As we age most of us start to shrink in height.  It is not unusual to shrink an inch or more by the time you have reached sixty years of age.  If you have not practiced good nutrition, this shrinkage could even be more severe.  This shrinkage will lead to nerves that are ‘crowded’ as they exit the spine causing an array of symptoms.  Aching and cramping muscles, numbness and tingling, and yes even physical appearance of rashes and dermal reactions.  If not treated with exercise and good nutrition, it could ultimately lead to failure severe compression of the spinal nerves and serious disease states.

A normal part of the experience of living means that during the day a six foot person could shrink as much as three quarters of an inch just from dehydration.  As we sleep at night and take the pressure off of the vertebral discs and hydrate the cartilage between the discs expands.  Then when you get up, most of the soreness of muscles has gone and some stretches makes you feel like a new person.

It has generally been accepted in the practice of medicine that shrinking with age just happens and there is nothing that you can do about.  Of course if you are a regular reader you know that I have overcome this shrinkage.  There is nothing in the medical science about how to heal the cartilage to keep it healthy.  This is largely due to the fact that most trial studies work only one nutritional factor at a time.  However, you can find what nutrients allow for cellular differentiation of chondracytes, cartilage stems cells and the building blocks of cartilage and joint lubricant.  It is a combination of vitamin D, vitamin A, sulfur, magnesium, vitamin C, and iodine.

Determining the exact amounts to use is an art that most be tailored to each individual depending on what they eat.  Of course there is not really much research on is sulfur.  However, the alternative medicine folks have promoted glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM for joint pain.  I believe the body is used to getting its sulfur from sulfate that is found in water as calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate.  However, with the complaints of the hardness of water affecting the way it cleans and the taste, a huge effort has been made to get the minerals out of water and has led to a significant deficiency.  I suspect the many diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency also have cofactors of the above named nutrients.

If you want to help stabilize your discs, then an adequate amount of these nutrients is an absolute.  You may start using the triple strength products that include chondroitin, glucosamine, and MSM.  Follow the directions on the box at two per day with most brands.  To assure that you are getting enough sulfur, you may want to eat eggs every day and a healthy amount of garlic and onions when appropriate.

The vitamin D along with vitamin A drives the cellular differentiation of the cartilage cells.  It is wise to get your serum level of vitamin D above 60 ng/ml, 25(OH)D.  After about three months at this level, your liver will start to clear of vitamin A.  It is then wise to take about 4000 IU of vitamin A from fish liver oil or eat a piece of liver about the size of your hand once per month.  By following this formula, I got back the inch that I had shrunk and then grew an additional two inches as my genes fully expressed themselves. This happened over a ten month period and was amazing as my eye line changed and my view of the world changed.

Exercise, exercise, exercise, and yoga and inverted decompression are best.  There is no blood flow to your cartilage and the accordion like action gets the nutrients into your joints.  To your healthy discs – Pandemic Survivor