Bone health and menopause
Achieving optimal bone health might not be something you think about unless you´re a woman going into menopause or unless you´re at the age of 60 plus-ish something. With this article I hope you´ll to re-think your ideas about bone health and start caring about your bones (and osteoporosis) way before it´s an immediate concern.
See, bone health is not an old person’s problem. Caring for our bones is something we should consider already at young age, since our lifestyle have a huge impact on the health of our bones as we age. Because bones are living tissue. And they react not only to external forces, but to stress, the food we eat, as well as our emotions!
Use the bones the way they are intended to
Bone cells respond to forces played upon them. That´s why it´s so important for kids to be active, and for adults to keep acting a bit like kids as we age. Our bones are designed to respond well to jumps, for example. It stimulates the cells to break down and build new cells, as well as make the bones more solid and healthy. A sedentary lifestyle with no stress on the bones, like jumps, is very dangerous for bone health. When we age, we lose bone density. It´s very important for our overall health to nourish our bones as soon as we can in life with proper exercise. This makes perfect sense for most people. What we need to look at as well, often overlooked and not properly understood though, is that our bone health is also dependent on our eating habits and digestive system, as as well as how we handle stress and our emotions.
Stress and the Chinese medicine perspective
In Chinese medicine, digestive health relies on all the organs to function as a system. All organs have their own qi (energy) and task in the body, and it all need to work as a system where the organs support and restrain each other. However, when looking at the digestive system it´s mostly the stomach and spleen that are the main focus. And the saying “we are what we eat” looks a bit different through the lens of Chinese medicine, where you instead could see it like this; “you are what you absorb”.
For the body to break down and absorb nutrients from food and drinks, the spleen need to be functioning well. If this is not the case, the kidneys will be affected, because diseases of the spleen affects the kidneys. And the kidneys control our bones!
This is why good bone health not only relies on exercise, but on good digestive health too. If our bodies can´t absorbing nutrients – the nutrients doesn’t get into the bones. And the bones need nutrients to stay strong.
So, if you take a moment to think about your digestion. Do you often experience a loose stool? Do you even go to the toilet on a daily basis? Stomach pain? Bloated belly? Constipation? Bloated under the rib cage? Nausea?
All of these symptoms aren´t normal if it´s a chronic issue. It will affect your bone health and need some attention.
Bones and the kidney system
The kidneys are related to the deepest level of physiology. Think survival hormones, like adrenalin and cortisol. Hormones that are important to flush through the system as a fear and stress response but will have a very bad impact on the body if released on a daily basis due to a stressful life.
Elevated cortisol levels interfere with bone cell formation and will dramatically decrease bone building by reducing bone building cells. And this will lead to reduced bone density and basically more bone tissue is broken down. This means that chronically elevated cortisol levels will reduce bone density and increase the risk for osteoporosis.
And hear this, how many people aren’t stressed because of the stress if they are doing the right thing for their health or not? Even that is stressing many people out!
Everyone have stress. How to manage it is what´s important. How me, your or anyone else is reacting to stress, is individual, and we need to learn how we can manage it based on our own true nature. How resilient we are is important. Because stress hormones = a cascade on events in the body.
Yin and Yang hormones
Most people are aware that stress triggers a response in the body called fight or flight. This is the response I just explained above, with elevated cortisol levels, as well as adrenalin.
In Chinese medicine, these hormones are yang hormones. It means hot and upward moving energy in the body. And too much of that yang, too much of that heat, will burn up the yin in the body. It will have an immediate impact on the physiology in the body and can create different imbalances, for example heat in the heart. And too much heart heat is related to chronic anxiety. Which will have an impact on the menstrual cycle. The body will be too busy protecting you from perceived danger (real or not, hormones doesn’t know the difference) and have no time for digestion or reproduction, which is not the most important thing to handle while being in danger. Digestion and reproduction will be shut down. Even though the danger is not present for real. And yes, it all affects bone health as you might know by now.
And this is important – fear is processed in the body trough the bones!
Stress and fear are connected to the kidney hormones. And the kidneys control the bones, remember. Now, think about this for a moment. How often are you stressed? Some people live with chronic stress. Doesn’t have to be stress in the terms of hurrying up to work, kids’ activities etc. It might as well be inner stress. Even stress of not being good enough. Kidneys doesn’t know the difference. It´s just stress hormones for the body. Stress hormones and sex hormones comes from the same bucket in the body – the kidneys. So why does stress have a negative impact on fertility, menopause, menstrual cycle and so on. Well, this is why. It all impacts the bones and kidneys! And as you know now, digestion.
Birth control pills is like a sledgehammer to female hormonal and bone health
I don’t have a number, but I do know many women have used birth control pills some time during their life. Most patients I meet and treat, are either on the pill or have been using some kind of birth control pill before. I´ve used them myself when I was younger and didn’t know better. Awful for many reasons, like the fact that you don’t have a real period when you´re on birth control pills. And real periods and ovulation is so important for female health. But also, because birth control pills can prevent natural bone density that happens quite early in life.
Where can we start to make positive changes?
If something is going on with the bones, something else is going on in the body too. And vice versa. Bones doesn’t live and work in isolation. And they are hugely sensitive to the health and balance of the kidneys.
A famous Chinese doctor said: “30 % treatment by the doctor and 70 % self-improvement on the patient´s part”. I love this, because me as a Chinese medicine practitioner can do a lot for my patients, but they can do so much for themselves by learning how to take care of themselves – based on their body constitution. So, my advice is to seek an acupuncturist to get some treatments with acupuncture. Ask for herbs based on your diagnosis. And make changes in your diet, exercise etc. based on your menstrual cycle, menopause phase etc.
A few simple advice
I love bone broth which according to Chinese medicine is awesome for the kidneys and bones. You find my recipe here
Go see an acupuncturist to get a diagnosis on what’s going on in your body
Implement herbal medicine to regulate your cycle or menopause
Menopause should be regulated already at the age of 35! This can prevent menopause from being difficult, since it should just be a beautiful phase to go through without difficult symptoms
Women over 40 basically always have kidney deficieny, in different degrees. Herbal medicine, acupuncture, appropriate living with rest, sleep, work is crucial for health
Do weight bearing exercises, for example with a kettlebell
Practice yin yoga for healthy bone cells
Take walks in nature
Get your sleep regulated. Chinese medicine have some amazing herbal formulas for sleep