Osteoporosis pandemic coming?

Slip, slop, crack: the vitamin D crisis:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/08/1196813083745.html

I have thought for years now about a pandemic of osteoporosis outdoing heart disease and even Diabetes Type 2. This article today gave me a new reason to confirm my prediction!

Kids drink a lot of soft drink. The caffeine in cola (and coffee) leaches calcium from the bones. The acid (dissolved carbon dioxide and phosphoric acid) in soft drink also has this effect. When salty foods are consumed the sodium carries calcium out of the kidneys in urine. More salt + more blood calcium = loss of bone density as more calcium is retrieved from the bones to maintain blood calcium level needed for muscle contraction and blood clotting... Kids drink sugar-rich fruit juices and SD instead of milk. Do they get their 3 serves of dairy a day? Not in my experience teaching 13-17 year olds!

Low-fat diet fans have cut down on their consumption of milk, yogurt and cheese so that calcium in their diets is low. Skim milk removes the cream and its vitamin D which is needed for calcium absorption and metabolism. And now people are covering up and not producing vitamin D from the sun. I remember hearing of 'sun breaks' in snowy winters when schools would let out students when the sun came out to get their ten minutes a day.

Once you present with osteoporosis there is no cure. Brittle bones break easily and pierce organs thus the person may officially die for example, from 'kidney failure'. Steel pins do not work when the broken bone is crumbling.

Weight-bearing exercise is essential for bone growth and strength and so many kids today (and adults) do not do the 30 minutes a day recommended. Bones grow until you're about 21 but the main hardening occurs by about 16. From then on do people keep up their intake of dairy to maintain strong bones?

School's out...

Why bears may give an answer to osteoporosis that is a quite modern disease as no signs are found in bones of individuals over 400 years ago.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392188&language=english

National Osteoporosis Foundation: http://www.nof.org

Men and Osteoporosis: http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/s1229549.htm

Here is a link to a transcript on the 7.30 report tonight re bisphosphonates: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s2115904.htm

While there are those that may need bisphosphonates for serious problems, I have questioned for a while now that we may not be fully informed regarding the potential side effects. Hopefully the publicity will help to make this information more readily available.

noirua said:

Why bears may give an answer to osteoporosis that is a quite modern disease as no signs are found in bones of individuals over 400 years ago.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392188&language=english

National Osteoporosis Foundation: http://www.nof.org

Men and Osteoporosis: http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/s1229549.htm

Click to expand...

Great links Noirua! Amazing stuff on black bears!

Most people, especially guys, think that osteoporosis is one of those women's problems post menopause. But 1 in 5 men get it... even in the US. It's a real problem for girls who go on starvation diets and stop menstruating as the estrogen lack stops bones calcifying. Many have developed it by their late twenties.

Once you have it there is no cure! Like diabetes type 2 you can only manage it. Reminds me of a news item tonight about the BMI check to be done on kids in Victorian schools from next year. There are 12 year olds presenting with diabetes 2! The prognosis is 10 to 30 years (depending on management) when one dies from painful kidney disease after their legs have been amputated and they've gone blind. These are lifestyle diseases! Insane.

Well, I also think the slip slop slap campaign has gone overboard - and has resulted in Vitamin D deficiency - which means Rickets! And that leads to osteoporosis. Like everything in life the pendulum has swung the other way - why dont people do things in moderation

Submitted without comment:

http://www.notmilk.com/calcium/excesscalcium.html

It might be worth looking at how bone structure changes in response to weight bearing activity. When a person undertakes a weight training regime they don't only put on muscle, over the longer term (years, not months) the bone is activated and grows. I think the late onset of osteoporosis afflicts people whose bodies are ill-equipped to handle what is otherwise a very natural process. Because people didn't bear load on their bodies during their lives. Some people can do that and live into their 80s and 90s without ever being afflicted (my grand mother) and some people can't.

Its perhaps less important to ask are we consuming enough dairy into our 20's and 30's and beyond (since people like myself are lactose intolerant, but can stand perfectly upright and have squats and dead lifts to thank rather than cheese and milk) and ask what else might be the cause here.

Acid load in a lifetime of diet
That needs to be buffered by calcium
that gets taken from the bones

Grains , salt etc


Not enough fruit and vegetables

not enough exercise

VITAMIN D ( cod liver oil ? )

compare the skeletons
of paleolithic hunter gatherers
to neolithic farmers

Calcium balance is as important and maybe more than calcium intake

motorway