http://www.care2.com/greenliving/osteoporosis-risk-factors.html
Osteoporosis Risk Factors
Q: What kinds of things might cause me to have a higher chance of getting osteoporosis?
A: This is a great question and one that every woman (and an increasing number of men) should know the answer to. The major risk factors for osteoporosis are:
• Female gender, Caucasian or Asian race, thin and small body frames, and a family history of osteoporosis. (Having a mother with an osteoporotic hip fracture doubles your risk of hip fracture.)
• Cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol and caffeine consumption, lack of exercise, and a diet low in calcium.
Poor nutrition and poor general health particularly a lack of Vitamin D, calcium, and weight bearing exercises.
Malabsorption (nutrients are not properly absorbed from the gastrointestinal system) from conditions such as celiac sprue.
• Low estrogen levels such as those that occur in menopause or with early surgical removal of both ovaries.
Amenorrhea (loss of the menstrual period) in young women also causes low estrogen and osteoporosis. It can occur in women who undergo extremely vigorous training and in women with very low body fat. Those who suffer from anorexia are more prone to osteoporosis
• Immobility from any condition that interferes with walking.
• Hyperthyroidism, a condition wherein too much thyroid hormone is produced by the thyroid gland (as in Grave’s disease) or is caused by taking too much thyroid hormone medication.
• Hyperparathyroidism, a disease wherein there is excessive parathyroid hormone production by the parathyroid gland (a small gland located near the thyroid gland). Normally, the parathyroid hormone maintains blood calcium levels by, in part, removing calcium from the bone. In untreated hyperparathyroidism, excessive parathyroid hormone causes too much calcium to be removed from the bone, which can lead to osteoporosis.
• Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. When vitamin D is lacking, the body cannot absorb adequate amounts of calcium to prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency can result from lack of intestinal absorption of the vitamin such as occurs in celiac sprue and primary biliary cirrhosis.
• Certain medications can cause osteoporosis. Steroids are the most common culprit
It is recommended that women aged 65 and older be screened routinely for osteoporosis. Routine screening should begin at age 60 or earlier for women who find themselves in one of the categories above that produces increased risk for osteoporotic fractures.
Dr. Brent Ridge is the health expert for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You can call and ask him a question live every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 112 (1.866.675.6675). You can also follow along as he learns to grow his own food and raise goats on his farm in upstate New York by visiting www.beekman1802.com.
Got a health question for Dr. Brent? E-mail him at drbrent@care2.com.
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I am surprised that there is no mention of water fluoridation in this debate. There are many studies showing the hydrofluosilicic acid, a toxic waste from the stacks of the fertilizer and alumuminum industries, causes bone to become thicker and weaker, thus contributing to fragility fractures. Add to this the fact that the ingested variety does nothing for our teeth and you have a recipe for multiple health problems, from bone to neurological to endocrine.
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There has been some wonderful articles written about Vitamin D. I have been taking the recommended 10,000mgs per day and I feel tons better. Whether it handles Osteoporosis or not I have no idea but it has been reported in Cancer, periodontal disease, Diabetes etc., to have made tremendous difference.
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I agree that diet is the key here. I agree that the osteoporosis drugs are dangerous drugs. I've heard bad things about all of them. People with digestive issues are warned not to use them, too. One needs to be very careful about trusting the FDA blindly when they approve certain drugs for market, too. Consider all the examples of drugs that have gotten bad press and were pulled off the market with a lot of law suits. Those are just the ones that we know about. Consider, too, that the FDA really doesn't have the public's best interests in mind when they approve of new drugs. The FDA is really only interested in advancing Big Pharma's interests. The bottom line is really the bottom line here. We have to do the best we can to advocate for ourselves and educate ourselves. Then, after weighing the risk factors, make sure you actually know what all the risk factors are, then you can decide if you're going to take Big Pharma's various elixers.
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Carol, you might want to check out a bit more about Fosamax. My mum was diagnosed with osteoporosis, given fosamax, within 2 months she developed symptoms like insomnia, dizzy spells, aches in her knees and arms, and she said she felt like she was 100 years old. After she took Fosamax off, the symptoms were gone. Fosamax might make you seem that your bones are healthy when you go for tests, but those are just old bones that break easily. It's like having an army of old men who can't fight when war breaks out.
Try the natural way, a complete change of diet that excludes all animal products and lots of fresh raw vegetables and lots of fresh juices, plus lots of sunshine and some exercise like yoga and taiji.
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20560&name=FOSAMAX
http://www.yourlegalguide.com/fosamax-side-effects/
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Since developing an intolerance to milk proteins, I started using rice milk with added calcium and am happy with it. I did try soya milk, however I get exactly the same kind of symptoms (actually worse) with this as I get when I use dairy products and I've now realised I'm unable to tolerate it. The symptoms include mucus production, inflamed muscles and joints, and breast pain. If I continue to eat soya it eventually leads to painful breast cysts, just as if I had ingested too much estrogen. I have come to the conclusion that the estrogens in milk and the phytoestrogens in soya are resulting in this. I would therefore NEVER recommend soya use by anyone. Many problems in women are caused or exacerbated by excess estrogen and low progesterone. We ingest estrogen mimicking substances from the environment from many sources: pesticides, plastics, hormones injected into farm animals and soya. It is very hard to find products that do not contain this ubiquitous filler. It seems to be in just about every product on the supermarket shelves. Like aspartame in drinks that aren't even labelled as diet drinks, manufacturers wanting to save money seem to put soya in everything. Even if I don't realise it's there, my body tells me within hours that I have eaten it. I would urge everyone not to put any more estrogen-like substances in your bodies if you can possibly avoid doing so, and this definately includes soya and soya derivatives.
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While it is admirable that people recognize lactose intolerance and the human body's inability to use what little calcium is actually in milk without the vitamin D added to it, I think people need to be made aware that 99% of all soy products are NOT healthfood. Check this information about soy on mercola.com. Unfermented, GMO soy products are NOT good for you. Tofu is NOT good for you. This is NOT about the vegetarian vs non-vegetarian controversy. By all means, continue to be a vegetarian or vegan, but steer clear of the unfermented, GMO soy products, because they will make you sick!
Mercola.com also has a wealth of valuable information about vitamin D. The truth is that the best and healthiest way to get vitamin D is from healthy sun exposure. There is great information about this on this website, too. He has guidelines for safe tanning beds that can be used in the winter. And, he has valuable information for people who need to take supplemental vitamin D, such as which form is best, how much to take, the need to get your vitamin D levels checked with regular blood tests if you are taking supplemental vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic and like the article mentions is a necessity for adequate calcium absorbtion. Even if you think you're healthy--get your vitamin D levels checked!
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Milk only contains 5% calcium and if there is no Vitamin D added, then this small amount of calcium will not break down for bone repair. Milk is really for bovine calves who have three stomachs. Most adults can't digest dairy anyway, and then can't figure out why they have indigestion or allergy symptoms from the high mucus and lactose content of dairy products. Now we have rice, almond, oat, soy milk. Calcium is added to everything now days, like orange juice, cereal etc. Dairy cows are not treated kindly by the dairy industry. They are used up for milk and calves and then sent to slaughter for steaks.
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Dairy actually causes osteoparosis - and cancer- switch to soya. Also a plant based diet is the ideal, in several major ways.
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According to "The Vitamin Shoppe", America leads the world in dairy consumption, and also leads the world in calcium related health problems.
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