The Save Our Bones Bulletin: Joan Rivers A Victim Of Osteoporosis Scare Tactics, Pocket-Sized Bone Scanner, New Osteoporosis Drug ‘Inspired’ By Hibernating Bears, And More!

Vivian Goldschmidt, MA Inspiration News

Evidence-Based
8 min Read

In today’s Save Our Bones Bulletin I share with you an interesting insight about osteoporosis scare tactics used on the late Joan Rivers.

You’ll also discover yet another osteoporosis diagnostic tool that will result in even more reported cases of osteoporosis and osteopenia.

And I saved the best for last – you’ll learn what a hibernating bear and your bones have in common (really!).

So let’s get started with the Bulletin.

1. Doctors Used Scare Tactics On Joan Rivers

First of all, I want to express my condolences to Joan Rivers’ family and friends, and how sad I am about her death that was likely due to a medical error. We all mourn her passing and keep her family in our thoughts and prayers.

Joan Rivers was a famous comic who made millions of people laugh at her wisecracks and jokes. But that did not spare her from becoming a victim of her doctor’s scare tactics to convince her to take osteoporosis drugs.

Relevant Segment:

“According to Guide2BoneHealth, it wasn’t until she had a complete workup, at the age of 68, that she had her first bone mineral density (BMD) test, a diagnostic tool that measures bone strength and the risk for osteoporosis. 


‘The doctor called me and said I had osteoporosis, and that I was going to end up breaking bones—most likely a hip—and be crippled,’ she says, recalling the results of that BMD test. ‘I got very upset. I thought my life was going to be over in five years, so I should pack it all in and bubble-wrap myself.’”1

I know many of you have heard something similar from your doctor. Unfortunately, It’s a common approach that physicians take, but falling for their fear-mongering and taking osteoporosis drugs is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

It begins with the density test, which Joan Rivers received for the first time when she was 68 years old. Most people erroneously believe that the BMD test measures “bone strength and the risk for osteoporosis,” as described in the relevant segment above. But such tests have no way of determining how strong your bones are. I’ll explain.

DXA (previously DEXA) scans only measure quantity, not quality of bone. And when it comes to resisting fractures (which osteoporosis management is all about), it’s quality – specifically flexibility or tensile strength – that determines whether a bone snaps or not. And a denser but brittle bone is more fracture-prone than a less dense one that can bend and resist breakage.

But the Medical Establishment takes the BMD results and uses them to convince those with an osteoporosis or osteopenia diagnosis that their bones are fragile, so they can move on to the next step: prescribing drugs (that cause brittle bones!). Because the “patient” believes his or her bones are “old” and about to break any minute, most people will readily accept the drug the doctor prescribes.

I’m glad that Savers are aware of this tactic, and that they know better than to fall for it. You also know an alternative: the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, which builds and nourishes your bones naturally to offset the effects of age. Personally, I’d much rather stick to an enjoyable, natural yet scientifically-backed approach than take a dangerous drug with damaging side effects!

2. Osteoporosis Diagnosis Now Comes In A Tiny, Portable Package

Amazingly, ultrasonic technology has gotten so small it can fit in a pocket. The new Bindex instrument is the first diagnostic tool of its kind. It consists of two pieces that fit in the palm of your hand, and it plugs into any laptop’s USB port to get quick bone scan readings.

Relevant Segment:

“‘The revolutionary Bindex technology is new and unique in the whole world. The instrument is light in weight, easily portable and has been proven to open up new and cost-efficient approaches for the diagnosis and screening of osteoporosis. The examination can even be carried out by a nurse at the patient’s home,’ says Ossi Riekkinen, CEO.”2

The manufacturer of this device certainly means well, but there’s no doubt that such technology will make diagnosis of osteoporosis and osteopenia faster and easier. And that’s just the problem.

Because Bindex makes bone density scans so quick and easy, it will lead to more diagnoses of osteoporosis and its alleged precursor, osteopenia. This in turn will allow doctors to prescribe even more drugs in the name of “curing” or “preventing” osteoporosis.

Here’s the kicker: osteoporosis drugs do neither of these things. Even if a scan shows greater bone density after a course of osteoporosis drugs, the bone integrity has been damaged by the drugs and the bone is actually less healthy and more likely to fracture.

You see, osteoporosis drugs stop normal, healthy bone turnover – that is, the rate at which old bone is shed and replaced with new bone. The Medical Establishment has incorrectly focused on the body’s natural process of removing old bone as the “culprit” behind low bone density, and thus they have worked with Big Pharma to develop drugs that will stop this process.

But the fact is, your body must remove old bone cells to build newer, younger bone. If one aspect of this process is artificially halted through drugs, your bones retain the old, worn-out bone cells. Thus, osteoporosis drugs age your bones in a very direct way, no matter what the scans show.

In contrast, the Osteoporosis Reversal Program supports your body in this natural process of bone turnover, boosting your body’s innate ability to renew youthful bone integrity.

3. For The Medical Establishment, Treating Osteoporosis Is A “Bear” – Literally

The fact that bears hibernate for six months of the year yet do not lose bone density has intrigued researchers at Michigan Tech University. If humans took to their beds for the winter, refraining from food, sunlight, and exercise, our bones would deteriorate. Yet bears’ bones actually get stronger during hibernation.

Relevant Segment:


“Bears don’t get osteoporosis, even though they hibernate for more than half the year in Alaska. What might we learn from this?

Seth Donahue of Michigan Tech University is trying to find out. He once gave a seminar sponsored by UAF’s Institute of Arctic Biology on using bears as a model for preventing osteoporosis.

He started off by showed an x-ray of a female tennis player’s forearms. The bones within her right forearm were larger than those in her left.

‘If you overload bone, you have bone gain,’ he said. ‘There’s more bone formation in the racquet arm of a tennis player.’

That’s why hibernating black and grizzly bears perform what seems like a miracle. They don’t lose bone mass during a half-year of inactivity, despite not eating, not moving much, not urinating or defecating, and, for mother bears, giving birth and nursing cubs.

Donahue and his colleagues have studied hibernating bears and have found that bears don’t lose bone mass during hibernation. They somehow even seem to build stronger bones.”3

The example of the tennis player’s arm bones comes as no surprise to Savers, who know that the action of gravity and muscle on bone increases bone strength, density, and fracture resistance. But during hibernation, bears maintain – even enhance – their bone mineral density. Yet they are not even moving.

The secret may lie in the bear’s parathyroid gland. When the same team of researchers gave rats with low bone mineral density synthetic bear parathyroid hormone, the rats’ bone loss reversed. However, giving the rats human parathyroid hormone had the same effect, leading to inconclusive results about the role of parathyroid hormone in bears’ ability to maintain high BMD.

Not surprisingly, Donahue and his team have already partnered with a drug company to market the synthetic hormone as an osteoporosis drug.

We’ve learned from synthetic calcitonin salmon what I’ve been saying all along about the dangers of playing with hormones: it carries inherent risks and side effects, including cancer.

And the Medical Establishment knows about the benefits of exercise to improve bone quality and quantity, yet they’re still searching for the “magic pill”.

Why take the risk when there is an alternative that’s 100% safe and effective? A pH-balanced diet including bone-healthy Foundation Foods, Foundation Supplements, and targeted exercises to build muscle and bone are crucial to youthful bone integrity, not artificial hormones.

The Densercise Epidensity Training System is the perfect companion to the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, because with Densercise, you’ll engage in a variety of exercises that build your bones and reverse the effects of aging.

Plus the Osteoporosis Reversal Program and Densercise show you step-by-step how to incorporate these healthful habits into your everyday life, so you can reverse bone loss and regain your youthful vigor and energy.

Feel free to check out Densercise by clicking here, if you haven’t yet. Then you too can enjoy fun exercises that build younger bones without drugs!

Till next time,

References

1 Houser, Nancy. “Update: Joan Rivers in serious condition, placed in induced coma.” Digital Journal. August 30, 2014. Web. https://www.digitaljournal.com/a-and-e/entertainment/update-joan-rivers-in-serious-condition-placed-in-induced-coma/article/400361

2 Bone Index. https://www.boneindex.com/bindex

3 Rozell, Ned. “Why don’t hibernating bears get osteoporosis?” KTOO. August 23, 2014. Web. https://www.ktoo.org/2014/08/23/dont-hibernating-bears-get-osteoporosis/