Calcium and Vitamins D and K and the Treatment of Menopausal and Post-Menopausal Women

Menopausal and post-menopausal women suffer from a number conditions: one of the most dangerous is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, from the Greek osteon, “bone”, and poros, “passage-way, travel”, is, etymologically and literally, porous bone disease. In osteoporosis, bone mass is diminished with bone mineral absorbed into the body. The primary mineral in bone is calcium. In youth, new bone is added more quickly than old bone mineral is reabsorbed into the body. Peak bone mass is usually reached by age 30; after 30, bone mineral is reabsorbed into the body at a faster pace than it can be created. For women, bone loss occurs rapidly in the first few years after menopause, but can continue throughout a woman’s life. This reduction in bone density leaves sufferers from osteoporosis at an elevated risk for fractures, particularly of the spine, the hip, and the wrist. Although men as well as women can contract osteoporosis, women are at greater risk. According to a study by the National Institute of Health, 50% of all women will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime, and over 23 million American women are at risk for osteoporosis. Many hormone replacement therapies (HRTs) can be used to fight osteoporosis, but women can and should be proactive and adopt an exercise and

supplement regime to prevent osteoporosis before the onset of menopause. That supplement regimen should include calcium and Vitamins D and K.

There are steps women can take to fight osteoporosis. The National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Health both recommend that women get at least 1000 mgs of calcium per day, and after menopause both recommend increasing that level to 1200 – 1500 mgs per day. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, and 99 % of all calcium in the body is found in the bones and teeth. Yet the small amount of calcium in the bloodstream is actually what drives osteoporosis. There is a constant exchange mechanism between the calcium in the blood and the calcium in bone; if at any point, the blood serum calcium level decreases, bone matter will be absorbed into the bloodstream to make good the deficiency. Hence, calcium supplements keep the body from “demanding” calcium from bone and causing osteoporosis. Calcium supplements must also be absorbed through the digestion system in order to facilitate the stability of blood serum calcium. Other minerals, including magnesium, manganese, and copper, all play vital roles in enhancing bone formation; boron improves the body’s hormonal balance. Vitamin D facilitates the process of intestinal calcium absorption, thereby stabilizing the blood serum calcium level. The mineral zinc is essential to good Vitamin D performance. Vitamin K has been

linked to osteoporosis because victims of the disease usually have low levels of the vitamin. Vitamin K, then, may play a similar role to E in replacing estrogen in the process of bone formation.

Calcium is the most effective treatment for osteoporosis. Vitamin D is essential to making the blood serum calcium exchange work, and Vitamin K may be used as a replacement to Vitamin E. But calcium is clearly the most important of the three.

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