Cramping and twitching occurs when minerals are taken out of your blood and muscles.  I take a bone mineral powder to get balanced minerals.

To guarantee that you do not get a heart attack from adding these minerals, you need to read the heart attack section on this website and be sure that your temperature is at least up to 98 degrees. To reverse this process, of bone loss, a person needs to get more exercise; -  30 minutes of brisk walking per day would be good.  The exercise causes your body to take in more oxygen and eliminate surplus nitrogen and acid.   (I believe I got this information from one of the medical research papers which I subscribe to by Dr. David Williams, at 1-800-527-3044.   I have found his research to be on the cutting edge and extremely accurate.  However, stopping the loss of minerals does not necessarily mean that your body will add back the calcium you have already lost.  Recent discoveries indicate that your body will not add back minerals to your bones without a hormone called DHEA  (DEHYDROEPIANDROSTRONE).  As we age, our bodies gradually decreases the production of DHEA.  Fortunately, we can get a supplement to make up for this deficiency.  This is now so commonly known that DHEA is now available at the local WinCo supermarket,  in the vitamin section.  I suggest men start with a 25 mg tablet daily around age 60, especially if you are losing height.

As my mother aged, I was not aware of any doctor ever advising us that she needed DHEA.  As you can see in the above picture taken June 3, 2007, my mother in the center of the picture looks no taller than a small child!   You would think that we all would have noticed this problem and taken action, but we didn’t.  My mother broke her leg at the hip 9 months later in March 2008.  Her bones were very weak.  After that she could not get any exercise and the bones were too far gone to mend. She had to live with a broken leg until she passed away a month later on April 25, 2008, age 91.  Causes of death were both osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s.  

To create strong bones a person could also eat more beets.  Beets are one of the richest sources of the mineral - strontium.  Your body handles strontium  just like calcium but it makes your bones 3 times stronger.    Joke: – After eating beets you will think your are bleeding internally, but don’t worry. There is a difference between blood and beet juice, altho they both look the same and many doctors can’t tell the difference.   Seriously, your digestion is not strong enuf to change the color of beet juice.   Try beets;  they are good for you.  You’ll be glad you did.

NOTE:    Too much DHEA may cause men to be overly interested in sex or they may develop something called bone spurs.  A bone spur is an extra growth of bone somewhere you don’t need extra bone like out the side of your heel.  These may be painful, especially if it causes your shoe to not fit properly.  In such cases you need to reduce your dosage.  For women, overdosing may cause an increase in the growth of facial hair.  Decreasing  your dosage should immediately stop that side affect. Women just naturally have a little less DHEA than men do.  DHEA also causes a person to build more muscle and burn more fat.

For one 84 year old lady with poor bone density, 8 months of DHEA supplementation gave her the bone density of a 35 year old women. This supplement really works, but you need to use common sense.  My wife recently had a medical checkup.  Her doctor commented that she had the bone density of a much younger  woman.  She takes 25 mg of DHEA per day at the age of 71. Younger women may want to take half that amount, especially if you are losing height.

For more information on DHEA, you might read Phyllis Balch’s comments on page 801 of her book, Nutritional Healing – 5^th edition -  DHEA Therapy section.  Her book is available at any vitamin, or health food store.   DHEA was new science but at this point definitely looks like a necessity for avoiding bone loss.  Don’t  forget regular exercise like walking 30 minutes per day.  I have not heard of any other negative side effects.  Today millions of people are using DHEA on a regular basis.

Another substance which helps a person maintain good bone density is Melatonin. This is a brain chemical which helps a person sleep well but generally diminishes as we age.  Nancy and I both take 3 mg at bedtime as a sleep aid.  This is also available at the local supermarket and has been in use by millions of people since being recommended by Pat Robertson on the 700 club several years ago.  Recent use of this product is probably one reason that life expectancy is getting longer.

Another practice, which helps bone density as well as good digestion and general good health, is the custom of eating yogurt on a daily basis.  This is also encouraged by Dr. David Williams and is practiced in cultures where people are known to live past the age of 130.  (Armenians who live in southern Russia) I sweeten my yogurt by sprinkling on dried chopped dates, or bananas, which are high in potassium and help keep my blood pressure down.

_{Pictured above - left to right- Rosemary Wytcherley, Registered Nurse; Nick Stansfield, BS -Theo, Acct, Medical Researcher; Nancy Stansfield, MA; Dr. D. Bryan Stansfield; Susan Mayo, BA UC Santa Barbara; Michael Stansfield, BS  Cal State U  LB, Web designer; Frances Pierce Stansfield, Nutritionist; Karen C Stansfield, BS UC Santa Cruz;  Elizabeth Stansfield, M of Ed, U of O; Laura Stansfield, Ba - Pepperdine, MA Fuller;  Leon Stansfield, M of Ed -U of  O.    Picture taken by Mike Mayo, BA UC Santa Barbara, MS. USC.}