Say Bye to Osteoporosis & Hello to Healthy Bone

Few weeks ago, I read a chapter from the book "Your Bone" written by Lara Pizzorno. This book goes into details about the seriousness, prevention, and alternative treatment of osteoporosis. So I wrote down what I have learned:

Summary

Osteoporosis is a severe chronic condition that increases susceptibility to bone fracture and risks of death. This condition is especially prone to be found in women than in men due to the two key factors:

1. Women tends to have smaller bone mass and muscle mass than men.

2. Female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone which are important for bone-remodeling, decrease significantly after menopause.

The conventional way to treat osteoporosis is with bisphosphonates patent medicine. Early research articles on using bisphosphonate have mentioned no or rare occasions of the adverse effects. Throughout the years, more studies have confirmed the serious adverse effects caused by bisphosphonates including the association with ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw), esophageal cancer, renal failure, hypocalcemia, cases of atrial fibrillation and risk of atypical femur fractures.

Moving on to 2010, another patent medicine, denosumab, was approved as a treatment for osteoporosis. Due to the tight connection between denosumab and its negative effect on the immune system, there are already some cases of severe adverse effects recognized including cutaneous adverse effect, and potentially ONJ. The most recent FDA-approved patent medicine, teriparatide, has also given individuals highly undesirable effects in the first month of therapy.

While a vast amount of evidence points toward the harmfulness of consuming patent medicine to treat osteoporosis, there are also no long term benefits seen in these medications. On the other hand, many reputable peer-reviewed research demonstrated that osteoporosis can be treated without patent medicines. In fact, the COMB (Combination of Micronutrients for Bone) study shows that providing appropriate nutrients for the bone and prescribing regular weight-bearing exercises can together be more effective than any patent medicines mentioned above.

To sum up, the best treatment for osteoporosis is consuming adequate amount of nutrients with diet or natural supplements on a daily basis. This can help ensure that there is a sufficient supply of bone nutrients in the body to build a strong new bone.

My Thoughts

The information in this chapter really aligned with what I have learned in University. However, I was very shocked that many patent medicines that were supposed to treat osteoporosis have not only been ineffective, but also been causing many serious adverse effect. Thus, I agree with the author and I think that the sufficient amount of relevant nutrients+ exercises is the best way to prevent osteoporosis and truly strengthen one's bone.

I would definitely recommend the book since the author have personally read and distilled many useful research articles. The research shows great evidence of the idea which the author wants to come across throughout the book. The author also did a great job turning technical research articles into story-telling without extracting meaningful insights.

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