strength and bone mineral density.

The Vitamin Code Raw Calcium in the Grow Bone kit is a patented form of marine algae known as algas calcareas.sp, which is sustainably harvested by hand off the pristine shores of remote South America. It is picked up in knee-deep ocean waters, rinsed in fresh water, dried in the sun, and then milled at low temperatures into a powder. This is the only raw, organic plant form of calcium that Garden of Life has ever found.

Sun-drenched and teeming with life, our bodies thrive on the nutrition that plants provide. The same will never be said of rocks. Additionally, and of particular importance for bone health, when you take a plant-form calcium supplement, you’re getting far more than just calcium. The consumption of bone-building co-factor minerals such as magnesium, silica, boron, vanadium and strontium have all been linked to healthy bones. And all of them are naturally occurring in the RAW Calcium algas calcareas.sp.

In addition to the raw, plant-formed calcium, Vitamin Code Raw Calcium also contains a host of other raw vitamins and minerals as well as live probiotics and enzymes. Raw Vitamin D3, an important bone-building vitamin, is included in the amount of 1,600 IU per serving. Vitamin D3 is vital to bone health and acts as a hormone to increase the absorption of calcium by up to 80%.

Emerging research has also shown that vitamin K2 has important bone-health implications by ensuring that calcium gets to the bones where it belongs and not in the arteries, where calcium doesn’t belong. One thing you may want to note where vitamin K2 is concerned is that there are two forms generally available in most supplements: MK-4 and MK-7. Vitamin Code RAW Calcium uses the MK-7 form, which is absorbed faster than MK-4.

The second formula in the Vitamin Code Grow Bone System is Vitamin Code Growth Factor S, which is a combination of strontium, a critical bone-building mineral, and probiotics, enzymes and raw organic fruits and vegetables.

Clinical trials conducted on strontium found it most effective at 680 mg per day—the same amount contained in Growth Factor S. It has been 5 years since the Surgeon General’s warning about the state of bone health in our nation. Isn’t it time we started taking it seriously? If you want the best for your body, try Vitamin Code Grow Bone System—the ultimate support for stronger, healthier bones.

Take the Grow Bone Challenge and be sure to also eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, and chances are that by 2020, no matter what your age, you’ll be more likely to have strong, healthy bones.

Clinical Studies = Confidence

In a six-month randomized, open-label human clinical study, 176 women and men ages 18 to 85 consumed the ingredients in the Grow Bone System and followed a healthy eating plan and walking program. In just six months, participants experienced on average a statistically significant INCREASE in bone mineral density as evidenced by before and after full-body DEXA scans.

Note: These products are for normal age-related bone loss. It is not intended to treat Osteopenia or Osteoporosis.

Resources:

For more information on the Vitamin Code Grow Bone System, click here.

For more information on the Vitamin Code Raw Calcium, click here.

For more information on the Vitamin Code raw, food-created nutrient process, click here.

Articles:

Take the Grow Bone Challenge

Organic, Plant-Based Calcium – A Sustainable Treasure from the Sea

These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The statements contained in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information contained here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Suggestions and ideas presented in this document are for information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice, meant for diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers are encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning any cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen. The information in this document is not to be used to replace the services or instructions of a physician or qualified health care practitioner.