THERE’S hardly anyone who doesn’t have a fall once in a while. I have my fair share of it. Sometimes, we trip and fall in the house when we miss a step on the stairway. The fall may be in the street at some other time, such as when we hit a foot on a stump or when the wooden ramp across an open drain we have to cross cannot bear our weight and it caves in. Sometimes, we are lucky and end up with only grazes or cuts, no bone fractures or damage to any internal organ. In many cases, however, fractures occur and tumours may follow impact on the bones.
Always, I remember an eight-year-old primary school girl in FESTAC Town, Lagos, whenever I meet with my friend, Mr. Babatunde Baruwa, who was the head teacher at her school. Queen, as she was called, was hit on the thigh one day by a ball kicked by one of the boys during break time. No one thought so much about it. Not even her mother who massaged the thigh with liniment whenever Queen complained of pains in her thigh bones. Then, one day in hospital, the doctors found a cancer in the thigh! Such is the ordeal of a young man I have just been told about by an architect who was in search of help for his cousin. He had a fall sometime ago and assumed the matter had ended there. But he went to hospital when pains in the leg failed to subside months after. And the doctors found a tumour growing in the injured bone. The architect told me a biopsy was to be done to determine if the tumour was benign, that is friendly, or maligment (dangerous). Their story reminds me of yet another story. It is that of a man my age who about 10 years ago had a fall at home and could neither stand on his feet nor sit up after he was helped up by co-residents of his compound. It turned out that his hip bone was fractured. To cut a long story short, a metallic device was surgically implanted in his pelvic bone to help him make limited movements. Worldwide Maria Treben, arguably Austria’s best known herbalist of her time, mentions in her book, HEALTH THOUGHT GOD’S PHARMACY, the story of an in-law of hers who had a fall which fractured her hip bone and thereafter had a pin inserted into this bone to enable her walk again. Back home in Nigeria the Yoruba warn that when an adult has a fall, the consequences are grave. (Isubu agba ki i da). They cannot explain why. But science does.
The Living Bone
THE bone is composed of living cells, just like the eyes
and or the brain. Never mind that it is hard and
rigid. I always paint a picture of the hard and weak bone as follows: look at the block or brick or house nearest to you. It is constructed with cement (concrete) block or bricks. One block or brick is arranged one on top of another. Between two blocks or bricks, there is a concrete mortar which holds them firmly together. The bones are similarly arranged. Collagen, a protein, is the binding factor between two bone cells! Collagen binds, as well, all the hundred trillion or so cells in the adult human body, be they cells of the kidney, liver or of the womb or testes. Collagen is made of molecules which have life spans and must be replaced; otherwise a weakening of the bonding between cells will begin to occur. Therefore, to avoid collagen collapse, raw materials must be provided in the diet. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables and from any other sources assists the body to make collagen. Hands up, everyone who takes enough Vitamin C in the diet every day! I am sure not many hands will go up. Fruits and vegetable have little or no Vitamins C these days. Fruits are harvested unripened and stored under the most harrowing conditions to force ripen, such as covering them in a darkened environment and keeping carbide in their midst. As for vegetables, they are already fatigued and limp, under stress stripped of their Vitamin store, by the time they arrive in the kitchen. Overcooking delivers the last nutritional insult to their wellbeing, and ours! In this scenario, taking Vitamin C food supplement at table is an inescapable lifestyle for bone health. Among people whose hands will be up are many who are miserly to themselves in this regard. They go for cheap 5mg or 10mg pharmaceutical inorganic Vitamins C to maintain an organic body, whereas current nutritional research suggests that as much as 3,000mg daily supplementation of diet is desirable these days. For the traditionalists, 100grams of 110 edible orange provide not more than 30mg of Vitamin C, according to H.K. Bakhru in his FOOD THAT HEAL. Even if we can consume 100 oranges every day for 3000,mg minimum daily intake in normal health,6000 – 10000mg is the recommendation by the father of Vitamin C research in our time, Dr Linus Pauling, who won the Noble Prize two times, each time unshared with anyone. Vitamin C is but one of many factors in bone health. To these others, I will soon come.
I HAVE had my fair share of falls, lucky each time to come off them only with their familiar day-after pains. One evening last year, I hit my foot on a kerbstone while trying to make way for a speeding motorist who seemed to have no respect for human life. I tripped and crashed the right knee on one of those giant igneous black rocks construction companies build heavy duty roads with. It was a terrifying fall. I thought the knee cap would have broken into pieces I almost fainted and had to be stabilised by Good Samaritans. Luckily, I had Maria Treben Swedish bitters at home.Maria said the formula was given to her by a man who died at the aged of 104 after falling off a horse he was riding. I had used it successfully in many cases of pain and swelling and knew that this knee would inflame the day after and may immobilize me for many days. So, by the hour, I massaged the bitters generously into the cap and the fold behind it. I am an outdoor person and do not like to be walled or caged in, and, sure enough, I was out next day.
On January 26, I posted this message on my Face book wall.
“The mob yelled: CRUCIFY HIM. In this Valley of Death, I could, if I wanted a pound of his flesh. But what’s the gain? I had never seen such hatred for policemen. I looked up his eyes. Behind them was a refined human sprint. I took his hand and, together, we journeyed to the STILL WATERS. Far from the madding crowd”
It was a veiled message about a police motorcyclist who knocked me down against a stationary trailer. I was going for lunch, and was about to enter the canteen when, seemingly from out of nowhere, I heard the roar of a motorcycle. All I remember, as I was going down, was a fervent prayer beseeching the Lord to save my spine. My lower back, point of impact with the truck, hurt badly but, thankfully, the doctor I saw about 30 minutes after, confirmed no fracture or internal problems. A mob seized the motorcycle, wanted the case reported at a police station. I could read anxiety on the face of the policeman. If we went to a police station, he would be fired because the policemen were now forbidden to ride motorcycles, so that the Lagos State government bid to ban motorcycle taxis (Okada) would be effective. He told me he was posted far away from home for days, with no food or money, and his wife telephoned that morning, that their children were ill and they were in the hospital. He borrowed a friend’s motorcycle to keep in touch with home. He followed me to the hospital and paid some of the bill. When I overheard him pleading with the doctor, I paid the balance. I was too glad to be alive and unbroken, and, spiritually grateful for an opportunity to cast off an old debt. For nothing happens in a vacuum. Who knows if this experience was a symbolic redemption of an old Karma which could have been a worse deal? The Yoruba say ti iku to ye ko pa’ni ba si fila lori eni, ope lo ye ki a ma a da. We should be all gratitude – to the Lord – if death, dead serious about killing us, achieves no more than removing our caps). The policeman and I became friends, to the disappointment of the mob who wanted more than a pound of his flesh.
In many ways, I am grateful to the Lord for the lives and work of all those researchers and doctors who have been educating us about bone health and nutritional bone care. I have seen cases not as serious as the one’s I’ve had, not to mention vehicular impact, in which the victims suffered critical skeletal discomfitures. Over the years, I have learned the value of not just Vitamin C to bone health but, also, of Calcium as well and recognised, that Calcium consumption is not all that provides strong, resident and healthy bones.
Bone density, beyond calcium
We must return that picture of the block or brick wall
or house. Imagine some blocks missing in their
places, or the cement mortar no longer bonding well. The wall is weak, can be brought down by stormy rainfall or slight human impact. The bones of many people, especially menopausal women, are like that. This is osteoporosis or soft bones. Up to about a decade ago, Calcium was about the main prescription for osteoporosis and for children who, in the growth years, require a lot of it. This was the origin of the ascendancy of the cow’s milk industry because cow’s milk has lots of calcium and it was assumed that it regular generous consumption would make bones sturdy. But this was false thinking. For the calcium of cow’s milk, like its protein, meant for an offspring that walks on the day it is born, is too dense for the human system. The calcium we need for strong and healthy bones is in the foods, especially green leafy vegetables, which Mother Nature provides for our nurture. Even then, Calcium may be only a Commander – in – Chief of bone building and strengthening food forces, it isn’t the All – in – All. Minerals such as Strontium, Magnesium, Zinc, Boron, Silica are as important to the project as are the Essential fatty Acids (EFAs). .. Omega – 3 oils and the right amount of stomach acid. The stomach expected to have 0.5% concentration of hydrochloric acid, say many researchers, to be able to dissolve calcium. Many people do not have enough acid concentration. Many have diluted or over dilute them with excessive fluid or water intake during meals, weakening the acid. The result is that they cannot digest calcium. This is one of many ways many people suffer from calcium deficiency and osteoporosis. Some other ways are through…
Acidosis
When the diet makes the body acidic, the body has to find a way to dilute the acidity lest the blood become acidic and destroy the organs. Every major department of the body is compelled to donate some of its alkaline content into the bloodstream for this purpose. The bones release some Calcium, the muscles…Magnesium and Potassium, a cause of cramping; the immune system…Zinc and Manganese, the red blood cells…Iron, (anemia). Foods that cause acidosis include bread, milk, sugar, white- flour and fried foods, animal flesh, especially red meat. Many are shocked to learn that cow milk may not be good for them, despite the entire advertising hype to the contrary. A research evidence of this is reported by James F. Batch, M.D., and Mark Stengler, N.D., in their PRESCRIPTION FOR NATURAL CURES. They say:
“A 12- year’s study of more than 77,000 women found that those who drank more than 14 glasses of milk a week had 45 per cent more hip fractures, as compared to women who consumed one glass week or less”
They add: “It may surprise you to learn that countries where people drink the most milk are also those with highest rate of osteoporosis. This may be due to the fact that lactose intolerance and casein (protein found in cow’s milk) allergy are very common and had to malabsorption. Also, calcium from cow’s milk is not well absorbed, at a rate of 25 per cent. Milk products as well, so don’t rely on them for your calcium. Unsweetened yogurt is an exception”
Malabsorption
When it comes to choosing a calcium supplement,
many people choose cheap or organic calcium. These
types are not well absorbed. They may even coat the lining of the intestine and, thereby block the absorption of nutrients or they may bulk up and cause constipation. That’s why ionic calcium, such as the IONYTE brand, is good. They enter the bloodstream from right under the tongue. For people who wish to try plant milk I recommend brands such as such as Coconut milk or Almond milk.
Malabsorption may also occur with a deficiency of calcium or minerals in the diet. Calcium fixes well at one part of calcium to one part of phosphorus and four parts of magnesium, for example. Many people consume excess phosphorus and are magnesium deficient. The result is that unabsorbed calcium deposit in soft tissue causing, for example, frozen shoulder, cataract in the eye, orthotic in the joints or even calcification of muscles and organs. That’s why one may be surprised that osteoporosis has set in or is progressing despite religious consumption of calcium.
As stated earlier, many nutrients work together to support calcium absorption and good bone density. Bach and Stengler report a study published in the Journal of Aging which associate high bone density with untaken of Omega-3 oils. They say:
“The study found that the combination of the Essential fatty Acids. (EPA) fish oil GLA (Evening Primrose Oil along with 600mg of calcium improved bone density in senior women.
During the first 18 months, the lumbar spine density remained the same with the treatment group but decreased 3.2 per cent in the placebo (untreated) group. During the second period of 18 months, with all patients receiving the essential fatty acid combination, lumbar spine density increased 3.1 percent in patients who remained on active treatment, and 2.3 per cent in those who switched from placebo to active treatment. Thigh bone density in the latter group showed an increase of 4.7 per cent”
Bone density in the study may have been helped by the positive effect Omega-3 oils have on hormonal balance. Menopausal women suffer bone fractures more than any group of women or men largely, it is believed, because they produce less estrogen at this stage of their lives. Taking herbs which supply plant estrogens should also help them maintain strong and healthy bones. Men, too, suffer bone fractures when they begin to produce less testosterone, the male hormone.
Most days, I begin my nutritional regimen not necessary with food but supplement. As I write, I have four biochemic cell salt tablets, each of 6x potency, taken in a glassful of water with one tablespoon of Bragg’s unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. These cell salts are the biochemic Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Fluoride, Magnesium Phosphate and Silica. Calcium Phosphate stimulates bone building. A need for Cal Phos is often indicated by neck and back pain and for stiffness which may worsen in cold environment. Calcium fluoride (Cal Flos), an immense help for teeth and gums, supports tissue flexibility and elasticity, freeing immobilise joints, helping circulation, varicose veins, piles and skin itch. Magnesium Phosphate eases cramps, nerve pain. Silica, together with cal flour, is good for the eyes. Alone, it support good skin, hair and nails but, beyond this, is a hardner of bones. Apple cider vinegar improves stomach acid, aids digestion, sterilises the intestine and support calcium absorption much later, I would take Calamus powder tea, a normaliser of the digestive tract (it fight ulcers, inflammation, piles etc) stimulates the brain and the nerves. Since I read the report on Omega-3 oils and bone health, I have been experimenting with Cod Liver Oil, Udo’s oil and Shark Liver oil. I take one type for breakfast, another for lunch and the last for dinner, to make the three grammes recommended daily. When I remember the picture of the fence wall with missing block or of Queen’s mother, who often brought her daughter ice cream in the hospital, or when I see skeletally feeble people in the street I am reminded that the best way to give gratitude to the Almighty for the lives and work of dedicated researchers and physicians that I have profited from is to share this knowledge and cast the police motorcyclist experience far, far behind me.
