Meet our writers

Win $1,000







Health March 2015

Dear Pharmacist

Healthy Bones Without Drugs

By Suzy Cohen

By no means am I saying an orange a day will keep the hip fracture away! But regular consumption of citrus fruits or pith-derived supplements might help, and can usually be taken with certain medications (not all).

Many of you take bisphosphonate drugs for bone loss and you write to me with complaints. Lawyers handle cases now due to the reports of catastrophic reactions like osteonecrosis or femur fractures. It’s a terrible irony.

Here’s another idea. Nobiletin. This is different than strontium which I’ve written about before. Nobiletin is a powerful “polymethoxylated” flavonoid that comes from the white stringy fiber and peel of citrus fruits (termed “pith”). You probably spit that out, throw it away or put it in your compost pile, don’t you? Tangerines and mandarin oranges have awesome amounts of nobiletin, however other citrus rinds such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruit also contain nobiletin.

Nobiletin has been researched extensively over the last 10 to 15 years. It positively impacts cholesterol and reduces inflammation. Great news for those struggling with atherosclerosis and heart disease, or those of you supported on statin cholesterol drugs. Nobiletin also blocks the NF kappaB pathway which induces pain. Nobiletin has anti-cancer activity, confers brain protection and improved symptoms of Alzheimer’s in an animal model. Since I’m already on a tangent, I’ll also tell you that adolescents and adults dealing with acne may benefit by nobiletin because it blocks sebum production. Now, let me circle back to your skeleton.

Bone loss in humans occurs as the result of one of two things. Either your bone cells fail to make new bone, or you break down old bone too quickly. There needs to be a steady balance: discard old bone, make new bone, discard old bone, make new bone. You probably didn’t realize your bones are not solid; they are dynamic throughout your lifetime.

Two major players affect the process of bone building. One is inflammation and the other is estrogen. Chronic low-grade inflammation and/or too little estrogen contribute to osteoporosis.

Research published in the Journal of Pharmacological Science showed very promising evidence of nobiletin on bone health. Scientists used rodents that had their ovaries removed (which causes estrogen deficiency). Nobiletin was given, and stopped the progression of osteoporosis. Not only that, it significantly restored bone mass in severely osteroporotic critters! 

How you wonder? This natural citrus-derived antioxidant suppressed pathways responsible for inflammation, namely the COX2, NF-kappa B, and prostaglandin pathways. Just amazing when you think about the potential harm done by bisphosphonate drugs given by conventional physicians.

By no means am I saying an orange a day will keep the hip fracture away! But regular consumption of citrus fruits or pith-derived supplements might help, and can usually be taken with certain medications (not all). Ask doc if it’s okay for you, and look online or at health food stores nationwide. It’s sold as Sytrinol, or as “citrus bioflavonoids” and I want you to be real careful because some of the products contain “naringen” which comes from grapefruit and this compound can dangerously spike your blood levels of medications. My point is self-treatment with natural dietary supplements – even wonderful ones – may not be right for you. Find yourself a holistic-minded practitioner to ask.

 

A licensed pharmacist for over 22 years, Suzy Cohen shares the pros and cons of medication use as well as natural substitutions for most any of your health concerns. Visit Suzy’s website at www.dearpharmacist.com.

Meet Suzy