After Reading: The Myth of Osteoporosis by Gillian Sanson
Gillian writes that “…when osteoporosis is defined as a condition of fragile bones that fracture easily, it is, in fact, a rare disease.” Anybody that works in healthcare, especially when serving the elderly population, is going to see some hip fracture patients occasionally. Whether or not this distorts their reality of age-related bone-breaking events, is truly unknown. From my perspective, after reading this book I feel that osteoporosis is indeed mythical.
“They didn’t fall and break their hips, they broke their hips and then fell.” This is what my wise nursing professors in college unloaded onto us. At the time, I knew that these aged individuals were doomed, especially those who did not get their dairy. As of right now, I am beyond skeptical. Gillian’s book serves to debate what she terms the myths behind osteoporosis and to re-educate society as to whether or not they truly are at risk.
MYTH OF RISK
You want to know as every other human being wants to know. You are no different than any of these other inquiring minds because “every woman over the age of 50 is at risk for osteoporosis.” If you are playing with fire you are at risk for getting burned. If you drive drunk you are at risk of wrecking both your automobile and the lives of many. But if you are a woman, over the age of fifty, you are instantly at risk for shattering your bones?!
- “There is something deeply disturbing about being told that you have osteoporosis, particularly in the absence of the disease.”
DEFINING OSTEOPOROSIS
“Statistics like these suggest that the disease is more widespread than breast cancer, AIDS, and heart disease combined.”
- 1 in 2 Western women—1 in 3 men—have a bone density related fracture in their lifetime.
- 20% die within six months of a hip fracture.
- 50% require longterm nursing care.
Gillian writes that these bones are normal for a small-framed individual, as evidenced by mainland China accounting for the lowest incidence of Osteoporosis in 1998. It’s a bitter debate relying solely on quantity while leaving quality in the backyard shed. Today’s definition is “characterized by low bone density or reduced bone quantity.”
- “Calling low BMD osteoporosis is like calling elevated cholesterol heart disease, or calling high blood pressure a stroke.” I love Gillian’s witty remark, but I feel it came out all wrong. I do consider elevated cholesterol a form of developing heart disease, just as I believe high blood pressure is a oneway ticket to a stroke. Don’t be misguided by her response, just understand that the medical profession has labeled a single factor as a means of diagnosing.
1980s HRT CAMPAIGN
“In 1994, in the wake of the globally successful osteoporosis marketing campaign, a new definition of osteoporosis was created that was so broad that it would diagnose half of all postmenopausal women as diseased.” It was the Hormone Replacement Therapy promotional campaign that popped the lid on osteoporosis and let the spotlight shine in on it.
- Calcium ads played a huge role too.
- “…no evidence that dairy foods reduce the risk of fracture.”
- Focused on disfigurement, the dowager’s hump, and the damage caused by the disease.
- There is no evidence from placebo controlled trials that it could prevent and or treat it.
- “The truth is that most women who suffer hip fractures are aged 85 or older and are unwell.”
- By 1999, 37% of postmenopausal women were on HRT.
- By 2000, it was the #1 prescription drug in the world.
DEFINITION FLAWS
“If you want to make more people have osteoporosis, simply change the definition of osteoporosis or use a kind of bone density measurement that decreased with age [i.e., the T-Score].”
- Assumes it can predict the future risk of fracture.
- Peak bone mass has been shown to vary from race to race, gender to gender, by geographical region of a country, and even seasonally.
- There is no international norm.
- Current criteria applies only to Caucasian women—of the ethnic groups studied thus far, variations up to 100% have been observed.
FRACTURE RATES & MENOPAUSE
“BMD testing is unable to accurately distinguish women at low risk of fracture from those at high risk.”—The British Columbia Office of Health Technology Assessment (BCOHTA).
You can create as much technology, tests, diagnostic tools, etc., etc., etc., but you’re only gonna find more problems that need fixin’ and new bodily chemicals to slap mixed number-letter names on. It is a backwards approach; Instead of treating the problem, we are just finding new ways to poke, prod, and put it under a clearer microscope. The findings are blurry, yet we feel we have found a sure resolution.
- “The area of ‘normality’ is shrinking and the area of ‘abnormality’ or less than perfect health is increasing.“
As observed with ultrasounds, electronic fetal monitors, predictive genetic screening, and mammographies, “…as natural phenomena become labeled as disease, anxiety is heightened.” Ponder this information for a bit. Anything and everything can be labeled as normal or abnormal and be treated as such. Mass hysteria, money changing hands for treatment, and more problems arising is how this river flows. Here are a few examples:
- “In many cultures, menopause is viewed as a natural and normal stage of life. Our Western view is different. Modern medicine has turned menopause into a syndrome that hallmarks the onset of increased health risk and loss.”
- “Research in other cultures indicates that menopause-associated decline is a uniquely Western phenomenon.”
- “The onset of menopause is equated not just with loss of fertility, but also loss of youth, fertility, sexual desirability, and social status.”
- With “failing ovaries” and “estrogen deficiency,” women are labeled as diseased.
- “In countries like Cambodia, it is reported to be unheard of.”—Fracture rates; also in Africa, South America, and most of Asia.
“Women shouldn’t worry about osteoporosis. The osteoporosis that causes pain and disability is a very rare disease”—Dr. Bruce Ettinger. Gillian argues with a similar message, where are the fractures? With the numbers being all over the place—10 to 70+% levels of risk—, where do we turn?
For Dr. Ettinger and all of Gillian’s contributing resources to label osteoporosis as a very rare disease, I find it very mind-boggling that we as a society have been fooled this badly. We are an extremely unhealthy country and I am not afraid to say it nor slam this evidence up into your face. They are not talking about a rare disease for what I would consider healthy people, they have defined ‘rare’ in application to this extremely unhealthy population. Pull the drapes people, osteoporosis is not gonna happen and it is time to hang up on this prank phone call that has lasted decades and jacked up our phone bills too.
MYTH OF DIAGNOSIS
“This fact is well-known but is largely neglected. This neglect has the obvious consequence that osteoporosis is over-diagnosed in persons of petite body stature, simply because the means of reference populations are calculated from the values of large and small people.”
Gillian confidently speculates that peak bone mass is usually achieved by the age of twenty. Is this when growth spurts puke their guts out as they finally cross the finish line? Since height is determined by the skeletal structure beneath your skin, I think this is why mommy and daddy tell you that you are going to sprout up when you are older, but that you won’t become a giant.
Bone loss has been found to occur after a few years of peaked stability—30s for the ladies and 40s for the gents. As for the rate of bone loss, it differs depending on the individual as well as the actual site being de-boned. I feel the gender gap offers a glimpse of hope to how bone health can be approached in the future. Right now we suspect that it is more or less the woman-ness in the women that leads to their ill-fated fractures. These fractures are not occurring as much as they have been medically touted and I don’t believe women need to become victims either.
Lifestyle choices can be separated along a razor thin line with healthy on one side and unhealthy on the other, but this same line can and does also separate men from women. Because women are subjected to fractured futures at a higher rate, maybe some of the female-only lifestyle choices are what is getting in the way?
Gillian provides further incite about the proposed DXA Scan reference standards by comparing the NHANES III and a Canada study. When the female risk ratio can differ by as much as 34%—50% vs 16%—, I hope you are not a passenger being led onto the wrong bus.
TYPES OF BONE
“Women on average lose between one-third and one-half of their peak bone mass over their lifetime, while men lose less.” There are two types of bone:
- Trabecular—Inner meshwork/20%
- Porous/honeycomb-like
- Sensitive to metabolic changes.
- Most subject to losses as we age.
- Female loss: 50%
- Male loss: 35%
- Cortical—80%
- Outer-shaft casting of all bones.
- Major constituent of the shaft in long bones.
- Female loss: 35%
- Male loss: 25%
BONE REMODELING
“Bone is the only organ that has cells designed specifically to destroy it.” It is a living organ that is replaced roughly every seven to ten years…and by replaced, I mean replaced. Think of it as a magician taking seven years to sweep his cape and reveal his crowd-aweing effect. There are two purposes to this remodeling:
- Keeps your bones “young.”
- Strengthens your bone in a way that allows it to meet life’s daily demands.
It is the osteoclasts that purposely pull the wrong Jenga block out and it is the osteoblasts that restore it or put it back together for another round of life. What determines another round of life is up to you, just as what determines longevity.
- “A certain amount of muscle strain also helps to maintain bone. That is why exercise, particularly weight-bearing, is essential to perpetuate healthy bone remodeling.”
My only advice is to proceed gently and to heed these words with caution. We have sportifyed exercise beyond life’s daily tasks, making it both competitive and injury-inducing. My personal belief is that lifting may build stronger bones, but are not our bones strong enough? Are we only hypertophy-ing our bones and our bodies towards real damage?
BMUs — BASIC MULTI-CELLULAR UNITS
“It is believed that reduced bone density and osteoporosis occur when many factors combine to produce BMUs with deeper-digging osteoclasts and smaller crews of osteoblasts that cannot fill the bigger holes.”
At any given time, there are about one million of these critters working to remove and replace bone. When there is damage, the osteocytes are signaled first, then they signal the BMUs, and they dispatch crews of osteoclasts to participate in resorption or the removal of damaged bone. It is the “digging” action that unearths—or unbones in this case—bone growth-triggering factors that had been left there two to five years earlier by osteoblasts.
These factors stimulate new osteoblasts to secrete collagen to fill the excavated areas. The whole process takes about six to nine months to complete with the osteoclasts digging tunnels at one one-thousandth of an inch per day. Gillian notes that this whole process is sped up while sleeping, as evidenced by Dpd levels—a byproduct found in urine.
MYTH OF CAUSALITY
Of those that reach the milestone of turning ninety within their lifetime, the males have been shown to have a 17% risk of developing a hip fracture whereas the women have a 32% risk.
- “…misleading because many professionals correlate the increased incidence of hip fractures among the elderly with osteoporosis.”, but it “…can be pinpointed to risk factors associated with falling.”
- “…revolve around the increased propensity to fall.”
- 5% are spontaneous fractures and the rest, mostly, are from falls.
- “Bone density loss occurs naturally with age, but not everybody develops thin and brittle bones.”
Young and old, here are some of the factors that both the author and a study offer up as to what it causing osteoporosis:
- Family history
- Smoking
- Inadequate diet
- Eating disorders
- Lack of exercise
- Less than 4 hours/day on feet
- Medication side effects
- Certain diseases
- Maternal history
- Same body weight at age 25
- Overweight when younger and underweight when older
- Being tall at age 25
- Self-rated health—fair or poor
- Dairy products, when younger, have been found to increase risk in old age—”High protein intake causes breakdown of bone and increases urinary excretion of calcium.”
In one study of 355 men aged greater than or equal to 65, these conditions were associated with lower bone density:
- Previous fractures
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Height loss since age 20
- Gastrectomy
- Hyperthyroidism
- Peptic Ulcer Disease
- Hypertension
- Celiac disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- Heart failure
- Use of glucocorticoids
DOWAGER’S HUMP & LOSS OF HEIGHT
“Loss of height is most commonly due to thinning of the cartilage discs between the vertebrae and has nothing to due with osteoporosis.” An Australian study pointed out that the lifetime risk of developing a lovely Dowager’s Hump—multiple spinal fractures—is somewhere around 3% whereas one spinal fracture is around 6%. In essence, don’t believe the hype and most definitely don’t believe the old wives’ tale claiming a lack of dairy did that to her.
DRUGS
STEROIDS
- First year on average—lose 14% of bone mineral content.
- 10mg for 20 weeks—8% loss of spinal bone mineral density.
- Lower doses—2.5-7.5mg—increase fracture risk 2.5x and hip fracture risk by 75%
DEPA-PROVERA (CONTRACEPTION INJECTION)
- Found to reduce bone density by 4.1%/year—increases when stopped.
HRT – HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
16,608 women aged 50-79 gathered together for the Women’s Health Initiative Trial in the USA, but this trial needed to be halted after five years.
- Strokes ↑ 49%
- Heart attacks ↑ 29%
- Blood clots ↑ 100%
- Cardiovascular disease ↑ 22%
- Invasive breast cancer ↑ 26%
- Fractures ↓ 24%
- Bowel cancer ↓ 37%
The drop in fractures and bowel cancer incidents is more than enough to consider HRT as a possible option, but…”…and in 2001, the FDA had withdrawn its approval as a treatment for osteoporosis.”…there was no benefit to be seen after four years on the regiment. As for the real breast cancer rate—when the 42% who dropped out are factored in—, it was a 50% hike.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association—”The WHI provides an important health answer for generations of healthy postmenopausal women to come—do not use ‘estrogen/progesterone’ to prevent chronic disease [i.e., osteoporosis and heart diseases].”
In a twenty year study of 44,241 women, estrogen therapy increased their risk of ovarian cancer by 60%. At this point, I don’t know how much information I need to provide to you, the reader, in order to hammer in the realities of tampering with the body’s hormones, but after ten years of use, the increased level of risk lasted up to 29 years after it’s cessation. So when you hammer the nails repeatedly for a long time, don’t expect to be able to simply pluck them out at a whim’s notice…the damage has already been done.
Some others:
- Endometrial cancer—risk increased 3-5x
- ↑ gallstone formation
- 45% ↑ risk of stroke when taking .625mg or more of estrogen with progesterone.
FLUORIDE
“…well known for its ability to increase bone mineral density…”
- Added to toothpaste and city water.
- Fracture rates are actually higher in people taking it versus those luckily tricked into taking the placebo.
- “…fluoride helped create new bone of poor quality.”
- Optimal U.S. water levels—0.7-1.2 parts per million
- France found that those with 7.11 ppm increase their risk of hip fracture by 86%.
FOSAMAX & BISPHOSPHONATES
“Based on these statistics, 90 women would have to be treated for three years to prevent one fracture.” That is one lousy fracture and this is where Gillian tunes into the radio station of reality, stating that all those exposed, to literally prevent a few fractures, are exposed to the side effects of these touted medications. Fosamax studies claim they can cut fracture rates by up to 50%, but it is nothing more than a play on statistics and an attempt to fool the average consumer.
“The cure is worse than the disease.” Bisphosphonates have been found to slow the actual remodeling process—often removing the micro-damages so that healthy bone can be maintained. But think back, isn’t it these micro-damages that stimulate the growth of new bone? Current evidence suggests that these drugs actually increase the incidence of micro-fractures, but remember, we don’t have the ability to fill them in properly afterwards.
HORMONES
“It is important to understand that women are not “hormone deficient” after menopause.” In a New England Journal of Medicine Study:
- “…majority of women of 65 years produce enough estrogen naturally to give them bone protection.”
- “Studies have found that estrogen levels are similar in postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis.”
So ladies, stop scramblin’ to have your insides surgically altered and or removed and to find “natural” sources of hormonal replacement, instead, maybe you just need to drastically change your lifestyle…minus the maybe.
DISEASES & DISORDERS
HYPERTHYROIDISM
With an increase in metabolism, more bone gets destroyed than that being created. In time, this lack of balance will make itself more noticeably apparent.
HYPERPARATHYROIDISM
Released from bone, absorbed in the intestines, and excreted in urine, calcium is regulated by the parathyroid hormone. High levels of this hormone may cause the bones to give up their calcium and lead to too much being absorbed from the food we eat—kidney stones may develop. Menstrual irregularities such as strenuous athletic training, emotional stress, and low body weight can ensure a woman’s inability to achieve peak bone mass while inching her closer to bone loss and fractures.
EATING DISORDERS
Gillian writes that eating disorders may result in a bone mass reduction up to 90%.
CELIAC DISEASE
Although Gillian writes as if this disease is purely genetic in nature, her tone and words do nothing to negate the seriousness of this disease…
- “It is believed that maybe one in 130 have this condition.”
- “…often undiagnosed because of its mild and varied symptoms.”
- While only 1/4,700 are diagnosed, 97% of cases remain undetected.
- Digestive tract is damaged by gluten proteins → malabsorption of the nutrients needed for bones.
- Can account for osteoporosis, anemia, and diabetes.
- Italian study—”The gluten-free diet led to significant improvement in bone mineral density, even in postmenopausal women.”
- Cystic fibrosis and IBD have shown similar malabsorption problems too.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The authors of one study suggest that:
- Maintain body weight
- Walk for exercise
- Avoid meds with harmful side effects
- Minimize caffeine intake—although another study found that alcohol and caffeine intake showed no association.
- Treat impaired visual function
- Get your vitamin D and sunlight
MYTH OF SAFETY
“Osteoporosis can be safely treated and prevented with drugs.” Bisphosphonates actually inhibit the activity of osteoclasts and thus slow bone resorption. And in the absence of our body’s little bone resorbers, our body’s osteoblasts eventually become immobilized too. Gillian writes that this explains why there is an increase in bone density while taking these drugs—she also discloses evidence showing an eventual plateau of this increase.
- “When bone removal ceases, the bone remodeling processes largely cease.”
One “expert” commentator on the FIT study—a Fosamax study—”The anti-fracture benefit of bisphosphonates in women with low bone mass but without prevalent fractures must be judged to be small.” He or she doesn’t say it outright, but Gillian already has…where are the fractures? We have the touted medications and doctor’s scripts to get them, but where are the fractures?
These medications may increase your bone density initially, but continued use only acts to maintain it. Stopping the medication is more than a minor road bump or decision to not twist the cap off anymore, because it has already thrown some kinks into your hardware. Remember, it can take around 7-10 years for these deposits to develop, so upon stopping your medication, those years are literally lost in time and the bone remodeling process has a bit of catching up to do.
As for the young and pregnant, these drugs have been found to age and brittle bones and to affect the fetus’s skeleton.
MYTH OF THE MAGIC BULLET
CALCIUM
We’ve been blasted by the media and food industry with instructions how to survive and maintain strong bones. Are their recommendations backed by anything other than sales figures or are they just a hunk of bologna. “…that high calcium intake alone prevents osteoporosis, whether from dairy or supplements.” I’ll present the evidence and you can make the choice.
First and foremost, where do we find calcium?
- 99% is found in bones and teeth
- 1% circulates within our blood and helps regulate…
- …heartbeat, nervous system, muscle control, enzyme systems, and hormone secretions
- Male skeleton— >1400g of calcium
- Female skeleton— >1200g of calcium
Do we actually suffer from a lack of calcium and does supplementation work?
- Most women with osteoporosis get plenty of calcium.
- Calcium supplements alone have not been proven to build bone.
- The countries that consume that greatest amount of dairy are also the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis.
- “A diet that is modest in protein, high in vegetables and complimented by exercise is much more effective.”
VITAMIN D
“The prevalence of vitamin D depletion in adults is believed to be increasing.”—Are we overly concerned with sunburns and skin cancer? Yes…
This vitamin is responsible for controlling and regulating the calcium in our diets. When we entertain low calcium diets, there are increased levels of calcitrol for its absorption, vice versa. A higher intake of calcium results in a greater excretion of calcium.
“Studies of children with low calcium and vitamin D intake in developed and developing countries show that children still achieve a normal peak bone mass despite an apparently deficient diet.” Despite and apparently deficient diet… Almost anything touted by the media and that brings consumers flocking to the supplement isle, is taken in excess. We think we know the whys and whats of these supplements, but do we really?
Excess has been shown to lead to kidney stones and gallstones, not better bones, yet we actively read labels seeking a comforting verification of a black and white high percentage point.
FAT & FIBER
Pittsburg Study—”Researchers found that the intake of fat and fiber significantly influences calcium absorption.”
- Women with high fat and low fiber intake—absorbed more calcium
- Certain fibers reduce absorption—e.g., wheat bran
- Green leafy vegetables—not detrimental
- Women with high vitamin D blood levels—increased absorption
- Women with high alcohol intake—decreased absorption
MEAT
“Vegetarian women experience half the bone loss of women who eat meat.”
- “…when animal proteins were eliminated from the diet, calcium losses were cut in half.”—American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and this is from 1994! How can we sit by and continue to consume animal products with big smiles while worrying about the future health of our bones?
- Average urine pH of meat-eaters—4.5-5.5
- Calcium is leeched from our bones in order to buffer this difference and return itself to an equilibrium.
- Average urine pH of non-meat-eaters—5.5-6.5
- Meats are high in phosphorous—phosphorous balances itself with calcium.
- Carbonated drinks found to increase fracture rate in young girls (Harvard Study)
SMOKING
A twin study of longterm smokers revealed a 44% increase in risk.
SALT
“For every gram of dietary salt consumed, approximately 26mg of calcium is lost in the urine.”
- 1g of animal protein = 1mg of calcium being lost.
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Meta-analysis of 57 studies—”The body of scientific evidence appears inadequate to support a recommendation for intake of dairy foods to promote bone health in the general U.S. population.”
- Study of 77 thousand women for twelve years—”These data do not support the hypothesis that higher consumption of milk and other food sources of calcium by adult women protects against hip or forearm fractures.”—highest consumption actually correlated to more fractures.
- Asian countries have a low incidence—when they adopt the Western Lifestyle, both osteoporosis and cancer rates increase.
Some additional reasons to avoid the long walk to the dairy section hidden in the furthest corner of the grocery store:
- Loaded with saturated fat.
- High levels of protein
- Linked to insulin-dependent diabetes—strong correlation
- Many people are allergic/intolerant
- Antibiotics—according to the European Union for milk consumers—can contain 400,000 plus somatic cells/milliliter or 2 million/teaspoon.
- Cows fed antibiotics for this very reason.
- “A 1990 FDA survey found antibiotics and other drugs in 51% of milk samples taken in 14 cities.”
- Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)—cancer agent and high in rBGH milk
BONE HEALTH STRATEGIES
Nutrition…
- Poor nutrition/malnutrition equals greater risk of hip fracture.
- Japanese women—”…highest life expectancy in the world…”—have a low incidence of breast cancer, heart disease, and hip fractures. How do they do it? They eat fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and seafood.
Maintain Normal Weight…
- Weight loss leads to a loss in bone density.
- Exercise interrupts menstrual cycle—known to lose bone density and fracture.
Exercise…
- Walking three times per week—”…can substantially increase bone strength.”
- “…single most effective strategy…”—Based on demands, it causes the bone to become heavier and stronger.
Avoid Smoking and Consumption of Alcohol…
- French study noted that one to three glasses of wine each day may have a positive effect on bone health—authors caution though that nutrition and exercise likely played a role.
Manage Stress…
- High cortisol levels can result in calcium excretion from bones
- Adrenaline draws magnesium into the urine—essential for normal bone metabolism.
- Trascendental mediation—People who meditated twice each day for five years or longer used hospital services 50% less and had an average biological age twelve years younger than their chronological age.
Avoiding Chemical Pollution Exposure…
- DDT—”…those with traces of pesticide in their blood had lower bone densities than those with none.”
- Organochlorines
- Cancer incidence by year—1 in 10 in 1950 and 1 in 3 in 2000
- “Researchers link the increased incidence of cancer to exposure to carcinogens in the air, water, workplace, or in consumer products.”
- Anti-oxidants—free radical scavengers
- “The consumption of organic foods and avoidance of exposure to chemicals is fundamental to reducing their risk of disease from a toxic environment.”
EXERCISE & SEDENTARY LIFESTYLES
- NASA—astronauts lose bone at 1.5% per month.
- Bedridden people—increased loss of calcium in urine
- Age/Elderly (study of 86-96 year olds)—”…dramatically increased their strength” and balance within eight weeks.
- Heavier weight for few repetitions better than light weight at higher reps—Lighter weight had no effect on bone density.
I want to take a moment and interrogate that last bullet point. Maybe management of bone density is the best way to go. Maybe lifting heavy weights increases bone density, but do we need thicker bones? Maybe the activities of daily life are enough to ensure adequate bone density? Nobody knows for sure what a good bone density is, but I doubt your bones will cripple and crack while living as naturally as possible.
DIET
“…a bone-nutrient rich, pH balancing diet that reduces calcium excretion and bone loss.”
- Framingham Study—People who consumed more fruits and veggies had less bone loss.
- Followup study—high candy consumption associated with low bone mass.
PROTEIN
“They are also most nutritious when eaten raw.”
PHYTOESTROGENS
- Linked to higher bone mineral densities.
- *Activated by bacteria in the intestine.
*As a society hooked on antibiotics and deathly afraid of the word ‘bacteria’ itself, our chances of recognizing our body’s natural bacteria as something positive is slim to none.
SOY & OUR ABANDONMENT OF THE NATURAL
“Soy milk, for example, is produced by soaking the beans in an alkaline solution, then heating them to about 115 degrees Celsius. This produces difficult-to-digest proteins and phthalates that can block the essential uptake of minerals.”
- Genetically engineered to be resistant to herbicides—eat organic, GE-free or no GMOs.
CAFFEINE
Study—Acidic, therefore linked to increased bone loss, especially with low calcium intake.
VITAMIN K
- Responsible for osteocalcin production—attracts calcium to bone tissue (carboxylation).
- Harvard Study—women who consumed less than 100mcg/day had 30% more fractures over a ten year period.
- Framingham Study—56mcg/day versus 254mcg/day—56mcg/day had more fractures.
- “Because intestinal bacteria make 90 percent of vitamin K, people who have had frequent or long-term antibiotic use are likely to have insufficient vitamin K.”
MANGANESE
Study of Belgian women—levels were 75% lower in those with osteoporosis.
VITAMIN A
Excess levels are associated with an increased risk.
- Swedish study—every mg/day increase in vitamin A resulted in an increased hip fracture risk by 68%.
CONCLUSION
“It has become one of the most commercially profitable diseases ever because it diagnoses and treats as well.” If I were to label being born a male as a disease, just under 50% of the world’s population would be officially diagnosed. Just like that, with one swoop of my seemingly credible voice, I could begin a chain reaction. Machines and tests would need to be made and purchased in order to diagnosis. Drug trials would start coming out the woodworks, especially those that attempted to de-masculate the male and make them all women.
There would be many failures along the way, but we often find comfort in these failures because they are our means of trying to survive these diagnosed diseases. This “disease” is no different though. It takes advantage of this very same weak point and attempts to fix it too!
“If you want to make more people have osteoporosis, simply change the definition of osteoporosis or use a kind of bone density measurement that decreased with age [i.e., the T-Score].”
Being a male is not a disease, and I think we can all agree upon that. But what if, down the line, some scientist discovers something that makes him conclude that being male is indeed a disease? Would you jump ship? Right now your answer is no, but you are forgetting how many times we have jumped ship in the past for diseases such as osteoporosis.
Evidence-shmevidence, nobody needs it. We use it to find “problems” and then to “fix” them, but we only create real and tangible problems along the way. If you want brittle bones or at least the fear of brittle bones, just do what everyone else is doing. If you want neither, then return to the natural and forget about all this hoopla and these manufactured definitions that drive this world crazy.
Do you have osteoporosis?
Do you really have osteoporosis?
