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Hi there, I looked further after posting to your thread below, and found this excellent article. It supports what I was saying about "bone building" drugs actually making bones more brittle. It also backs up the fact that calcium hydroxyapatite prevents and reverses osteoporosis. I know for me, the choice is clear!!
Here's the article, and the link is at the bottom:
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By David Dahlman
Osteoporosis is the most common bone disorder in America and more than half of all healthy women aged 30 to 40 are likely to develop vertebral fractures as they age.
Bone is a dynamic tissue, continually broken down and rebuilt, with women reaching peak bone mass in their early 30s. Between the ages of 35 and 50, a woman may lose one percent of her bone mass per year. This loss accelerates to two to three percent per year during menopause and decreases to about one percent per year for the remainder of her life.
Common preventative measures are hormone replacement therapies, "bone building" drugs, exercise, diet and calcium supplementation. But hormones are ineffective, have dangerous side effects and give women false hope that they are controlling this progressive condition. The dietary suggestions and calcium recommendations perpetuated by the medical community are so far behind the curve that one may wonder if they will ever embrace anything new.
The most common misconception is hormone replacement therapies are the best route to preventing osteoporosis. Studies have shown this therapy slows bone loss and in rare cases halts it. Examining that statement further begs the question, "If a woman is 55 years old and has likely lost between 25 and 35 percent of her bone mass, is it comforting to know that even with these hormones, she will retain that level of loss and still have a risk of fracture?" I suggest it is not. It is even less comforting when viewed along with the increased risk of breast and other cancers linked to this therapy.
When a woman is thought to be at high risk for osteoporosis, or a bone scan provides evidence of it, the disingenuously sympathetic pharmaceutical companies have now added to their profit margin "bone building" drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel, Calcitonin and Evista. These products give false security that there is actual increase in bone mass by building very poor quality bone and showing on a new bone scan that there has been actual increase. This new bone is very fragile and will not reduce chances of fracture, because it is not as strong as the high quality bone created by our body. These medications have side effects that make them intolerable to some women.
The main dietary suggestion made by professionals without nutritional training or by dietitians well behind the curve of new research is for everyone to consume milk and other dairy products. Let's begin by considering that we all know an older woman, hunched over, obviously with osteoporosis. The one common dietary food that all of the women like her have consumed during their lifetime is dairy products. Something is wrong with this picture. There are no studies that suggest that women who do not consume dairy products have an increased occurrence of osteoporosis. In fact, in cultures with minimal or no milk consumption, osteoporosis is unheard of. There is calcium in almost every common food, making dairy unnecessary for good bone building as a child or adult.
We have been marketed to death with the four-food groups poster that was thumb-tacked to the bulletin board in every elementary school and continuing today with celebrities' mustaches and their "Got Milk?" ads.
But milk is poorly absorbed, is unnecessary to build strong bones, is the number one food allergy in this country and is linked to juvenile diabetes, asthma and childhood ear infections. It also causes gas, bloating, stomach aches and diarrhea or constipation in some people. Humans are the only mammals that look for the breast milk of another mammal after being weaned from the breast.
Have you ever seen a giraffe or any other mammal with osteoporosis? After mother's milk, they only drink water. The discussion of milk as a poor dietary choice expands when considering the antibiotics and bovine growth hormones used in its production. Add to that lactose intolerance and the destruction of vitamins and helpful enzymes through pasteurization, and this is a product whose efficacy for humans is far different than it used to be.
Other dietary factors that influence the destruction of bone are high protein diets, alcohol, smoking, sugar, excessive fats, soft drinks, salt and caffeine. Though not a food, the most common over the counter medication purchased today, antacids, unfortunately inhibit the absorption of calcium.
Bone scans, most commonly called Dexxa scans, are used to monitor bone density. If your physician has never suggested this test and you are over 40, insist that it be done. You will then have a marker to compare subsequent test results in order to monitor the effectiveness of your plan of action. When the results come back, don't be satisfied if told they are normal. That also gives a false sense of security, because what it really means is the amount of bone loss you have suffered is normal for a woman your age. No comfort in that. You want to have experienced less bone loss than women your age, which means your plan of action is working.
Calcium supplementation is also highly misunderstood. Physicians without nutritional training routinely suggest antacids as a supplement to fight osteoporosis. There are many different types of calcium available, and the calcium carbonate found in antacids and other dietary supplements is poorly absorbed, as are oyster shell and bone meal. Calcium lactate, ascorbate, chelate, aspartate and citrate, though well absorbed, are not complete bone foods, meaning they don't contain all of the minerals that make up our bones. The only supplement that is actually a complete bone food is Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite, and studies show that it actually increases bone mass.
Prevention or reversal of osteoporosis does not need to include drugs, except in extreme cases. Exercise, proper dietary habits -- including the elimination or restriction of dairy -- and effective calcium supplementation are the basis for the prevention or reversal of osteoporosis. Coupled with periodic monitoring of bone density, you now have an effective plan of action. Take action now. Your health might depend on it.
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
Hi, kmd -
Thanks for posting that article - it's very interesting!
I think I'm one of the extreme cases who needs drugs! :o)
But, although it did say that these drugs do build bone and it is weak, they didn't say that it makes the existing bone more brittle, did it? or maybe I read it wrong. So far, my tests haven't shown any new bone weak, brittle or anything!!! What I'm happy about is that finally, after so long, research is being done on this terrible disease which affects mainly women. My daughter is 37 and was told that she has low bone density. She is now breastfeeding her baby and has joined a gym, but she takes the whole thing very lightly.
She forgets to take her extra calcium, etc. I just hope that the media, etc. will keep talking about this. Raisa
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
This article has convinced me that this is the way to go. Do you happen to know if I need to fill that Rx for Vitamin D as well? Or will the Cal-Apatite cover that? Again, thanks for all your help!
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
nmi
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
nmi
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by Naya to kmd on April 08, 2002 at 20:03:40:
Sorry, I don't know much about Vitamin D or if you need it. Maybe Walt does?
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by Raisa on April 08, 2002 at 19:39:46:
It does say: "These products give false security that there is actual increase in bone mass by building very poor quality bone and showing on a new bone scan that there has been actual increase. This new bone is very fragile and will not reduce chances of fracture, because it is not as strong as the high quality bone created by our body."
Somewhere along the lines I know I read an article that used the word "brittle".
Are you going to take the hydroxyapatite? If you are not comfortable getting off the meds, you can still take that too.
In Reply to: Thanks, kmd. Very helpful article!!! (nmi) posted by kt on April 08, 2002 at 20:36:33:
Just got the May Alternative Medicine magazine today and they have an interesting article on calcium and osteoporosis. If you go to their website (alternativemedicine.com) they'll send you a free issue.
In Reply to: Ooh, another thing....... posted by kt on April 08, 2002 at 23:07:45:
Thanks! I'll check it out.
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
Thanks, kmd!
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 21:24:17:
Thanks, kmd.
I do not think that most people need more than 400 units of vitamin D a day but I also do not think that 800 units a day will hurt any adult.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 21:27:11:
Hi again -
Missed this post. So far, no improvement in my hip has been seen on bone density tests - only in the spine, which, as I said they said could be because the crushed vertebra make it look like bone. But now I wonder what good bone density tests are if they show increased density but it is, in reality ,fragile and not worth anything! I do remember reading or hearing once that Fosamax could possibly cause bone to grow elsewhere in the body (liver, for instance), which they will not be aware of for years. That's scary!
I do not have the dowager's hump (yet). Too bad we can't trust the drug companies or the FDA! They go back and forth on all drugs it seems, even aspirin. Same with foods.
They keep our heads spinning!!! This 'site is a wonderful place for sorting things out! Raisa
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
nmi. LOL..I thought this meant "no meaness intended when I first started reading this board
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by Raisa on April 09, 2002 at 11:21:02:
Makes you wonder huh. I think bone density tests are really only accurate for people who are not taking prescription drugs to artificially build bone for that exact reason - they don't really know the substance of what is happening! I did not know that Fosamax can cause bone to grow in other areas - but I guess that is not surprising. YIKES!
I've not heard of the dowager's hump but I'm assuming that's the hunching of the upper back and neck area? What does that look like when it is in its earliest stages? I wonder if using 2 pillows instead of one to sleep on at night contributes to the deformation. I keep trying to break that habit.
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by Raisa on April 09, 2002 at 11:21:02:
Growing bone in the Liver !!!??? That sounds crazy but Maybe
From what I read about things it seems that many thigs
VF
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 09, 2002 at 13:21:22:
Hi -
In Reply to: Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by Vince F on April 09, 2002 at 13:37:05:
Hi, Vince -
In Reply to: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others posted by kmd on April 08, 2002 at 19:11:17:
Most people that the author talks about have consumed pasteurized milk and other dairy products. Pasteurized dairy products have been noticed to cause the symptoms he listed. However, raw milk and other dairy products seem to have a very different effects on most people.
Follow Ups:
Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others
Posted by kmd on April 09, 2002 at 13:21:22:
Follow Ups:
Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others
Posted by Vince F on April 09, 2002 at 13:37:05:
the story I heard about a woman who took a lot of calcium
while pregnant and delivered a baby IN a shell isn't all
that rediculous after all.
can be dangerous or at least cause problems for certain
people or at a certain time depending on their bodies or
something. I tend to not take something unless really
necessary and not when it isn't just in case it might be
harmful in some way and accept the rish if it does help
something that I can see. feel, or find that I may need.
Bone density seems tricky since it is hard to find out if
you are and then what way does one treat it. I guess,
carefully.
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Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others
Posted by Raisa on April 09, 2002 at 15:19:58:
Yes, that's what "dowager's hump" is. When the bones of the spine fracture and collapse, which makes the spine shorter.
It's odd that they refer to it as a "dowager's" hump. A dowager is the name they called elderly, rich widows (I just looked it up in the dictionary). It seems that all the wicked witches in the fairy tales also have those hunch backs! But now, fairly young people are getting osteoporosis.
I just got my newsletter from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, which says that researchers from the Nurses'Health Study found a link between vitamin A and hip fractures in postmenopausal women. It says that participants who consumed 3,000 micrograms or more of vitamin A daily had a higher risk of hip fracture. This was a study of over 72,000 postmenopausal nurses aged 34-77. Those with high retinol intakes were 49% more likely to break a hip in a non-traumatic fall. They say that women should consume 700 micrograms daily hmmm...I probably get more than that in vitamin pills and food.
It's a full-time job looking after one's health!! Raisa
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Re: OSTEOPOROSIS - good info!! for Naya, Raisa and others
Posted by Raisa on April 09, 2002 at 17:09:04:
I can't remember where I saw or heard that, but I mentioned it to our neighbor (a retired surgeon), and he said he wouldn't be a bit surprised, since how would the drug know where to go exactly? It definitely could come out years from now (hopefully not in offspring!!), I guess. It isn't mentioned in the literature which comes with the drug. I know I shouldn't be experimenting this way - this man's wife also takes it because she fractured both ankles before she found out she had osteoporosis. As I have said, if I were of childbearing age, I would never think of taking it.
Btw, where did you see the story about the lady having a baby in a shell??? Raisa
Follow Ups:
I think he is wrong about milk
Posted by R. on April 10, 2002 at 19:56:40:
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