Jarrow Formulas Bone-Up
Jarrow Formulas Bone-Up is the most complete nutritional regimen for healthy bones. It starts with the finest source of calcium available: Australian bovine bone hydroxyapatite from chemical-free, range-grazed calves less than two years old. (Bones from veal calves are never used.)
Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the same form of calcium found in human bone tissue. What's more, this is bovine bone that has not been ashed (heated to a high temperate) or subjected to any chemical solvents. Non-ashed bone meal has shown the ability to increase bone mass. High heat, on the other hand, increases the net calcium content, but the special proteins and other beneficial compounds are burned off.
Skeletal health, however, requires more than calcium alone. It also requires magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K, folic acid, boron, and glucosamine (all of which are beneficial for optimizing skeletal health). That's why all of these nutrients are included in the Bone-Up formulation, and it's why we can say with confidence that Bone-Up is indeed the most healthful regimen for bones.
Bone Mass and Hydroxyapatite
In 1982, an important calcium supplementation study was concluded and reported by the Dept. of Medicine and Radiology, Royal Free Hospital in London, England. Fifty-three post-menopausal women diagnosed to have seriously impaired calcium absorption and accelerated bone loss had been separated into three groups and studied for over 14 months. All participants had their forearm bones measured by x-ray radiogrammetry at the start of the study, and everyone received intramuscular injections of 100,000 units of Vitamin D2 each month.
The control group received nothing more. The second group received 4 tablets (approximately 1,000 mg) per day of organic calcium (as gluconate). The third group received 8 tablets of hydroxyapatite (about 1,000 mg) of calcium per day. [Note: The dosage of Vitamin D used in this study should only be administered under the direct supervision of your medical practitioner.]
At the end of the 14 month period, follow-up measurements of the forearm bones showed significant differences: the control group (Vitamin D only) showed "significant loss of cortical bone." The calcium gluconate and Vitamin D group showed virtually "no change" in bone status. The hydroxyapatite and Vitamin D group showed "a significant increase in bone thickness."
Hydroxyapatite produces more prolonged calcium balance than soluble calcium salts. It also allows the bone osteoblast cells to be more receptive to its components and to build bone tissue. Furthermore, HA provides both the organic and inorganic constituents found in human bone: Hydroxyapatite microcrystals consist of calcium, phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen; the trace minerals zinc, strontium, silicon and iron; and proteins, amino acids and aminoglycans.
Bones and Osteoporosis
Bone consists of calcium and phosphorus crystals embedded in a framework of interlocking protein fibers. The protein fibers are made primarily of collagen. The mineral crystals give bone hardness, strength, and rigidity. Collagen fibers impart their quality of flexibility. Hydroxyapatite composes 67% of the weight of bone, and the collageneous fibers make up the remaining 33%.
The average adult has 1,000-1,200 grams of calcium in the body. Bones are the body's largest calcium storehouse and will release calcium into the bloodstream in order to ensure correct blood levels of calcium. Thus, blood calcium levels can be normal while bone loss can be considerable, and this mechanism is one of the major causes of osteoporosis.
Between 2-4% of a person's skeleton is remodeled every year. This means that calcium and other minerals can leave the bone in a process called resorption and then must be "remodeled" or replaced. Whether due to poor nutrition or reduced hormone levels with the onset of aging, the loss of calcium and other minerals from the bone creates tiny holes that make bones weak and brittle, particularly if collagen is being lost. This is how osteoporosis develops.
25%-30% of white and Asian women and perhaps 20% of black women develop osteoporosis. According to the FDA, the cause of osteoporosis in black women is more often due to calcium-poor diets or diets high in calcium antagonists rather than the lower rate of estrogen production from menopause.
More than one million fractures occur annually in women 45 years or older. 70% are sustained by women with osteoporosis. 33% of women and 17% of men have hip fractures by age 90. Men have one-quarter the rate of osteoporosis as do women. (FDA Consumer July-Aug. 1995, 21) Hip fractures carry a mortality rate of 12-15% and are the second leading cause of death in people 47-74 years of age. Of the 190,000 hip fractures per year, two-thirds are due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis costs close to billion annually, not including lost work. Fractures result in diminished quality of life, and half of these patients who survive can no longer live independently and must enter a nursing home. (Hip fractures occur when the bones become so weak that they can no longer support the person's weight. The bone fractures and then the person falls).
Post-menopausal women lose 0.7% to 2% of their bone per year; men lose 0.5%-0.7%. Between 45 and 75 years of age, women lose 30% of their skeletal structure and men lose 15%.
Calcium supplementation of 1-1.5 grams (1,000-1,500 mg) per day can reduce fracture rates by 50%. Physician supervised estrogen therapy for women can reduce fractures by another 25% (Am Family Physician, 32:107-114, Nov. 1985). Source: Jarrow Formulas
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Scientific References
Am J Clin Nutr, Sep. 1982, 36:426-430.
Morgan KJ, Magnesium and Calcium Dietary Intakes of the U.S. Population, I Am Coll Nutr, 1985, 4:195-206.
McDennott and Kies. "Nutritional Bioavailability of Manganese" in Nutritional Bioavailability of Manganese. Constance Kies, editor. 1987. American Chemical Society.
Am J Clin Nutr, 1982, 35:1048-1075.
U Nutr, 1981, 111:68-75; Am J Clin Nutr, 1982, 35: Pediatric Research, 1980, 14: 876-880.
Strause and Saltman. Role of Manganese in Bone Metabolism. Nutritional Bioavailability of Manganese. Constance Kies, editor. 1987. American Chemical Society.
Eaton-Evans J et. al., Proc Nutr Soc, 1995, 54:19 IA
Nielsen FH. Studies on the Relationship between Boron and Magnesium Which Possibly Affects the Formation and Maintenance of Bones. Magnesium Trace Elem. 1990;9(2):61-9.
Nielsen FH. Hunt CD, Mullen LM, Hunt JR. Effect of dietary boron on mineral, estrogen, and testosterone metabolism in postmenopausal women. FASEB Journal. 1987 Nov; 1(5):394-7.
Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. Tortorra and Anagnostakos.
Gaby, AR, MD and Wright, JV, MD, Nutrients and Bone Health, Wright/Gaby Nutrition Institute, 1988.
FDA Consumer. July-Aug. 1995, 21.
Am Family Physician, 32:107-114, Nov. 1985.
Care, A.D. et. al. The Effects of Hypermagnesaemia on Calcitonin Secretion in Vivo. Journal of Endocrinology, 1971; 51:381-386.
Iseri LT, et, al., Magnesium: Nature's Physiologic Calcium Blocker, Am Heart J, 1985; 108: 188-193
Wall Street Journal, 1-20-86, II
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