| Osteoporosis and Fosamax: Prevention and Therapy
Posted: 11/17/2006 10:19:24 AM | Hey, all:
I am interested in finding out more about this topic, because I have a sister who takes Fosamax, and I would like to get her to be able to do without it, I have heard of some alarming problems with devastating jaw developments among those who take it, I think Big Pharma, as it is, is one of the worst drains on resources in the entire world, and wherever possible, prevention and therapy through diet and exercise--lifestyle--is far preferable.
I am surprised there is not already a thread on either Fosamax or osteoporosis as a Health and Wellness issue. Apparently one in three women and one in five men over 50 have it, and it can lead to greatly reduced quality of life and can indirectly shorten it. Calcium loss starts in women especially after menopause, so it is a critical period--family history, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking (is there any wonder?) all contribute to chance of developing osteoporosis.
Exercise is supposed to help and someone I knew started weight training because her own mother had it very bad and swore it would not happen to her, but now I read, that if done in excess, such things can actually promote osteoporosis. My sister runs and bikes (even has done marathons) so there is a confusing message about prevention here.
Some specific supplments are supposed to help, too, such as Vit. D, calcium, Vit. K2 for avoidance, a proper balance of Zn and Cu, but there is also controversy here, too. I take extra Zn for my eyes, so it would be good to know if it is in proper balance to benefit both needs.
Here are a couple of Wiki entries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoporosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosamax
(Do you know, if you search for "Fosamax" it asks you if you meant "Osama"?!?! Can you say 'conspiracy'?? Ha ha ha!)
Anybody have any new ideas, sources, or stories to help find out what is best here? Thanks!
David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun! | |
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| Osteoporosis and Fosamax: Prevention and Therapy
Posted: 11/17/2006 9:09:08 PM | I looked at the citations the OP provided (primarily Wikipedia).
The observation of exertion-induced osteoporosis was observed not in weight training, but weight bearing exercise, those who ran distances, and participated in marathons.
Thats a different can of worms. Several factors may be at play:
Body fat content that modulates liver lipid function (cholesterol, and its associated kissing cousins, vitamins A and D, both of which play a role in osteoblast bone mineralization activity)
Cortisol production and changes in immune function (interleukin and cytokines, inflammation factors).
Note that running shorter distances does not necessarily result in excess cortisol production (for a period of hours, post exertion).
Note that over-training, either cardiovascular or strength training, can result in elevated cortisol that may affect vitamin D3 bone mineralization processes. Excessively low bodyfat levels observed in competitive bodybuilding, coupled with use of anabolic and lipolytic agents may also adversely impact bone formation and maintenance. | |
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| Osteoporosis and Fosamax: Prevention and Therapy
Posted: 11/25/2006 7:27:57 AM | Hey, all:
All it took was to look at the references I provided to see I wasn't attacking weight or strength training--and I never said a word about proof--some people become rather unpredictably defensive. It would be helpful to avoid that.
Some good came of the efforts above:
Note that over-training, either cardiovascular or strength training, can result in elevated cortisol that may affect vitamin D3 bone mineralization processes. Excessively low bodyfat levels observed in competitive bodybuilding, coupled with use of anabolic and lipolytic agents may also adversely impact bone formation and maintenance.
So some combinations of extreme excessive training, extremely low bodyfat, anabolic and lipolytic agents, can interfere with bone maintenance, primarily, creating potential for osteoporosis. Which then applies to a tiny percentage of the population, who often exist in their own subculture.
Now, let's talk about the mainstream population.
I would like to get this back on the rails, and find out what others know about osteoporosis and alternative therapies. One reason that has been touched on repeatedly in many threads, is the subtle, but dangerous, and unintended negative interactions between drugs developed not to serve humans but to make money. To me it is a classic cautious conservative issue to want to avoid a) negative consequences of drugs, and b) giving too much power to huge international companies with no face, no conscience, no morals, and no accountability.
So what are better ways to approach the problem, bearing in mind the simple statistic I mentioned in the first message?
David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun! | |
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| Osteoporosis and Fosamax: Prevention and Therapy
Posted: 11/27/2006 4:21:00 PM | Hey, all:
Wow, I guess everyone's bone health is just top drawer! [sardonic dry laugh]
I have done more checking and found references to calcitonin, which is a protein that is produced in the thyroid gland and affects bone growth and repair. The citations below are abstracts but make the point that calcitonin from salmon (!?) can be taken to prevent osteoporosis. I didn't find anymore information on it, such as harmful side effects, whether it is synthetic calcitonin or concentrated from salmon, if actual salmon in the diet can help, who can get it, whether exercise was used as part of the treatment, etc., etc. At present it seems limited in its use. Big Pharma? Hmmm....
By the way, I wrapped these long names to prevent the page from wrapping.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8256795&dopt=Citation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool
=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=8935399
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool
=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=12008163
Below is a pretty good comprehensive site for us lay people:
http://www.faqs.org/health/Sick-V3/Osteoporosis.html
Also, the Wikipedia entry has been updated and added to (24 Nov):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoporosis
Here is the Wiki entry on calcitonin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcitonin
It mentions under Pharmacology at the bottom that calcitonin is used in treatment of osteoporosis, but the osteoporosis entry has no mention of its use for that. (?)
It certainly seems that there are at least some alternative treatments and prevention, as long as one looks for them, to Big Pharma and yet more and more Fosamax and Boniva.
David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun! | |
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