Muscle pain: Spasm or contraction in a muscle can happen for many reasons such as a soft tissue injury or a malalignment of the skeleton onto which the muscles and tendons attach. If you are prone to back or neck pain part of your prevention program should include appropriate exercise such as walking, pilates, yoga or stretching. Be aware though, that if you are doing any repetitive exercises incorrectly (such as not breathing from alternate sides when swimming freestyle) you may compound your condition. Being inactive, having a sedentary job, bad posture or lying on the couch while watching TV are common causes of chronic muscular problems.
Acute muscle pain: Heat encourages blood flow, so a hot pack often gives some slight relief. Seek appropriate remedial therapy as soon as possible (see below) – for me the most effective I have found is osteopathy (both conventional and cranial osteopathy), while for others it may be acupuncture, physiotherapy or chiropractic help. For temporary relief, magnesium supplementation (acute dose: 300 – 500 mg 2-3 x a day), natural muscle relaxing herbs such as skullcap and passionflower and a hot bath with Epsom salts can be helpful.
Cramps: Number one muscle remedy is Magnesium and cramps are a dead give away you could be low in this mineral। Foods containing magnesium include: egg yolks, almonds, sesame seeds, brewers yeast and kelp.
As we need a ratio of 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium to utilise either mineral – too much or too little calcium can affect your magnesium levels. Plant foods tend to have a better ca:mg balance than dairy foods. Alcohol, animal fats, caffeine and carbonated drinks can also affect the availability or utilisation of magnesium.
Being low in Vitamin E, calcium, sodium and potassium are other potential nutritional causes of cramping. “Restless Legs Syndrome” responds well to supplementation of magnesium and zinc.
Interestingly the heart, which is another type of muscle, has been shown to be low in magnesium when autopsied from people with heart disease.
Fibromyalgia: is characterised by chronic muscle pain and fatigue. A little like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it is more common in women, may be initially triggered by a virus or infection and no overriding cause or treatment has been identified yet. A good diet (you know what I mean by that – high in plant foods and fish, low in hydrogenated fats, alcohol and caffeine), appropriate low impact exercise, magnesium supplementation and remedial therapies have been most useful to the clients that I have worked with who have this condition. Interestingly, most people diagnosed with fibromyalgia also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which most naturopaths would consider to be possible food allergies or intolerances. In such cases, working to find an appropriate diet is important. If your digestive system is ‘unhappy’, the rest of the body is not happy either.
Do you stop building muscle as you age? The latest research shows that even someone in their 90’s can benefit from appropriate weight training/resistance work. They mightn’t be entering Iron Man competitions but they will decrease their chances of falls and osteoporosis.
Creatine: is formed from 3 amino acids and is common in body building powders, creatine helps the body supply energy to muscle and nerve cells. It has been investigated to see if it can increase strength in people with degenerative muscle conditions. Meta-analysis of relevant studies shows some promising results. However the whole issue of amino acids and creatine in body building remains controversial. It is also contraindicated in someone with kidney dysfunction.
Creatine is found in meat, fish and other animal products. I’d suggest a safer alternative to body building powders is taking 1 raw, organic egg in a smoothie.
Prevention and maintainance:Exercise and rest are the most important tools to manage chronic musculo-skeletal problems. While overtraining or doing exercises incorrectly are a common cause of muscle problems, appropriate exercise is both a prevention and a cure. There is no one perfect type but if nothing else walk in correct walking shoes for at least half an hour every day. Yoga, pilates, swimming, marital arts and gym-based work are common favourites. Always get expert guidance when attempting a new form of exercise.
A Rough Guide to Remedial Therapies
Osteopathy: “is a “whole body" system of manual therapy, based on unique biomechanical principles, which uses a wide range of techniques to treat musculo-skeletal problems and other functional disorders of the body.
The AOA website explains what this means by the following example:
“To take a simple example, if you go to an Osteopath with a knee injury, the Osteopath will do much more than just examine and treat your knee. They will want to know exactly how the injury occurred in order to assess not just which tissues in the knee are injured, but also whether there may be any involvement of other areas with a mechanical relationship to the knee, such as the foot, hip, low back and pelvis, and the associated soft tissues. They will then want to analyze any possible secondary effects. For instance, you may be "avoiding" the bad knee and putting more weight on the other side. Over a period of time, this may lead to problems developing in the low back or the "good" knee. The Osteopath will then use this information to prescribe a treatment plan that addresses not just the knee, but all of the other areas of the body and associated tissues that may be involved. The plan will include attention not just to the joints and their associated soft tissues, but also to the blood supply to the affected areas, the lymphatic drainage, the nerve supply etc., in order to include all those factors which will affect the success of healing. It is this "whole body, multi-system" approach that has been the basis of Osteopathy’s success over the last century.”
Australian Osteopathic Association1800 4 OSTEO (1800 467 836)
Physiotherapy: uses some of the following techniques to enhance mobility - joint mobilisation and manipulation, therapeutic exercise and stretches, electrophysical agents (such as hot packs, ice & ultrasound), soft tissue massage, breathing exercises & techniques.
Australian Physiotherapy Association
Chiropractic: focuses on spinal manipulation. The CAA website describes it as: “The moving bones of the spine protect the vulnerable communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots. If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissue and organs throughout the body. Chiropractic doctors call this the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. Vertebral, meaning the bones of the spine. Subluxation, meaning the less than a total dislocation, and Complex, meaning consisting of more than one part. Chiropractic is the science of locating offending spinal structures, the art of reducing their impact to the nervous system, and a philosophy of natural health care based on your inborn potential to be healthy.”
Chiropractors’ Association of Australia
Feldenkrais: focuses on movement, posture and breathing to improve flexibility and co-ordination, as well as general wellbeing.
Australian Feldenkrais Guild
Alexander Technique: is a favourite of actors and performers, with it’s roots in the founder’s self discovery of how to treat his vocal loss. This one-on-one technique largely focuses on subtle changes to posture for a wide variety of musculo-skeletal and even occupational issues.
The Australian Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique
Alexander Technique Association
Acupuncture is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), though there is also Japanese acupuncture that is relative shiatsu treatment. An experienced practitioner uses fine needles to balance energy or qi flowing through meridians in the body. Other than for a variety of other medical conditions, acupuncture is a common Complementary Treatment for both acute and chronic musculo-skeletal injuries.
TCM is regulated in this State by the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria. See the Board’s website to find a qualified practitioner. Note, though many medical doctors offer acupuncture, while researching regulation it was discovered that the greatest amount of adverse reactions in acupuncture occurred when being treated by these types of practitioners. (Source).
Remedial Massage: While most of us like a relaxing massage, which in itself can help prevent some muscular problems, in an acute situation a remedial massage therapist who can work more deeply is most applicable. This usually involves at least a second year of training.
Australian Association of Massage Therapists is the peak body for massage therapists in this country and membership for remedial therapists requires not only appropriate education but also a practical test by the Association.
Note: many massage therapists are also naturopaths and may belong to other associations such as ANTA or ATMS instead.
Orthopedic Surgeons – are your savior if you have broken a bone. In my experience as a Naturopath however, I’d suggest you always get a second opinion from a Osteopath before going ahead with any other kind of orthopedic surgery for chronic musculo-skeletal pain. While some people will still require surgery, in the majority of cases treatment through osteopathy, pilates, Alexander Technique etc has averted this for many.
Showing posts with label magnesium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magnesium. Show all posts
Monday, June 02, 2008
Monday, October 08, 2007
Helping children build healthy bones
The CSIRO has recently released a Wellbeing Plan For Healthy Kids with the aim that every primary school aged child will bring home information and a fridge magnet to teach their family how to eat and live well. While this is a wonderful initiative – looking at creating lifelong healthy habits like drinking lots of water, eating breakfast every day, upping the vegetable intake and being more active – the advice on creating strong bones tells a very limited and heavily biased story. Today’s Health Trip looks at the bigger picture about creating a lifetime of healthy bones.
Evidence shows that calcium alone does not create healthy bones
While calcium is the major building block in bone formation, it is totally useless without Vitamin D. This vitamin basically promotes calcium absorption (from the blood) and regulates bone formation and loss. Focusing all our education about bone health on dietary calcium is immaterial is we can’t actually use it.
Vitamin D can be made by the body under the right conditions. It begins in the skin when exposed to UV. Some fatty fish (eg: sardines, tuna, mackeral, eel), egg yolks (though some commercial farming practices can alter this) and cod liver oil also give us Vitamin D. In such a sun drenched land like Australia you may be surprised to learn that a significant number of Aussies are deficient in Vitamin D. Though smog and dark skin can be a factor, the greatest reason for this is the successful education campaign around skin cancer prevention. While we are deligently covering up, slathering on the sun block and avoiding overt sun exposure we are decreasing our chance of developing a deadly melanoma but unfortunately becoming D-deficient and osteoporotic as a side effect. The link above gives some good recommendations on sun exposure for different cities in Australia and New Zealand as well as a good guide to supplementation for all ages.
A report in the EMJA published last year described vitamin D deficiency in Australian children as now being “a significant paediatric health issue”. Another recent study (looking at the higher incidence of Vitamin D deficiency in children with Type 1 diabetes) found that Vitamin D levels in blood samples of Queensland children and adolescents were lower overall than those found in the subjects of the Swedish study.
But don't forget, all the Vitamin D and calcium in the world won’t stop bone loss without adequate weight bearing exercise. Kids who become couch potatoes can’t grow healthy bones.
Other important nutrients for healthy bones
Aside from the Vitamin D issues, there is no debate around the need for adequate calcium intake for many aspects of good health. The debate centres around how much calcium we actually need, the most effective dietary sources and how other foods and substances impact on our calcium bioavailability. Here are some of the major players that are often overlooked in all the ‘official’ hype about calcium:
Sodium: The more salt in your diet the more calcium we pee out. While it is one thing to not have the salt shaker on the table at meal times don’t underestimate the amount of sodium added to processed foods (even some healthy looking breakfast cereals, let alone chips) and restaurant as well as takeaway foods. Raising children to not have a salt craving palate is a great addition to their healthy bone plan.
Phosphorous: This is another mineral essential to the calcium regulation and healthy bone story. Like sodium, this is a case of too much (and rarely, too little) upsetting the calcium applecart. Excess phosphorous gets into the diet from soft drinks, phosphate additives and in diets high in dairy, poultry and meat. We need equal amounts of phosphorous to calcium in our diet in order to use the calcium. The average diet has 2-4 x more phosphorous than calcium!
Magnesium: We need 1/2 as much magnesium to calcium, for the calcium to be used in our body for building strong bones. There are 2 major issues that contribute to magnesium deficiency becoming increasingly common. Firstly the best sources of magnesium tend to come from whole foods like unrefined grains and nuts. But most people eat refined plant foods such as flour and white rice which promotes magnesium deficiency. The other problem is excess calcium. While a cup of whole milk may contain 115 mg of calcium the magnesium content is around 10-15 mg. [Source: Tricky, R. "Women, Hormones and the Menstrual Cycle"]. The average calcium:magnesium ratio in dairy foods ranges from 8:1-12:1 versus the bio availability requirement of 2:1.
Vitamin K: This little talked about vitamin, rich in green, leafy vegetables is another important co-factor in the regulation of calcium in the body. Most Australian children do not get the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables in their diet, so we are likely to learn more about Vitamin K if this trend continues.
Protein: The more protein you eat, especially from animal sources such as meat, poultry and dairy, the more calcium you loose through your urine. For every gram of protein you eat, you loose 1 milligram of calcium. Most official dietary plans do not take this into account. While vegetarian, especially vegan, diets are criticized for an overall lower intake of calcium, it doesn’t take into account that a low animal protein diet causes less calcium loss. New evidence is emerging to show that a balanced vegan requires lower RDI of calcium
Phytates and oxylates: Plant foods however, can reduce calcium utilization. High fibre such as straight bran can reduce calcium absorption. If you had a bowl of 100% wheat bran, you would only be able to absorb half the amount of calcium from other foods eaten at that meal. However, it is rare for someone to eat just bran. Likewise oxylates in some foods such as spinach and beans can reduce calcium absorption. Soaking beans and cooking in fresh water reduces the oxylate content.
Caffeine and smoking (which may include passive smoking) also disrupt the healthy bone story but we would hope kids are exposed to neither of these. Never give your children or teens cola or energy drinks, as the combination of phosphorous and caffeine is a surefire recipe for osteoporosis.
Calcium
While calcium is considered an important building block for healthy bones, the literature repeatedly demonstrates that calcium alone does not build stronger bones in children. Nor does having your RDI of calcium in the form of dairy prevent bone fractures in adults.
Dairy foods are repeatedly promoted as the “best” sources of calcium. Other than supplements, it is true that gram for gram (perhaps with the exception of unhulled sesame seeds and kelp) dairy products contain more calcium than any other food. However, whether these are the best foods to grow healthy bones is debatable considering the issues of phosphorous, magnesium and protein, as discussed above.
Another factor to consider is dairy intolerances and allergies, either to lactose (which is even higher in low fat dairy foods) or the dairy protein. Some indications that your baby or child is negatively reacting to dairy products may include: skin rashes, digestive upsets (like wind, colic, diarhhoea or constipation), mood changes and atopic allergies (such as asthma, eczema or hayfever). Naturopathically we tend to find children who have recurrent ear, nose and throat issues potentially have a higher rate of dairy intolerance.
If your child does have an inflammatory bowel condition, whether caused by a food allergy or common conditions such as Crohns disease, very little of their food sources of calcium may be utilized when loose bowels are involved.
The official rate of dairy allergies in Australia is 1:50 children, however this only includes children who have had immunological testing (not every child with a food allergy is referred for testing) and doesn't include dairy intolerance, meaning the actual occurrence of children not tolerating all or some dairy foods is much higher. Certain ethnicity's, such as children with an Asian background, have a very high risk of dairy allergy and I would advise them to avoid dairy completely. Interesting to note is that approximately 1:4 children with a dairy allergy will also be allergic to soy foods.
How much calcium do we need?
According to the Victorian government the RDI’s for children and teens are as follows:
Babies – 0 to 6 months (breastfed) recommended dietary intake (RDI) 300mg
Babies – 0 to 6 months (formula-fed) RDI 500mg
Babies – 7 to 12 months RDI 550mg
Children – 1 to 3 years RDI 700mg
Children – 4 to 7 years RDI 800mg
Children – 8 to 11 years (girls) RDI 900mg, (boys) RDI 800mg
Children and teenagers – 12 to 15 years (girls) RDI 1000mg, (boys) RDI 1200mg
Teenagers – 16 to 18 years (girls) RDI 800mg, (boys) RDI 1000mg.
The UK Vegan Society has some good resources on non-animal sources of calcium.
Keep in mind these figures assume that there are adequate amounts of co-nutrients and no other factors interfering with the bio availability. Compulsory reading for anyone interested in the whole debate is this excellent article from the Harvard School of Public Health “Calcium and Milk: What’s Best For Your Bones”. Their conclusions are drawn from long term studies (minimum 12 years) of over 100,000 men and women, which makes them the most credible source currently available on the subject. While they question conventional assumptions as to the the amount of calcium required (they suspect it is actually lower than the official recommendations) on the issue of dairy for strong bones they conclude:
What else can stop a child growing healthy bones?
As if the average Aussie diet, lack of UV and not doing adequate amounts of weight bearing exercise wasn’t enough to complicate the healthy bone picture, the use of steroids (such as cortisone used in asthma and eczema) and the increase rate of eating disorders from a young age also has a detrimental impact on the development of healthy bones.
So you can see, healthy bones is not all about having 3 cups of milk a day after all.
* (My emphasis). Along with the concerns that the Harvard studies mentioned around dairy intake and an increase in ovarian and prostate cancers, other studies show a link between drinking milk and developing Type 1 diabetes and the issue of Low fat dairy foods and infertility
Evidence shows that calcium alone does not create healthy bones
While calcium is the major building block in bone formation, it is totally useless without Vitamin D. This vitamin basically promotes calcium absorption (from the blood) and regulates bone formation and loss. Focusing all our education about bone health on dietary calcium is immaterial is we can’t actually use it.
Vitamin D can be made by the body under the right conditions. It begins in the skin when exposed to UV. Some fatty fish (eg: sardines, tuna, mackeral, eel), egg yolks (though some commercial farming practices can alter this) and cod liver oil also give us Vitamin D. In such a sun drenched land like Australia you may be surprised to learn that a significant number of Aussies are deficient in Vitamin D. Though smog and dark skin can be a factor, the greatest reason for this is the successful education campaign around skin cancer prevention. While we are deligently covering up, slathering on the sun block and avoiding overt sun exposure we are decreasing our chance of developing a deadly melanoma but unfortunately becoming D-deficient and osteoporotic as a side effect. The link above gives some good recommendations on sun exposure for different cities in Australia and New Zealand as well as a good guide to supplementation for all ages.
A report in the EMJA published last year described vitamin D deficiency in Australian children as now being “a significant paediatric health issue”. Another recent study (looking at the higher incidence of Vitamin D deficiency in children with Type 1 diabetes) found that Vitamin D levels in blood samples of Queensland children and adolescents were lower overall than those found in the subjects of the Swedish study.
But don't forget, all the Vitamin D and calcium in the world won’t stop bone loss without adequate weight bearing exercise. Kids who become couch potatoes can’t grow healthy bones.
Other important nutrients for healthy bones
Aside from the Vitamin D issues, there is no debate around the need for adequate calcium intake for many aspects of good health. The debate centres around how much calcium we actually need, the most effective dietary sources and how other foods and substances impact on our calcium bioavailability. Here are some of the major players that are often overlooked in all the ‘official’ hype about calcium:
Sodium: The more salt in your diet the more calcium we pee out. While it is one thing to not have the salt shaker on the table at meal times don’t underestimate the amount of sodium added to processed foods (even some healthy looking breakfast cereals, let alone chips) and restaurant as well as takeaway foods. Raising children to not have a salt craving palate is a great addition to their healthy bone plan.
Phosphorous: This is another mineral essential to the calcium regulation and healthy bone story. Like sodium, this is a case of too much (and rarely, too little) upsetting the calcium applecart. Excess phosphorous gets into the diet from soft drinks, phosphate additives and in diets high in dairy, poultry and meat. We need equal amounts of phosphorous to calcium in our diet in order to use the calcium. The average diet has 2-4 x more phosphorous than calcium!
Magnesium: We need 1/2 as much magnesium to calcium, for the calcium to be used in our body for building strong bones. There are 2 major issues that contribute to magnesium deficiency becoming increasingly common. Firstly the best sources of magnesium tend to come from whole foods like unrefined grains and nuts. But most people eat refined plant foods such as flour and white rice which promotes magnesium deficiency. The other problem is excess calcium. While a cup of whole milk may contain 115 mg of calcium the magnesium content is around 10-15 mg. [Source: Tricky, R. "Women, Hormones and the Menstrual Cycle"]. The average calcium:magnesium ratio in dairy foods ranges from 8:1-12:1 versus the bio availability requirement of 2:1.
Vitamin K: This little talked about vitamin, rich in green, leafy vegetables is another important co-factor in the regulation of calcium in the body. Most Australian children do not get the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables in their diet, so we are likely to learn more about Vitamin K if this trend continues.
Protein: The more protein you eat, especially from animal sources such as meat, poultry and dairy, the more calcium you loose through your urine. For every gram of protein you eat, you loose 1 milligram of calcium. Most official dietary plans do not take this into account. While vegetarian, especially vegan, diets are criticized for an overall lower intake of calcium, it doesn’t take into account that a low animal protein diet causes less calcium loss. New evidence is emerging to show that a balanced vegan requires lower RDI of calcium
Phytates and oxylates: Plant foods however, can reduce calcium utilization. High fibre such as straight bran can reduce calcium absorption. If you had a bowl of 100% wheat bran, you would only be able to absorb half the amount of calcium from other foods eaten at that meal. However, it is rare for someone to eat just bran. Likewise oxylates in some foods such as spinach and beans can reduce calcium absorption. Soaking beans and cooking in fresh water reduces the oxylate content.
Caffeine and smoking (which may include passive smoking) also disrupt the healthy bone story but we would hope kids are exposed to neither of these. Never give your children or teens cola or energy drinks, as the combination of phosphorous and caffeine is a surefire recipe for osteoporosis.
Calcium
While calcium is considered an important building block for healthy bones, the literature repeatedly demonstrates that calcium alone does not build stronger bones in children. Nor does having your RDI of calcium in the form of dairy prevent bone fractures in adults.
Dairy foods are repeatedly promoted as the “best” sources of calcium. Other than supplements, it is true that gram for gram (perhaps with the exception of unhulled sesame seeds and kelp) dairy products contain more calcium than any other food. However, whether these are the best foods to grow healthy bones is debatable considering the issues of phosphorous, magnesium and protein, as discussed above.
Another factor to consider is dairy intolerances and allergies, either to lactose (which is even higher in low fat dairy foods) or the dairy protein. Some indications that your baby or child is negatively reacting to dairy products may include: skin rashes, digestive upsets (like wind, colic, diarhhoea or constipation), mood changes and atopic allergies (such as asthma, eczema or hayfever). Naturopathically we tend to find children who have recurrent ear, nose and throat issues potentially have a higher rate of dairy intolerance.
If your child does have an inflammatory bowel condition, whether caused by a food allergy or common conditions such as Crohns disease, very little of their food sources of calcium may be utilized when loose bowels are involved.
The official rate of dairy allergies in Australia is 1:50 children, however this only includes children who have had immunological testing (not every child with a food allergy is referred for testing) and doesn't include dairy intolerance, meaning the actual occurrence of children not tolerating all or some dairy foods is much higher. Certain ethnicity's, such as children with an Asian background, have a very high risk of dairy allergy and I would advise them to avoid dairy completely. Interesting to note is that approximately 1:4 children with a dairy allergy will also be allergic to soy foods.
How much calcium do we need?
According to the Victorian government the RDI’s for children and teens are as follows:
Babies – 0 to 6 months (breastfed) recommended dietary intake (RDI) 300mg
Babies – 0 to 6 months (formula-fed) RDI 500mg
Babies – 7 to 12 months RDI 550mg
Children – 1 to 3 years RDI 700mg
Children – 4 to 7 years RDI 800mg
Children – 8 to 11 years (girls) RDI 900mg, (boys) RDI 800mg
Children and teenagers – 12 to 15 years (girls) RDI 1000mg, (boys) RDI 1200mg
Teenagers – 16 to 18 years (girls) RDI 800mg, (boys) RDI 1000mg.
The UK Vegan Society has some good resources on non-animal sources of calcium.
Keep in mind these figures assume that there are adequate amounts of co-nutrients and no other factors interfering with the bio availability. Compulsory reading for anyone interested in the whole debate is this excellent article from the Harvard School of Public Health “Calcium and Milk: What’s Best For Your Bones”. Their conclusions are drawn from long term studies (minimum 12 years) of over 100,000 men and women, which makes them the most credible source currently available on the subject. While they question conventional assumptions as to the the amount of calcium required (they suspect it is actually lower than the official recommendations) on the issue of dairy for strong bones they conclude:
Currently, there's no good evidence that consuming more than one serving of milk per day in addition to a reasonable diet (which typically provides about 300 milligrams of calcium per day from nondairy sources) will reduce fracture risk. Because of unresolved concerns about the risk of ovarian and prostate cancer, it may be prudent to avoid higher intakes of dairy products.*
What else can stop a child growing healthy bones?
As if the average Aussie diet, lack of UV and not doing adequate amounts of weight bearing exercise wasn’t enough to complicate the healthy bone picture, the use of steroids (such as cortisone used in asthma and eczema) and the increase rate of eating disorders from a young age also has a detrimental impact on the development of healthy bones.
So you can see, healthy bones is not all about having 3 cups of milk a day after all.
* (My emphasis). Along with the concerns that the Harvard studies mentioned around dairy intake and an increase in ovarian and prostate cancers, other studies show a link between drinking milk and developing Type 1 diabetes and the issue of Low fat dairy foods and infertility
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
