Spring is the time of year for new life, fresh awakenings, and good news. This month’s Bulletin is definitely aligned with the season, as we have a rare flowering of positive developments from the halls of the Medical Establishment.
First, you’ll discover a growing trend of doctors prescribing food instead of drugs. Imagine that! They’re using nutrition to help the body work better, just like we do at the Save Institute.
Then we’ll take a gander at Big Pharma panicking because as time goes by, less patients and doctors are falling for their propaganda, resulting in lower rates of prescriptions for harmful (and ineffective) osteoporosis drugs. And last but not least, we’ll return to food-as-medicine with a study on nuts, and it’s impact on the advice of some medical professionals.
Get ready to soak up that spring sunshine and bask in this round of good news. Read on!
Food Is The Best Medicine
At the Save Institute we have always recognized that the best way to improve your health is to work towards a healthier lifestyle, instead of relying on quick-fix drugs that are often ineffective and laden with dangerous side-effects and typically do nothing more than covering-up symptoms. Perhaps the most important lifestyle change that can improve your health is improving your nutrition, and now, the medical establishment is slowly but surely taking note.
As medical professionals have started to wake up to the abuses and greed of pharmaceutical companies, some have begun to seek new ways to educate themselves and their patients about improving diet to achieve better health. One medical group in Orange County California had a particularly novel idea: to send their doctors to the grocery store along with their patients. What better place to learn and think about the way in which food impacts health than where groceries are sold!
Here’s what a CBS affiliate reported on this exciting community health initiative:
Relevant Excerpt:
“Pharmaceuticals may not be the best medicine for patients. Some doctors are now changing the way they treat patients – by taking them grocery shopping.
Physicians, such as Dr. Daniel Nadeau, are prescribing food rather than pills to fix the body.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of all Americans routinely take prescription drugs, and 75 percent of all doctor visits involve drugs.
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To counter the dependency on drugs, Loma Linda University School of Medicine incorporated a special emphasis on lifestyle medicine in which physicians learn how to prescribe food instead of narcotics.”1
This is music to my ears. Finally, a recognition that doctors have a responsibility to attain knowledge on ways to help patients improve their lives safely and naturally, without prescription drugs. Going to the grocery store with your doc is a great idea, but what’s important here is the growing momentum for food as medicine within the drug-obsessed Medical Establishment.
Alternative sources of education about natural health and this movement have continued to grow as well. The Food as Medicine Institute of the National University of Natural Health has been holding a Food As Medicine Symposium yearly since 2014. The most recent one was in February.
Here’s their mission statement:
“To provide evidenced based nutrition education for individuals, families, and communities, nourishing healthy relationships with whole foods. To educate healthcare professionals on the use of food as medicine in the prevention and reduction of chronic disease.”2
It’s truly exciting to see more and more widespread recognition of the power of eating right and taking care of your whole health. The Save Institute has been on the front lines of this fight from the get-go. It’s so inspiring to see we’re making progress!
Big Pharma In Crisis Mode Due To Less Osteoporosis Drugs Prescriptions
This is big.
Our message about the dangers and failures of osteoporosis drugs and the benefits of clinical nutrition, targeted exercise, and simple lifestyle changes has been spreading far and wide. Even Big Pharma, always reluctant to admit defeat, is beginning to panic and report on their losses. Of course, they’re using this news to do what they do best: to attempt to scare people into doing their bidding… and buying their products.
The 2016 American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Meeting issued a call to action in light of federal funding not covering the expense of DXA scans, and the dramatic decrease in prescriptions for oral bisphosphonates, such as Fosamax (alendronate) and Boniva (ibandronate).
It’s worth noting that the ASBMR has failed to declare conflicts of interest between its work and its sources of support. It is known to have corporate sponsors with vested interests in the diagnosis and/or management of osteoporosis.3
Bu it’s clear whose side they’re on. And it’s no surprise they’re panicking over the news that more people are pursuing a healthy solution to improving bone quality, and that more doctors are listening to their patient’s concerns about the dangers of osteoporosis drugs. Their desperation is evident in a report published at MedScape from the 2016 meeting.
Relevant Excerpt:
“Patients Refusing Treatment, Doctors Declining to Prescribe It
A drop in federal funding for DXA does not, however, tell the whole story. As reported last year, oral bisphosphonate use declined by more than 50% between 2008 and 2012.
The plateauing and subsequent decline in oral bisphosphonate use since 2006 coincided with largely media-driven hysteria surrounding safety concerns with these bone-building agents, even though neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the ASBMR had concerns enough themselves to put restrictions on their use.
Many patients refuse to accept treatment for osteoporosis, at least with a bisphosphonate, including those who have already experienced a hip fracture, and many of those who are already taking a bisphosphonate want to stop treatment.
The public's main concern regarding the bisphosphonates appears to center on an extremely rare risk of developing an atypical fracture on treatment…
Indeed, some of that concern appears to have filtered down to prescribing physicians, as fewer than 20% of patients discharged from the hospital after a hip fracture are receiving treatment, according to Dr Kiel.”4
As they get increasingly desperate to convince people that they need Big Pharma’s products to stay healthy, their claims will grow more outlandish and their rhetoric will grow more frightening. But here at the Save Institute, we will always see right through it.
Doctors, such as the one quoted in the article excerpted above, think that if patients are not taking osteoporosis drugs, then they aren’t receiving treatment. The Save Institute stands by the evidence that the most effective and safe osteoporosis treatment is a healthy lifestyle including a balanced diet and regular exercise.
Doctors Go Nuts For Nuts
Savers are well versed in the value of nuts as part of a diet that reduces dependence on animal products for protein. Almonds in particular should be a part of your diet since they’re both nutritious and alkalizing.
As if that wasn’t reason enough to enjoy, new reports have shown that eating just a single ounce of nuts each day reduces your risk of heart disease, obesity, and even cancer.
Relevant Excerpt:
“Analysis suggests even a small daily serving cuts the risk of coronary heart disease by 30 per cent, cancer by 15 per cent and premature death by 22 per cent. It can also halve the risk of respiratory disease and reduces diabetes by nearly 40 per cent.
Study co-author Dagfinn Aune, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College, London, said: “We found a consistent reduction in risk across many different diseases, which is a strong indication there is a real underlying relationship between nut consumption and different health outcomes.
“It’s quite a substantial effect for such a small amount of food.”
Nuts are considered a superfood because they posses anti-inflammatory qualities and are also high in protein and fibre.”5
In the study mentioned above, researchers crunched an incredible quantity of data from 29 studies around the world involving 819,000 people. And while much investigation has gone into the power of nuts to prevent heart disease, stroke, and cancer, this broader study has turned up benefits for other diseases.
This is in large part due to the fact that nuts are powerfully anti-inflammatory, in addition to providing excellent levels of both protein and fiber.
Some people have mistakenly come to believe that nuts should be avoided due to their fat content. But the fats in nuts are healthy, and have a positive impact on cholesterol. Here’s a breakdown of fat contents in nuts from a study on the food group:
Nuts are one of the natural plant foods richest in fat after vegetable oils. However, the fatty acid composition of nuts is beneficial because the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content is low (4-16%) and nearly half of the total fat content is made up of unsaturated fat, monounsaturated fatty acids MUFA (oleic acid) in most nuts, similar proportions of MUFA and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mostly linoleic acid, in Brazil nuts, a predominance of PUFA over MUFA in pine nuts, and mostly PUFA, both linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant omega-3 fatty acid, in walnuts.6
I have written before about the importance of getting the right amounts of the right kind of fats, and how avoiding fats all together is actually unhealthy.
Amazingly, this good news about nuts even has many medical professionals thinking that nuts ought to be prescribed to help patients stay healthy and avoid common ailments. That’s one prescription I can get behind!
Finally Beginning To Catch Up?
The Medical Establishment still has a long way to go, but it’s heartening to see that some healthcare professionals are considering natural and holistic solutions to improve health. You’d think it wouldn’t be such a difficult concept to grasp. After all, Hippocrates (after whom doctors’ Hippocratic oath is named!) famously and wisely said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” almost 2,500 years ago.
The Save Institue has been pursuing this line of thinking from the beginning. We regularly update the Osteoporosis Reversal Program to reflect the latest information about health and nutrition, and we’ve been ahead of the curve from the get-to.
If you’d like to know more about how you can live a healthier life while building and strengthening your bones, check out the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, to get a well rounded look at what today’s post touches upon and much, much more. The Establishment might be taking it’s time to catch up, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get ahead on the best way to build stronger, younger bones and feel your very best.
Stop Worrying About Your Bone Loss
Join thousands of Savers from around the world who have reversed or prevented their bone loss naturally and scientifically with the Osteoporosis Reversal Program.
Till next time,
References
1 Some Doctors Prescribe Food Instead Of Pills To Treat Certain Patients. CBS. February 22, 2017 11:00 AM. Web: https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/02/22/prescription-food/
2 https://foodasmedicineinstitute.com/food-as-medicine-4th-annual-symposium/
3 Mark Bolland. “Overdiagnosis of bone fragility in the quest to prevent hip fracture.” BMJ 2015; 350. Web: https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2088/rr-34
4 Pam Harrison. “Crisis in Osteoporosis Care Will Be Key Theme at ASBMR 2016.” MedScape. September 08, 2016. Web: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/868549
5 Giles Sheldrick. “Eat nuts to live longer: Doctors say nuts ‘should be prescribed to fight killer diseases.’” Express. Wed, Jan 4, 2017. Web: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/739777/Eat-nuts-live-longer-doctors-prescribe-fight-killer-diseases-heart-disease-cancer-obesity
6 Emilio Ros. “Health Benefits of Nut Consumption.” Nutrients. 2010 Jul; 2(7): 652–682. Published online 2010 Jun 24. Web: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257681/
What Calcium supplement do you suggest?
I willl be 84 in a few months and my body sems o be betraying me. i have been using a walw for amkst a decade due to a bad result from a minor hip fracture that turned into 4 fractures s a result of an unmonitored trainee even though the “doctor was in the room” according to the medical report. I was on biophosphinates daily for six years due to Barrett’s esophagus despite the fact that they were not reducing any of my symptoms because the upper doctor i saw in 2004 told me i would get esophageal cancer if i did not take them since 2003 instead it weakened my bones.i now have full blown osteoporosis. My upper digestive problems have worsened as well. i won’t get further into the details of a long story other than to say I cannot tolerate salmon or sardines to strengthen my crumbled spine from multiple fractures so that i am no stooped over like a triangle in the past two years and m too weak to hold myself upright, i was 5 feeet 9 and am not closer to 5’3″ tall, i have never been overweight. i am still an extra small but due to a protruding stomach my skirts and pants are between a size 10 and 12 innmoderately priced clothing. i no longer take any bone building meds nor any biophosphinatesbut me severely weakenedv muscles and shorter height produce severe spasms and pain throughout my torso including my neck down to my sacrum. I feel lie i am damned if i do and damned if i don’t. The most i can do now is walk about 7 blocks stooped heavily over my rollator walker and cannot wait to get home to bed and fall sleep from the fatigue.
Hi
My 12 year old son has a Hawkins 3 fracture of the talus and the doctors want to put him on ( Zoledronate ) pretty potent bisphosphonate and not good data on paediatric patients !!!!
I found this e-mail very interesting as I was diagnosed with “osteopenia” 2 years ago and was told by my doctor that I may have to go on osteoporosis drugs if my next “bone scan” still showed a decline. Well, I went for another bone scan and my doctor said he would phone me for another appointment if there was cause for concern. (He is very proactive and likes to nip problems in the bud) I told him that I was following the SOB program for diet and exercise and asked him if he knew about it. (I had my books in a bag to use for ammunition He said he was aware of the program. It has been 3 weeks and …NO PHONE CALL. YAY!!!
What is the best calcium supplement?
I was diagnosed this past fall with “advanced osteoporosis” and was told by an endocrinologist that my only treatment option was 2 years on Forteo and the rest of my life on Prolia (I am 56 years old). I worked out an extensive plan with my naturopathic physician to treat the bone loss with diet, supplements, stress reduction and exercise. I returned to the endocrinologist for blood work, having previously explained over the phone that I would not be taking pharmaceuticals and all that I would be doing. During our 15 minute appointment, she twice said “since you have decided not to treat the osteoporosis…”. I responded that I had told her of my very extensive treatment plan and that it was really important that she not call this “no treatment” and see that there are ways other than drugs to work with osteoporosis. Unfortunately, I don’t think I made any impression on her.
Stay strong in your beliefs, Kate. I imagine your clear, decisive words did make an impression, even if it did not show right away.
Thank you Vivian for your help all these years since I ordered Save the Bones manual. Now I am 76 yrs and bones seem great! No DEXA scans for me nor do I need prescription drugs. My great uncle, medical doctor, started telling our family at family unions starting in the 1940’s that there is something natural for everything. My family has sure proved him CORRECT.
Is there a raw nut list of the best on down to the least helpful nut?
Thank you for helping so many people and for all of us BELIEVERS for declaring the Big Pharmacy as an awful culprit for hurting so many folks! I believe we are winning because of YOUR insight to start this mission years ago.
Vivian, thank you for taking the position of food as medicine. The Chinese have believed in using food or plants as cures for mild or chronic physical and some mental conditions. When doctors diagnosed me with asthma and prescribed an inhaler, I took one dose and could taste the chemicals. I asked my father, a biochemist, about the inhaler and he said he would not use the inhaler. I received Chinese herbal medicine, followed the directions, and in three years, was 90% cured of the asthma. The pills contained plants’ leaves, tree bark and roots, and crop roots. Let’s continue to look at food as medicine.
Great news, Ivy! How wonderful to find relief in a natural treatment. It’s amazing how our bodies can function so much better when they are given the nutrients they need.
Thank you viva for saving our bones ,and a I am asking Ivy ,my son have asthma he is taking inearer so can you please email me the phone number or adress of the Chinese herbal medicine place? Thank you my email is ha********@gm***.com
I am male 64 and had oestoperosis a year ago. The Dr put me on Bondapen but then I started reading about Biosphanates and how bad they are. I started excersing everyday and now a year later I have oestopenia.I asked the Dr that I want to stop taking Bondapen but she claims the meds helped me. I am to see her soon again but how do I tell her without upsetting her I want to stop the meds?
Alex, I think Vivian wrote an article about how to talk to your doctor, but the bottom line is that YOU get to decide what you will or won’t put into your body. You won’t hurt her feelings if you’re polite, and you can be FIRM and polite at the same time. I did it with my doctor. I told him *politely* that I had read enough about the *terrible* side effects of these drugs, and that I simply would not be taking them. Then I told him what I *would* be doing — following the Save Our Bones regimen. I don’t think he’s a “believer” in what I’m doing, but he respects my right to do what i think is best. Good luck!
Amen, Suzy!
Vivian,
A friend of mine had very bad osteoporosis and sustained 3 spinal fractures and a broken pelvis 2 yrs. ago in Feb. her doctor put her on Forteo after the first year, she recently had a new DEXA Scan and it showed that there is no traces of Osteo., is this really possible?
Jean
Hi Jean,
I am so sorry to hear of your friend’s fracture! As far as the absence of osteoporosis, that’s great news. It’s impossible to determine precisely why your friend’s bone density appears so excellent in the DEXA scan; the drug may in fact have made her bones denser, but this is not necessarily a good thing at all. Osteoporosis drugs disrupt normal bone remodeling, so the bones appear denser, but they are brittle, harder, and more prone to fracture (think of a thick, dry branch compared to a thin, flexible twig).
iN APRIL 2017 I RECEIVED INJECTION OF PROLIA. WITH TWO WEEKS I WOKE WITH SEVERE IN RIGHT LEG, PELVIS AND UPPER BACK. I WAS ADVISED TO GET PHYSICIAL THERAPY FOR OSTOPENIA. I DID NOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH TREATMENT WITH PHYSICAL THERAPY. DIAGNOSIS WAS A BROKEN BONE IN PELVIS.
I REVIEWED THE SIDE EFFECTS OF PROLIA AND DISCOVERED THAT MY SYMPTIONS WERE RELATED TO PROLIA. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THESE SIDE EFFECTS ARE RELATED TO CUSTOMERS BEFORE MED IS ADMINISTERED.
After resisting taking bisphosphonates following a shattering spine fracture and subsequent diagnosis of osteoporosis about 5 years ago, I finally succumbed to pressure and began weekly oral Risedronate. I’ve taken it for the last 8 months. My biggest concern is regarding necrosis of the jaw if I should require a tooth extraction. This week I decided to quit after learning of a Canadian class action law suit against Fosamax due to femur fractures and necrosis! I’ve also learned that Risedronate has a 10 year half-life to leave the body! WHAT CAN I DO?
I too refused bisphosphonates, but after a very debilitating foot fracture I agreed to go on Forteo, a very scary drug BUT………….. I cannot keep having unexplained fractures. Sometimes if your bones are that bad, you have to do something with a pharmaceutical. I was reluctant to try Forteo, and I hope it helps my bones a lot. We shall see…………… so far no side effects. No I really don’t want to be on it but…………could not risk more fractures or spine fractures. It takes a long time to build bone and if they are super bad, I don’t think a lot of improvement can happen thru nutrition. Maybe a little. Now, if you only have osteopenia or mild osteop., nutrition may help.
I totally agree with Deb. I started Forteo because I think there is no alternative if you have multiple fractures, before that have a right diet and was physical active.
It is totally clear that you (Vivian) know much more about this issue that most doctors. Your article about Prolia is very well written and understandable. However, are there any medical journal articles you could site as a reference that give this same information that I could show my doctor? Or are ALL medical journals beholden to BIG PHARMA?
Hi Karen,
The information that makes Prolia so dubious is its mechanism of action and its extensive list of side effects and warnings. You could have a very knowledgeable conversation with your doctor about how Prolia works and its effect on the immune system as well as the side effects, and you’ll have plenty of scientific reasons to “make your case” against taking it.
Has anyone tried a REBOUNDER as exercise for bone building??
Hi Karen Sue:
I’ve been using a rebounder for the past 4 years, doing a daily routine of varied jumps, hops, and twists, holding first 2lb. and now 5lb. weights; before and after DEXA scans indicated “significant” improvement in bone density — not to mention the good cardiovascular workout and improved balance the rebounder provides. (I use a Bellicon rebounder, which has bungee-cord springs instead of steel springs, and I recommend it highly!) Starting a couple of months ago, on alternate days I have been doing a routine comprised of selected Densercize ones in place of rebounding; I look forward to seeing my results on the next scan! (I’m 76 years old – weight 110.)
Hi Karen Sue,
I have been using a rebounder for the past 3 mo. It is fun use and as a result I use it on an almost daily basis. I have already noticed a big difference particularly in my balance and core. I also have a number of spinal compression fractures and it does not bother me at all. With diet, osteofit classes I have come a long way in the last 15 years. Adding the rebounderhas been wonderful. The osteo fit classes are very much the same as Vivian’s exercises. Use the rbounder with music from the 50’s and 60’s. It really gets you moving. I am 74 years old. I also use the Bellicon from Switzerland. f you buy an inexpensive one you will find it very hard on the joints.
Karen
What is the current thinking on the Calcium Aspartate Anhydrous?
I know almonds and walnuts are good for you. What about dry roasted peanuts?
Hi Marilyn,
Because peanuts are legumes, they have a completely different nutritional profile than tree nuts such as Brazil nuts, walnuts, and almonds. They do offer some healthful nutrients, but they are acidifying, especially if roasted and salted. Raw nuts are always preferable, whether you’re talking about tree nuts or peanuts. 🙂
If you haven’t seen the documentaries, “Eating You Alive” and “Forks Over Knives” it would be well worth your time. They both do an awesome job of explaining how the right foods can heal chronic disease.
Now to get the killing fertilizer of Monsanto and other companies off the crops.
That would be nice, but our new head of EPA will not be making any chemical cos. stop their poisoning any time soon. In fact he just OK use of a harmful pesticide which was banned for many years. Trump and Co. spells bad news for our health, so sad, so terrible……………..
Thank you, Suzy! “…the right foods can heal chronic disease.” I certainly agree with that philosophy.
Very good news about the oral bisphosphonates but it doesn’t say in the article whether falling sales are due, in part, to more prescribing of bisphosphonate infusions or injections of Prolia. Any info on this available?
Good thinking, Jan. The article indicates that patients are refusing oral bisphosphonates due to fear of fractures, and since atypical femur fractures are a side effect of all forms of bisphosphonates, it is reasonable to assume that the injected forms are being refused more now as well. However, this is not likely to make the news since injected bisphosphonates are not nearly as commonly prescribed as oral ones. And an increase in Prolia injections could certainly play a role.