World Osteoporosis Day: Q&A with Dr. Lebby

Q&A: Osteoporosis Facts with Dr. Lebby

Osteoporosis is an equal opportunity condition affecting one out of three women, and one out of five men. To delve into its impact on health and bone preservation, we’ve highlighted a recent Res-Q HealthLine radio show. Read on for some special excerpts of the discussion between WAEB radio host Bobby Gunther Walsh and Dr. Eric Lebby, MD:

Gunther: "We're talking about bone preservation health and concerns today. First, what is osteoporosis?"

Dr. Lebby: "Osteoporosis is an age-related disorder that causes a gradual loss of bone density and strength. It’s kind of like an analogy to your house - it gets older, the siding starts not looking as good, maybe even falling off, and the actual foundation of the house itself starts getting weaker. That's essentially what happens to us as we age.

Just like our houses age, just like our cars age, we age. We are not as good at absorbing calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium, which are three very important vitamins and two minerals that are extremely important for our bone health."

Gunther: "So, this is interesting. Osteoporosis is the weakening of the bone because we don't get enough of those nutrients absorbed. I sometimes thought it was something damaging the bone but it's not necessarily damaging the bones, rather that we are not feeding the bone what it needs?"

Dr. Lebby: "Right. So, lack of calcium over time contributes to the development of osteoporosis. As we age our bodies become less efficient at absorbing calcium and other nutrients. Vitamin D is so important to our bone health because it allows and helps our bodies to be better able to absorb calcium from both food and supplements. Magnesium helps with the strength and firmness of our bones and is essential for the absorption and metabolism of calcium. And remember, over two-thirds of our magnesium stores are in our bones. So, those three ingredients are extremely important to our bone health and battling osteoporosis in the long run. Again, it doesn't happen overnight. It happens over time. Some people have weaker bones than others because of those stores."

Gunther: "I'm assuming then that as we age, all of us, are developing weaker bones, correct? Even if we don't get to the level of an osteoporosis diagnosis."

Dr. Lebby: "Some people have weaker bones than others because of varying reasons. It can be genetics. There are many, many different factors and causes of osteoporosis.

In the past, people used to think of osteoporosis as just when a woman hits menopause; that it's just a disease of women. It's got nothing to do with men—not true. I'd argue the fact that that number one in five is closer to one in four, or one in three for men. In other words, it's a lot more equal that men are also affected by osteoporosis as they age."

Gunther: Can you give us an idea of how dangerous osteoporosis can be?"

Dr. Lebby: Sure...

A woman's risk of fracture is equal to the combined risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer.

A man is more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than he is to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

There's a 36% mortality rate inside of a year following a hip fracture.

Six months after a hip fracture only 25% of patients can walk across a room without help.

Of the 300,000 people that suffer from a hip fracture every year 25% end up in nursing homes and over 50% never regained their previous function.

Gunther: "Okay so, I will stop right there, 36 percent, rather, over a third mortality rate? So you think, ‘I'm taking whatever supplements,’ I don't need to take anything for my bones. Well, if you're not taking something for your bones, and something happens there’s a 36% mortality rate. That's wild."

Gunther: Is osteoporosis what we always picture as being those holes in your bone?

Dr. Lebby: "It’s a way to think about it, but remember it's all about the density of our bone. That’s why it's so important to have calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium over time. Once the bucket’s empty, it's hard to fill it back up.

There was a great picture in one of our anatomy books about what exactly osteoporosis is. The best way to think about it is it's a bucket, and you're filling a bucket with sand. When we're young, we fill that bucket up with sand, the sand is the calcium, the magnesium, and the vitamin D. You fill it up and that's your stores for the rest of your life.

You start early because it helps with your calcium stores, but as we get older, just imagine that same bucket and you haven't filled it, and now you put three or four holes in the bottom of the bucket. Now all of a sudden, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are falling out the bottom of the bucket. You fill it up, but as you're filling it up it's still leaving the bucket. And you have to get that equilibrium of filling it up being as much as is being lost; some people don't.

As you age, it's harder and harder to keep that bucket filled and store that calcium. There are different things that we can do. The Vital D3 and SmartCal+ help fill the bucket."

Gunther: "You started talking about calcium’s role. Why calcium is so important?"

Dr. Lebby: "Calcium helps give our bones their hardness and a lot of our calcium is stored in our bones, just remember how important calcium is for our body.

We need calcium for our blood to clot. Calcium regulates our muscle contractions. So, when a nerve stimulates a muscle, calcium is released. And it helps the proteins in the muscle carry out the work of the contraction. The muscle relaxes again once the calcium is pumped back out of the muscle into the cells. So, there are lots of functions that calcium does. The bone you can think of as the home of calcium, but there's also calcium that circulates in our blood."

Gunther: What foods naturally have calcium?

Dr. Lebby: "Milk, all dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables all have it, and certain fish like sardines and salmon. Believe it or not, almonds contain a pretty good supply of calcium too. It isn't really in orange juice, but they fortify orange juice with calcium. So too, certain cereals don't contain calcium, but they put calcium in them."

Gunther: "Speak to us about Res-Q SmartCal+."

Dr. Lebby: "I don't think there's a better musculoskeletal product out there than the SmartCal+ because it contains vitamin D3, vitamin K2, calcium, and magnesium. For our musculoskeletal health, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium are probably the three most important things to consume to keep filling the bucket, but that fourth ingredient, vitamin K2, is extremely important because it helps prevent that calcium from going to our arteries, and it directs that calcium to our bone. So, you actually need to consume less calcium if you're taking vitamin K2."

Gunther: "What other supplements would you recommend for bone health?"

Dr. Lebby: "Absolutely top of the list is the Omega-3s. People may be scratching their heads, ‘why do I need omega-3s for my bone health?’ Omega-3s are nature's best anti-inflammatory but remember they're necessary for the health of our vessels. Our bones need nourishment, and a lot of bones just have one major nutrient artery. And then they have this system inside the bone that allows nourishment to flourish and get in. So, if your vessels aren't healthy then your bones aren't healthy.

Vital D3: Vitamin D3 helps our body absorb calcium better, and without it, our bodies are much less effective at absorbing calcium. It's essential for the health and strength of our bones and our teeth. It’s essential for our immune health. It’s really important for total body wellness. Cardiologists talk about it. Gastroenterologists talk about it. Endocrinologists talk about it. You can't look at an area of the medical field and not talk about the importance of vitamin D. I don't think there's a better way to get it in than taking the Vital D3. I take it every day. It's 5000 IU of vitamin D.

Res-Q Mg: Magnesium is extremely important when it comes to our bone health. It helps with the strength and firmness of our bones, and also makes our teeth harder. Magnesium makes it easier for our body to absorb calcium. We also know that magnesium is involved in over 200 enzymatic reactions in our bodies. It can help relax our muscles as well as the walls of the arteries."

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