Osteoporosis

The Mayo Clinic defines osteoporosis as meaning "porous bones." It causes the bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that even mild stresses like bending over, lifting a vacuum cleaner or coughing can cause a fracture. In most cases, bones weaken when you have low levels of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals in your bones.

A common result of having osteoporosis is fractures — most of them in the spine, hip or wrist. Although it's often thought of as a women's disease, osteoporosis also affects many men. And aside from people who have osteoporosis, many more have low bone density. But women are five times more likely to suffer from this problem than men.2

Often we hear about someone, usually an elderly person, that fell and broke a hip. In reality it is more likely the hip broke then she (or he) fell. Sadly, often when an elderly person suffers an injury like a hip fracture it turns out to be a fatal problem.

So why do our bones get brittle? What robs them of their density and strength? That is the billion dollar question. The pharmaceutical companies would have you believe your bones are weak because you need Fosomox. I think it is safe to assume lack of a drug in your body is not the cause of loss of minerals. Whether Fosomax is a solution is another question. There is evidence this cure might be causing health problems itself like Atrial Fibrillation 3 and osteonecrosis of the jaw, “dead jaw,” 4 The cure might be worse than the problem being cured, if it does cure it.

James Lavall, Pharmacist, says "As a pharmacist, I feel obligated to warn people that one of the contributing factors to these increased rates is taking prescription and over-the-counter drugs that reduce or block the production of gastric acid. I’m talking about proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and other acid blocking drugs like H2 antagonists for heartburn and ulcers.

Besides lowering B12 absorption which influences red blood cells and homocysteine levels, these drugs reduce stomach acid so effectively, they keep your body from absorbing calcium, and therefore can reduce bone density." Read more about this in Why Osteoporosis.

This section of our Health and Wellness pages will offer some ideas, thoughts and suggestions on osteoporosis.

Links:

Foot Notes: