by Susan Brady | Jan 23, 2019 | Healthy aging
This week I would like to share with you an AWESOME blog post written by my friend and colleague Laura Di Franco. In Laura’s Guide to Healing Therapies, Modalities and Practices you will find a a wealth of knowledge on holistic healing, not only to address pain, but all conditions of human life. My nutritional expertise is highlighted in Laura’s posting in the Integrative Nutrition section.
I first met Laura while we were working together as physical therapists in Mclean, Virginia in the early 2000’s. At a time when most physical therapists were still HUMming away (in the PT world HUM stands for hot packs, ultrasound and massage), Laura was branching out into holistic physical therapy and I into Integrative Medicine and Nutrition. Through our different journeys, we both came to the same conclusion:
To truly heal, you need to get to the root cause of the problem, not simply cover it up with a band-aid type approach.
If you have been following me for a while, you know that I don’t believe in treating osteoporosis by simply recommending calcium and vitamin D supplements and a daily 30 minute walk. Osteoporosis isn’t the result of a deficiency in supplements, but a combination of factors.
Fighting osteoporosis requires:
- Real, whole foods that package nutrients in a way recognized by the body
- A well functioning digestive tract that allows you to digest and assimilate nutrients
- A lifestyle approach that gives you the capacity to meet the demands of life’s stressors
- An exercise program that builds lean muscle tissue while also focusing on balance and posture
- A targeted supplement program to meet your specific nutrient demands
When it comes to healing the body, just not the symptom, you need to take a holistic approach that addresses every aspect of your well-being…mind, body, soul and spirit.
Please check out Laura’s blog post. If you have experienced healing results from a therapy not mentioned, be sure to leave her a comment so she can share it.
“When someone finds a therapy, practice or modality that changes their life, we heal the world!” Laura Di Franco
Give me a call to learn about my holistic approach to building strong, healthy bones! 703-738-4230 or email me at susan@nurturedbones.com
by Susan Brady | Jan 22, 2019 | Healthy aging
By now you have heard that the weed killer Roundup is showing up in dozens of popular breakfast cereals and snack bars. According to independent testing commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, the chemical glyphosate was found in 43 of the 45 conventional oat products they tested. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s most widely used herbicide in the farming and landscape industries. Although the Environmental Protection Agency does not consider glyphosate to be a human carcinogen, in 2015, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency declared that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. Recent studies have also proposed that glyphosate could impact other aspects of our health as well which leads me to ask “Does it affect our bones?”
What exactly is Glyphosate?
Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill most plants. These herbicides are applied in large amounts to crops 2-3 times per season to remove weeds and then prior to harvesting to dry out the grain in a process called ‘desiccation.’ Glyphosate based herbicides are designed to specifically inhibit an enzymatic pathway unique to plants that interferes with protein synthesis and growth. Because this pathway only exists in plants and bacteria, not humans or animals, Roundup is assumed not to be harmful for people. However, glyphosate is increasingly accumulating in people’s bodies. This is because the chemical remains in leaves, grains or fruit and can’t be removed by washing, nor is it broken down by cooking. So if you are eating conventionally produced vegetables, fruits, corn, soy, potatoes or grains, you are ingesting glyphosate. It can also enter the body by direct absorption through the skin or by drinking water contaminated with glyphosate. Glyphosate when combined with the additional ingredients in Roundup and other herbicides, make it even more toxic than glyphosate alone.
How can glyphosate affect your bones?
Although there are no studies linking glyphosate and bone loss or osteoporosis, there are several potential ways this chemical can negatively impact your bone health.
5 ways Roundup in your food may damage your bones:
1. Accumulates in your Bones
Several studies have detected glyphosate in the intestine, liver, muscle, spleen and kidney tissue of animals and one study found glyphosate in the bone. Glyphosate is known to make a strong bond with calcium, so it would make sense that it would end up in the bone. Whether it’s presence damages the bone is unknown.
2. Creates Dysbiosis and Leaky Gut
Because it kills bacteria as well as plants, glyphosate has an antibiotic effect and can interfere with the health of your gut microbiota. Emerging research indicates that a healthy gut microbiota can positively influence bone mass.
3. Increases Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress, or the production of free radicals, inhibits new bone formation, accelerates bone turnover which leads to bone loss.
4. Interferes with Vitamin D production
Glyphosate is known to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes in the liver which is necessary to create the active form of vitamin D which is necessary to aid in calcium absorption.
5. Nutrient Deficiency
Glyphosate binds with vital bone building nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and boron in the soil, preventing plants from taking them up. This affects the nutrient value of the food we eat to build our bones
5 ways to Avoid and Protect yourself from Glyphosate:
1. Eat organic ingredients and products to reduce your exposure to all herbicides.
2. Avoid all Genetically Modified Foods (GMO). Most GMO crops are developed to be ‘Roundup Ready’, meaning that the plant won’t die when exposed to glyphosate.
3. Get plenty of probiotics in your diet through eating fermented foods such as Kefir, yogurt, fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, Kimchi, Kombucha, miso. You can also take a daily probiotic supplement.
4. Load up on anti-oxidant rich foods such as blueberries, dark chocolate, pecans, artichokes, kidney beans, and green tea.
5. Support liver detoxification. Foods like garlic, citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, walnuts, beets, green tea all support the liver’s natural ability to expel toxins from the body.
Although there is no direct evidence that glyphosates induce bone loss, there is plenty of reason to be concerned about this chemical accumulating not only in our plants, but our soil, our water and our bodies.
If you are interested, there is a test that can accurately assess the burden of glyphosate exposure in the body. Respond to this email or give me a call to find out more. 703-738-4230
by Susan Brady | Jan 22, 2019 | Healthy aging
Upon rising with the sun barely peeking up over the horizon, I cautiously (because I don’t want to trip over my dog!) make my way to the bedroom door. I grip the doorknob, rotate it, and open the door. Making my way to the kitchen, I again twist open the dead bolt, turn the doorknob, and release the hound for her morning relief. I pick up the kettle and, holding it tight, fill it with water and carry it to the stove. Grabbing a can from the panty, and using one smooth but forceful motion, peel off the lid and spoon the contents into the dog’s bowl. After, preparing tea, I sit down at my computer caressing the warm mug in my hands and breath in the aroma that signals the start of my day.
Within the first few minutes of my day, I rely on the grip strength of my hands to perform just about every action. Although it is easy to take the strength of your hands for granted, your raw grip strength is actually a predictor of overall health, and even osteoporosis.
Why grip strength matters
Your grip strength not only measures the functional capacity of your hand, but has been shown to be related to cardiovascular function, mobility, amount of muscle mass and bone mineral density. Stronger grip strength reflects more muscle mass which is associated with increased activity and better health.
Studies have been popping up for years linking grip strength to osteoporosis. As recently as this past February, a study consisting of 120 postmenopausal women found that decreased grip strength was correlated with reduced bone mineral density of the spine and hip and was a strong risk factor for osteoporosis.
Hand grip strength may also be associated with cardiovascular function and disease. One researcher found that better hand grip strength was associated with having a healthier heart structure and function. Another found that the weaker your grip strength, the greater the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. In fact, grip strength can be a stronger predictor of cardiovascular mortality than systolic blood pressure!
Improved cognitive functioning, including memory, reaction time, and reasoning, has also been linked to a stronger hand grip.
Lastly, the stronger your grip the better mobility and balance reducing the risk of falling and breaking a bone.
How good is your grip strength?
Can you lift a pot off the stove, carry grocery bags in from the car, loosen the lid of a jar? If you struggle with these activities, that could be a sign that you need to takes steps to make activity and exercise a priority in your life. Remember, grip strength is a predictor of overall body health and well-being. It is important to understand that it is not the actual strength of your forearm and hand muscles that is significant, it is what your grip strength reflects about the strength and coordination of the muscles throughout your body.
Doing exercises to strengthen the muscles in your wrists and hands can certainly help, especially if you have osteoporosis in your forearm, but just improving grip strength isn’t the answer. You need to engage in exercises and activities to improve skeletal muscle strength and health. The more movement you do, whether it is structured exercise or functional work like house chores, gardening, carrying grocery bags, the more you strengthen your muscles head to toe, along with the bones that lie beneath them.
Physical strength and fitness is one of the strongest predictor of individual’s future health.
**Grip strength, though a predictor of strength in the general population, doesn’t carry the same predictors in those with pain or deformity in the hands secondary to arthritis or rheumatoid disease.
If you are local to Northern Virginia, give me a call and we can schedule a time to test your grip strength!
703-738-4230
