In this month's Bulletin, we highlight the continued influence of Big Pharma on the Medical Establishment, yet there are also encouraging signs of a more natural approach to achieving wellness.

First, we'll review the American College of Physicians' new guidelines for the treatment of osteoporosis. The doctors' organization remains focused on pharmacological intervention to the exclusion of safer and more effective natural therapies.

Then you'll get the latest news in osteoporosis drug development. A group of scientists is actively collaborating with Big Pharma to develop what they're calling the “next generation” of osteoporosis drugs.

Finally, you'll hear some good news. Researchers have unlocked the power of a particular food to improve your ability to recover from exercise. You'll learn what the study participants ate every day to boost their physical health.

Doctors' Group Updates Guidelines For Treating Osteoporosis

The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of doctors, It’s the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the United States.

The ACP has just released new guidelines for the treatment of osteoporosis. Through the analysis of drug trials, the organization has decided that doctors should continue to jump straight to prescribing bisphosphonates– without mention of drug-free interventions.

This is no surprise, given that the authors of the guidelines did not consider non-pharmaceutical approaches to strengthening bone and avoiding fractures. This glaring oversight left them with a single predictable recommendation: more osteoporosis medications.

Relevant Excerpt:

“The new guidelines, published Jan. 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, were based in part on new data on the safety and effectiveness of a variety of newer classes of drugs. Those medicines include human parathyroid hormone-related peptides and sclerostin inhibitors, the group said.

However, the guidelines maintain that the “first-line” treatment for postmenopausal women with diagnosed osteoporosis, as well as any men diagnosed with the condition, should involve a long-used class of drugs known as bisphosphonates.”¹

The ACP made this recommendation even while acknowledging the horrible side effects experienced by some users of bisphosphonates. They even admitted that these drugs are only temporarily effective– after 3-5 years they cease to function as intended.

Of course, that intended function isn't as beneficial as Big Pharma would have you believe. The physiological change bisphosphonates force– an artificial buildup of old, often damaged, bone material– can actually increase the risk fractures!

It's a shame that the Medical Establishment is still serving the interests of Big Pharma instead of advising doctors to help their patients pursue a drug-free and holistic approach to reversing osteoporosis.

Synopsis

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has released a report recommending that doctors continue to prescribe bisphosphonates as the primary intervention for osteoporosis– in spite of the risks, short lifespan, and inefficacy of that treatment.

New Oral Osteoporosis Drug In The Works

The Medical Establishment continues to support Big Pharma, so they keep producing new drugs. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have announced that they are developing a new osteoporosis drug.

This new laboratory creation imitates the parathyroid hormone, which is a hormone that stimulates bone formation.

Scientists believe if they can create a molecule that is similar enough to the parathyroid hormone, it could act as an analog, stimulating bone formation in the same way the natural hormone does.

There are already osteoporosis drugs on the market that take this approach, but all of those are injectable. This new drug would be administered orally.

Relevant Excerpt:

“[The researchers] generated a novel structural model of these enzymes and then used advanced methods including structure-based drug design and iterative medicinal chemistry to identify a compound that potently inhibits SIK2 and SIK3. This compound, termed SK-124, had parathyroid hormone–like effects when given to cells and, most importantly, when fed to mice. In mice, oral treatment once a day for three weeks increased blood levels of calcium and vitamin D and also boosted bone formation and bone mass without evidence of short-term toxicity.”²

Artificial recreations of hormones will always have additional impacts on the body– and only time and trials will reveal what unintended consequences this new drug will have. The negative side effects of this new drug will likely resemble those of injectible drugs using the same mechanism.

Synopsis

Researchers in Massachusetts announced that they have developed a potential new osteoporosis drug that would mimic parathyroid hormone. Unlike current drugs that take this approach, the new drug would be administered orally.

Almonds Improve Exercise Recovery

There are plenty of powerful natural tools we can use to improve our health. A recent study out of North Carolina has identified a new one: the ability of almonds to improve exercise recovery time.

The study's participants included 38 men and 26 women between 30 and 65 years of age. They were divided into two groups, one of which ate 57gm of almonds each day for a month. That's about 46 almonds (equivalent to approximately seven tablespoons). Over the same period, the other group ate a cereal bar with the same number of calories each day.

Both groups submitted blood and urine samples for analysis before and after the study period. Then the participants performed a series of exercises and submitted additional fluid samples for testing over the following four days. Along with those samples, they filled out questionnaires about how they felt physically.

The researchers found that the group that ate the almonds had a faster and more comfortable recovery from the intense bout of exercise. Thanks to the study's rigorous testing, the researchers could identify the compound responsible for the positive effect.

Relevant Excerpt:

“The nutrients in almonds increase a fatty molecule called 12,12-dihydroxy9z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-DiHOME) in the blood. The molecule is created from brown fat (the good fat) tissue and is important with energy regulation and metabolism. One of its jobs is to enhance the transport of fatty acid and its uptake by skeletal muscle, which stimulates metabolic recovery after exercise.”

“We conclude that almonds provide a unique and complex nutrient and polyphenol mixture that may support metabolic recovery from stressful levels of exercise. Almonds have high amounts of protein, healthy types of fats, vitamin E, minerals, and fiber. And the brown skin of almonds contains polyphenols that end up in the large intestine and help control inflammation and oxidative stress.”³

This incredible nutrient density also makes almonds an alkalizing Foundation Food. Many of those same minerals, vitamins, and macronutrients are essential to maintaining strong and healthy bones.

Synopsis

Researchers found that eating almonds every day resulted in faster and easier recovery from intense exercise. The nutrients in almonds also make them a Foundation Foood listed in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program.

What This Means To You

Nature provides what we need to stay healthy and strong. But Big Pharma is still convincing the Medical Establishment to prescribe its drugs instead of supporting safe and effective non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Fortunately, Savers know better. The Osteoporosis Reversal Program digs deep into the science of bone formation and remodeling to reveal how the foods we eat and the physical exercise we do stimulates the growth of strong and durable bones.

You have what you need to live the life you want– keep pursuing a healthier way of eating, moving, learning, and living.

References

¹ https://consumer.healthday.com/osteoporosis-2659034271.html

² https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/973616

³ https://studyfinds.org/almonds-intense-exercise-workout-recovery/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-01-14&utm_campaign=+The+Study+Finds+Daily+Nutshells+January+14+2023+