Osteoporosis

[Lady Green Jeans]

What a great thread and topic to address. There is a liquid fozamax that is given via IV. Supposedly goes to the bone much quicker for faster results.

I have upped my intake of calcium rich foods in their raw state which I feel will provide the best sources of bone building calcium. Dairy calcium, of course, is a laugh. Lots of greens and sesame with their hulls, tahini, almonds, etc. Taking a bone building supplement along with my daily greens. Will be going later this year for my bone density check.

[styersky]

What bone building supplement do you take? I will start with sesame which I have not done yet. What do you mean sesame with their hulls . . . not processed in the blender or processor? And what is tahini and how do you do that? Almonds . . . do you sprout or germinate or eat as they come? Tell me more!

Were you diagnosed osteoporosis? I have been not long ago, but do not want to take Fosomax and just am in a tizzy. Hope to be seeing a nutrition oriented doctor soon. Just learned we have one only about 30 miles away and will be calling tomorrow and I am so excited about that!

[EZ rider]

Has anyone tried the "Sesame Raisin Fudge" recipe from goneraw.com ? It looks yummy
http://goneraw.com/recipes/1223-Sesame-Raisin-Fudge

[sfdreams]

I was extremely interested when I saw this thread! Both of my parents had/have osteoporosis (my mom is no longer living) and both of my sisters have osteopenia or osteoporosis, even though one has been very athletic. I recently had a bone density test that came back as osteopenic. My doctor did not want to start me on Fosamax or other drugs yet, she wanted me to supplement with 1200mg calcium and 400 mg Vitamin D. She said that recent studies have shown that the Vitamin D is actually more important than calcium!

I have not started supplementing yet, though I plan to. I may call the Canadian number that was listed earlier. Does anyone know a good but relatively inexpensive supplement--preferably vegan or vegetarian? My doctor DID say that regular multivitamins would not work--they do not have enough calcium and vitD. Also, she said that your body can only assimilate 600mg of calcium at one time, so you would need to take supplements twice daily.

I have always had this "thing" about vitamin/mineral supplements--I never knew the best time/way to take them, which was best, etc. and felt so overwhelmed that I just did nothing!!

I also need to watch iron--I discovered that I had iron deficiency anemia, which I have started to reverse, though my blood values are on the lower side. One thing I discovered, was that if you get your iron from non-heme sources (ie no meat) you need to have vitamin C at the same time, as non-heme sources do not get assimilated as easily. I have been vegetarian since 1992 and never knew that! I was somewhat embarrassed to become iron deficient!

[soulshine78]

My mother who is 56 years old, not raw but has a rather dare I say strict vegetarian diet, she is very good about what she eats... Anyhow.. After menopause at 51 she got osteoporosis, was put on fosomax which she didn't like being on, but now after 5 years and basic yoga or pilates for 1 hour/5 days a week which she does at home on her own, she is now free of osteporosis! It is possible!

[SmilingRawDancer]

I SO want to avoid bone problems, and even though it doesn't seem long in the big picture, I starved myself for a good year. I'm afraid that that bit of time in my life will do my bones in.

I believe in nature's supplements - food, that is. So I eat large amounts of collards (tried with almonds, felt sick), which to me still isn't large enough (I eat about 7 bunches a week) and try and get a good amount of sunlight.

I do squats randomly throughout the day, and lift weights when I remember to (which is not very often...but I do pushups most every day.)

[styersky]

My mother who is 56 years old, not raw but has a rather dare I say strict vegetarian diet, she is very good about what she eats... Anyhow.. After menopause at 51 she got osteoporosis, was put on fosomax which she didn't like being on, but now after 5 years and basic yoga or pilates for 1 hour/5 days a week which she does at home on her own, she is now free of osteporosis! It is possible!

You are so very encouraging! Thanks for your post! Are you saying your mother did not take the fosomax? Simply relied on food and exercise?

[styersky]

http://drklaper.com
There is excellent information regarding osteoporosis as well as many other ailments. Hope you enjoy as much as I am.

[Eilene]

That is some great info!!! I'm almost 52, was diagnosed with osteopenia. I used to body build and eat tons of animal protein all the time. I really wish I knew about this then. I usually do an hour of Yoga 3-4 days a week, walk my dogs every day & do weights. (I hurt my foot so I haven't walked or practiced Yoga now for 5 weeks & I hate not being able to do those. I can't wait till my foot heals) What I have been able to do is Golf (limping along), Elliptical machine and weights (only upper body as my knees are bad) I really love Yoga and know it does my body good. It's so great to know that at least I'm finally eating great & along with exercising hopefully I can reverse my bone density to a normal level!!

[SharonC]

Great article that explains what Fosamax does in the body (under the title, 'Conventional Approach') and also discusses many natural alternatives - http://www.drlam.com/opinion/osteoporosis.cfm

Another great article about Fosamax and natural alternatives - http://www.drheise.com/fosamax.htm
This website also has an article about raw food - http://www.drheise.com/rawfood.htm

The word is getting out about vitamin D being necessary for calcium absorption, but magnesium is very important as well. The article above explains. Your doctor should be able to test for vitamin D, but there is no reliable test for magnesium. There is a link to books below that discuss magnesium - one specifically about magnesium and Dr. Blaylock's book. He has a whole section on preventing/treating osteoporosis. He says most important - change your diet - mostly fruits and vegetables!!

The raw diet alone (especially drinking GREEN SMOOTHIES) will make a HUGE difference as many have already pointed out. Lots of absorbable calcium, magnesium and Vitamin K in GREENS.

If feel the need for extra calcium this one is different as it is calcium from whole food herbs and in a highly absorbable form - http://www.startthehealing.com/store...n.html#calcium.
Dr. Cynthia Foster's website - http://www.startthehealing.com/
She wrote 'Stop The Medicine' - http://www.startthehealing.com/store/Books.html
About her - http://www.startthehealing.com/about.html

Am not familiar with this product or company, but it looks promising - http://www.algaecal.com/why-algaecal.htm Interesting guarantee on this product: http://www.algaecal.com/order.htm

Progesterone study - http://www.naturodoc.com/library/hormones/osteo_rev.htm

Just spoke with my pharmacist friend who works at Abrams Royal Pharmacy in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the largest compounding pharmacies in the country, specializing in bio-identical hormones and natural alternatives to drugs. My friend is the pharmacist who helps people who are searching for natural alternatives. Her recommendations are the following (not prescribing, it is up to you to prescribe for yourself after you have done all the research) ...

*Do NOT take Fosamax - does not build strong bones!!!

*Alkalinize your body - lots of fruits and vegetables - eliminate foods and drinks that rob minerals from your bones. You can test your saliva with ph strips first thing in the morning and then a few times during the day.

*Exercise, especially weight bearing

*Bio-identical hormones - could use a weak cream over the counter formulation OR take a saliva test and get a prescription (have to get it filled at a compounding pharmacy that does natural hormones).

*Supplement if needed - how much depends on diet. She recommends, http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=498. It is actually made from bone. They also have a vegetarian formula http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=916, but she did not mention it.

Thank you all for prompting me to do additional research on this issue! Need to make sure my Mom is doing everything she needs to do and me too! I think that I would try the whole food supplements first, but would consider doing both on a short term basis if I were older and already had osteoporosis.

I have come to the conclusion after years of research that seriously escalated when my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago that I would only use drugs in VERY rare circumstances - only reserving this option because I should probably never say never. (With the exception of acute trauma - this is where western medicine shines). Have convinced my parents of this as well! I understand that everyone's situation, knowledge, and comfort level is different. But, for those who may not know, there are answers beyond drugs in most every case. The raw diet is by far the most important and is the foundation of true health - obviously, why everyone is here!

It really helps to understand how the body works, how drugs work against the body (a flawed concept, especially long term causing even more problems, but never leads to true health), and how proper nutrition and natural medicine work with the body and is the road to true health. Drugs and vaccinations (the gold standard in western medicine) do not make anyone healthy and actually prevent health. Standard medical practicing doctors who prescribe drugs are only doing what they were taught in medical school (sponsored by the drug companies). They have no idea how to do it differently, so have nothing to offer other than drugs/surgery - they no nothing about health. The pendulum does seem to be finally swinging, but it will take awhile. We have to learn on our own and/or find a doctor who has educated themselves beyond medical school (enlightened doctors) or another natural health care professional - although, it is not wise to follow ANYONE'S advice without doing your own research. By the way, the medical doctor close to me who educated herself beyond medical school has a year long waiting list all the time! She also spends at least an hour, sometimes up to two with new patients, but gets paid exactly the same from the insurance company for an office visit as standard medical practicing doctors gets paid for 15 minutes. Very rare these days to find a medical doctor whose primary reason for being a doctor is not money!!

My friend who works at the natural minded pharmacy tells me that even though she is able to help people, it is primarily up to them to do the research on their own to be able to make informed decisions and gain confidence. There is only so much that she can explain and do for them. I have also found this to be true when I am helping people. Everyone has to take responsibility for the health of their body and knowledge is the only way to know what to do and have the confidence to do it.

Personally, I do not go to medical doctors, but if I ever felt like I needed a diagnosis/blood work, I would go for their diagnostic services but would not expect health advice (unless they were enlightened).

If you have never seen this internet video, it is a MUST SEE - turn volume on!!http://www.mercola.com/townofallopat...ofallopath.htm

WEBSITES...
www.hacres.com - great healing testimonies from people following raw food diet
http://www.doctoryourself.com/advice.html
http://www.doctoryourself.com/faq.html
http://www.newstarget.com/019330.html
http://www.websites-host.com/nutrition.html

BOOKS with overview...http://www.thenhf.com/overview_Healt...n_Secrets.html - one of my latest favorites (Dr. Blaylock, a retired neurosurgeon recommends GREEN SMOOTHIES in this book)
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_Fight...ur_Health.html
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_FIRE_YOUR_DOCTOR.html
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_the_t...companies.html
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_Selling_Sickness.html
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_dirty_medicine.html
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_kampner.htm
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_Trans...m_Therapy.html
http://www.impossiblecure.com/
http://www.thenhf.com/overviewseedsofdeception.html

VIDEOS...
http://www.thenhf.com/overview_Nutri..._Behavior.html
http://www.thenhf.com/booklist_01.html
http://www.thenhf.com/booklist_04.html

[styersky]

Wow, Sharon C. It will take js all a while to digest all of the information you provide. Thank you so much!

[yasi]

Sandra Ellis, a midwife, Master Herbalist, and mom of a bunch of kids, wrote a couple books. One is Dr. Mom's Healthy Living. In it, she talks about her mom who had osteoporosis so badly that the bone scans showed swiss cheese bones. She was unable to move up and down stairs and was bed ridden. Through diet changes (mostly raw vegan with a little low heated grains which still had the life in them while at home although when she would go out she would still eat meat and soda) bathing in comfrey tea 3xs a week, and using herbs, she reversed her bedridden state and began to walk the stairs etc. Sandra Ellis talks about that her healing would be more profound if her diet were even better...

[styersky]

I googled and found her website, but it is not complete yet. So do not know how to find her book. Any ideas?

[EZ rider]

Here's an interesting reference page about green leafy vegetables:
http://www.healingfoodreference.com/...egetables.html

[styersky]

The more I read about the acid-alkaline balance, it sounds like if we conquer that battle then osteoporosis and a lot of other conditions would automatically be conquered.

Comments?

Now, another question . . . anyone had a problem with torn cartilage? What will RAW do . . . can the cartilage repair itself with the proper diet?