New thoughts (for me) on Osteoporosis

susanswan

Anybody else sick of the drug companies pushing drugs and in the process creating disease so they can then treat that, too?

I am getting on the "eating for nutrition and health" bandwagon. Losing weight down to a normal level is no longer what I am looking for. I am now wanting to avoid disease, stay healthy and feed my body real food. If you are also interested in this novel philosophy, you might want to listen to what by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has to say about osteoporosis: http://www.drfuhrman.com/voiceamerica/mp3s/fuhrman013107.mp3

If you professional naysayers want to go ahead and take aim at me and Dr. Fuhrman please feel free to do so. I don't care. You still won't change my mind. If one person's light bulb goes off and questions what the general public is "being fed" by the drug companies, then I have done my job. Or just ignore us and move along.

mahidac

Anybody else sick of the drug companies pushing drugs and in the process creating disease so they can then treat that, too?

I am getting on the "eating for nutrition and health" bandwagon. Losing weight down to a normal level is no longer what I am looking for. I am now wanting to avoid disease, stay healthy and feed my body real food. If you are also interested in this novel philosophy, you might want to listen to what by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has to say about osteoporosis: http://www.drfuhrman.com/voiceamerica/mp3s/fuhrman013107.mp3

If you professional naysayers want to go ahead and take aim at me and Dr. Fuhrman please feel free to do so. I don't care. You still won't change my mind. If one person's light bulb goes off and questions what the general public is "being fed" by the drug companies, then I have done my job. Or just ignore us and move along.

Im definitely not nay-saying - keeping your mind right and losing weight definitely will help against bone disease, keeping your blood calcium at a high level and doing resistance training may not be 'proven' so to say as a treatment for osteoporosis but I definitely think its effective way of helping your body deal with it

That being said there is definitely a link between estrogen levels and cytokine activated bone destruction in osteoporosis - so people going on medication to prevent it (especially HRT) is a good thing. Furthermore the developments of partial agonists to estrogen receptors has made some big gains, and now there are ways to treat osteoporosis, without a lot of the increased risks that come with hormone supplementation.

so not naysaying - exercise and eating right is super important - but just defending my field a bit

jenniet04

This is my main reason for wanting to lose weight and get healthy. I'm apple shaped and hold most of my weight in my belly which increases my risks for every thing. I don't want to be on any medications EVER unless really necessary because I can't cure the problem myself thru diet and exercise. Both my parents and one of my brothers have high blood pressure, my mom has diabetes (late on-set) and I refuse to go down that road. I gained weight on birth control within a few months and started getting cysts and quit taking it very quickly after that and have never taken it again.

rrrbecca11

As you know, Susan, I am RIGHT there with you. I desire longevity, but only if it is accompanied by naturally good health, and the absence of drugs that benefit the pharmaceutical companies more than they do the people they are prescribed for. I haven't read Dr. Fuhrman's book, but it sounds like we agree in theory and principle about what "good health" really means!

rrrbecca11

Anybody else sick of the drug companies pushing drugs and in the process creating disease so they can then treat that, too?

I am getting on the "eating for nutrition and health" bandwagon. Losing weight down to a normal level is no longer what I am looking for. I am now wanting to avoid disease, stay healthy and feed my body real food. If you are also interested in this novel philosophy, you might want to listen to what by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has to say about osteoporosis: http://www.drfuhrman.com/voiceamerica/mp3s/fuhrman013107.mp3

If you professional naysayers want to go ahead and take aim at me and Dr. Fuhrman please feel free to do so. I don't care. You still won't change my mind. If one person's light bulb goes off and questions what the general public is "being fed" by the drug companies, then I have done my job. Or just ignore us and move along.

Im definitely not nay-saying - keeping your mind right and losing weight definitely will help against bone disease, keeping your blood calcium at a high level and doing resistance training may not be 'proven' so to say as a treatment for osteoporosis but I definitely think its effective way of helping your body deal with it

That being said there is definitely a link between estrogen levels and cytokine activated bone destruction in osteoporosis - so people going on medication to prevent it (especially HRT) is a good thing. Furthermore the developments of partial agonists to estrogen receptors has made some big gains, and now there are ways to treat osteoporosis, without a lot of the increased risks that come with hormone supplementation.

so not naysaying - exercise and eating right is super important - but just defending my field a bit

A question. I have heard from several sources lately that medical students in this country receive very little actual education in nutritional science. In your experience, is this a fair statement?

mahidac

yes and no - in regards to pharmacology schools really tend to focus on side effects and complications so nutritional science wont be as emphasized

but in biochemistry all vitamins and cofactors are really high yield so you get exposed to a lot of information - that being said I think that especially MD schools (may be different for osteopathic) really really are slacking in alternative medicine. The more and more I started to learn about human physiology the more I realized that the body tends to take care of itself if we treat it properly.

However it definitely would not be unfair to say that your average medical school student could learn a lot more about nutrition - its great to see people on here who want to make life changes in order to avoid future complications (I am one as well - want to avoid the history of DM in my family), but unfortunately there are a ton of people who would rather be put on a statin or some other kind of medication

rrrbecca11

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and honest answer. From a layperson's point of view, but one who has extensively researched and has life experience to back up my intuition as well, I agree that the body is amazingly equipped to tend to itself given proper nutrition, exercise and rest.

susanswan

Anybody else sick of the drug companies pushing drugs and in the process creating disease so they can then treat that, too?

I am getting on the "eating for nutrition and health" bandwagon. Losing weight down to a normal level is no longer what I am looking for. I am now wanting to avoid disease, stay healthy and feed my body real food. If you are also interested in this novel philosophy, you might want to listen to what by Dr. Joel Fuhrman has to say about osteoporosis: http://www.drfuhrman.com/voiceamerica/mp3s/fuhrman013107.mp3

If you professional naysayers want to go ahead and take aim at me and Dr. Fuhrman please feel free to do so. I don't care. You still won't change my mind. If one person's light bulb goes off and questions what the general public is "being fed" by the drug companies, then I have done my job. Or just ignore us and move along.

Im definitely not nay-saying - keeping your mind right and losing weight definitely will help against bone disease, keeping your blood calcium at a high level and doing resistance training may not be 'proven' so to say as a treatment for osteoporosis but I definitely think its effective way of helping your body deal with it

That being said there is definitely a link between estrogen levels and cytokine activated bone destruction in osteoporosis - so people going on medication to prevent it (especially HRT) is a good thing. Furthermore the developments of partial agonists to estrogen receptors has made some big gains, and now there are ways to treat osteoporosis, without a lot of the increased risks that come with hormone supplementation.

so not naysaying - exercise and eating right is super important - but just defending my field a bit

A question. I have heard from several sources lately that medical students in this country receive very little actual education in nutritional science. In your experience, is this a fair statement?

I think they get about 2 seconds of nutritional study. "Cut back on salt, fat, and sugar." All I can tell you is that I worked as a nurse in a hospital on a medical floor (treating non surgical illnesses) for 26 years. And yes, stupid as it is, I was a 205 pound nurse more interested in if the new box of candy was open yet than my own health during that time! But even I changed my thinking that what the doctors said was the gospel. The hospital food given to the patients was the worst quality EVER! Canned veggies, mashed potatoes, white rice, every piece of meat "sauced" with God knows what, canned fruits, nothing ever fresh except for 1/2 cup of iceberg lettuce with a shred or two of carrots in it. Their idea of a "high fiber" diet was adding ONE TABLESPOON of wheat bran to a meal! I've seen the most loved AND also the most disliked doctor hand out drug prescriptions for every single problem from constipation to chest pain. One patient was discharged and called from the pharmacy an hour later asking to talk to the doctor complaining that her copay on the numerous drug prescriptions was $900! The doctors all ate the same slop in the cafeteria that the rest of us were offered but they got it for free. They handed out 1000 calorie diets to all the fat old ladies that sat in chairs all day long and didn't have the strength to sit up in bed, get out of bed, or out of a chair, or go to the potty by themselves. It was the land of "short arms".

Oh, yes, the big time thoracic surgeon that egotistically called himself "God" because he did such miraculous surgeries and caused nurses to run when he came to the floor had eaten himself up to well over 300 pounds by the time I left over 5 years ago. Last report from reliable doctor friend sources now say he is up and over 400 pounds and has to operate sideways so he can reach the patient and rests his one arm on his gut while he operates. When that guy crashes, I hope he isn't in the middle of a life saving surgery.

I'd suggest you listen to that MP3 I gave the link for for a "more professional" opinion.

Turning 50 with short arms is what got my attention to take care of myself!