Sensible news: the osteoporosis issue

The Latest Health News
from Sensible Alternative
Naturopathic Clinic
Inside This Issue
The “husband” factor in menopause
Does your body fat have a “set-point”? Menopausal symptoms are worse for some women than for others. The difference cannot be explained by hormones alone, because some women with severe
Every case of osteoporosis and infertility should symptoms have better hormone profiles than
women with no symptoms. So what accounts for the
difference?
Strontium. A new prescription medication for osteoporosis According to new research, severe menopausal symptoms correlate with the fol owing factors: 1. Abdominal obesity2. Work and family stress Could your “set-point” be preventing you
from losing weight?
“The male factor” is defined as problems with the male partner. Such problems include male sexual The body thinks that it should stay at the weight it is.
dysfunction, depression, alcoholism and infidelity. When there is a lack of communication and affection in the This is according to the “set-point” theory of weight loss, relationship, a woman's health suffers. This is consistent which says that the body has a control system that with other research which links poor marital quality to a determines how much fat should be stored. Kind of like woman's risk for depression and heart disease. (3) a thermostat for fat. Ageing, stress, pol ution, lack of exercise, and over-eating al may have the unfortunate On the other hand, marital “satisfaction” is beneficial to “Once you raise your set point, it's difficult to lower it because the body has complex systems designed to defend that higher weight,” says George Blackburn, associate director of the division of nutrition at Harvard Wheat may be affecting your health in ways that you never imagined. In his 2004 article to the Medical Journal of Australia “Coeliac disease: the great imitator”, In his book Break Through Your Set Point: How to Australian Gastroenterologist Dr John Duggan reminds Final y Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off , he GPs that Coeliac disease is easy to pick up with blood outlines his 10% rule for sustainable weight loss.
test, and that it should be screened for more regularly
(4). Gluten sensitivity causes symptoms as diverse as
“Lower your body weight by 10%, and then stop losing fatigue, anaemia, thyroid disorders, depression, reflux for a while. Fight instead to keep off just that amount. Stay at that level for at least six months to give your body a chance to adjust to its new, lower set point." (1) Other experts have cal ed for routine Coeliac
screening for every case of osteoporosis (5) and
Dr Blackburn stresses that regular exercise is essential unexplained infertility (both male and female) (6).
Comment: You may have gluten sensitivity even if you do not have digestive symptoms. Gluten sensitivity is a whole body condition. When gluten interacts with the immune system, it produces a damaging cascade of inflammation that affects many organs including brain, muscles, bone and the endocrine system. 02 9438 3448
Dr Duggan explains it wel when he says “the response
to an appropriate gluten-free diet is often life-
transforming.”
From a Naturopathic “optimal health” perspective, even a “sub-clinical” cases of gluten sensitivity can be Appointments available Monday to Saturday Strontium: a new prescription medication
Doctor's warning about popular stomach
for osteoporosis
medication
Australian doctors can say a permanent goodbye to Certain stomach medications, cal ed proton-pump toxic bisphosphonate osteoporosis drugs (e.g. inhibitors or PPIs (eg. Losec, Nexium) have the Fosomax, Actonel, Didronel). In November 2007, a worrying tendency to cause new symptoms after they new medication, strontium ranelate, was listed under are stopped. Almost half of healthy people who take the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the PPIs wil experience heartburn and reflux for weeks treatment of osteoporosis in post menopausal women.
after stopping them. (8) This is a problem because many doctors prescribe PPIs on a “trial basis” just to Not only is strontium ranelate much less toxic than other types of osteoporosis medication, but it is more
effective. It has the unique benefit of both preventing
“We’ve been throwing around PPIs like they’re going bone resorption AND stimulating new bone growth. out of fashion, “ says Professor Anne Duggan, senior staff specialist at John Hunter Hospital in NSW. “ We Comment: Don't tel your doctor, but this new should only ever give medication to people who need “medication” is actual y a nutritional supplement. it, and the first step in the management of reflux… is Naturopaths in the US have been recommending strontium for osteoporosis for years. It is a trace mineral that is occurs natural y in food. Because it is Comment: PPIs turn off stomach acid. This is structural y similar to calcium, strontium is taken up something that you definitely do not want to do. into bone, and stimulates new growth. Stomach acid is necessary to kil bad bacteria, to digest protein, and to absorb minerals. Pharmaceutical strontium ranelate is the exact same nutrient, but as a much higher dose. Like many things Research last year showed that long term use of PPIs medical, “if it's worth doing, it's worth doing on a can cause osteoporosis. (10)
colossal scale”. In fact, a high-dose approach may be So how should you treat reflux symptoms? One way is unnecessary. Research shows that lower dose to avoid gluten, if you are sensitive to it. Another way strontium is just as effective for bone density. (7) is to lose weight, so that there is less pressure on the Maybe someday we'll have access to “nutritional” doses of strontium in Australia, but until then, just be glad that that your doctor il not feel the need to push A healthy stomach contains a lot of acid, but it also has a thick mucus lining to protect it, and a valve that closes tightly at the end of the meal, so that the acid Don't neglect other aspects of bone health. Most
importantly, get checked for gluten sensitivity and vitamin D deficiency. Engage in regular weight-bearing Herbal remedies such as de-glycyrrhizinated licorice exercise, and don't smoke. Another positive thing that (DGL) work by healing the stomach lining, and by you can do for your bones is to avoid stomach acid normalising the function of the LES valve (flap that separates stomach from oesophagus). We need participants for a weight loss study
Sensible-Alternative Clinic has a supply of free weight loss supplements for patients that enrol in our 2 month study. Contact Reception for details. Phone: 02 9438 3448 Al articles written by Lara Grinevitch BSc, ND Obtain back issues, or subscribe to the latest issue of Sensible News straight to your email.
Set yourself up for diet success. By Nanci Hellmich. April 2, 2008. USA TODAY Chedraui, P et al. Severe menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women are associated to female and male factors. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2009; aop: 10.1007/s00404-009-1204-z Gallo LC. Marital Status, Marital Quality, and Atherosclerotic Burden in Postmenopausal Women. Psychosomatic Medicine 2003. 65:952-962 Duggan JM. Coeliac disease: the great imitator. MJA. 2004; 180:524-526 Stenson WF et al. Increased Prevalence of Celiac Disease and Need for Routine Screening Among Patients With Osteoporosis. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:393-399. Meloni, GF et al. The prevalence of coeliac disease in infertility. Human Reproduction. 1999. 14(11): 2759-2761.
Meunier PJ, et al. Strontium ranelate: dose-dependent effects in established postmenopausal vertebral osteoporosis--a 2-year randomized placebo controlled trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87:2060-2066 Reimer C, et al "Proton-pump inhibitor therapy induces acid-related symptoms in healthy volunteers after withdrawal of therapy" Gastroenterology 2009; 137: 80-87 PPI acid-rebound effect. 3 July 2009. Australian Doctor. (10) Targownik LE et al. Use of proton pump inhibitors and risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. CMAJ. 2008; 179 (4):319-26

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