October 27. 2010 14:27

Do you have any knowledge about water filtration systems?
I am presently using a Reverse Osmosis system in my home and I want to know if this system not only removes minerals from my drinking water but if it also makes the water I drink acidic? I will appreciate any information you may have to offer.
Thank you, Janice

Janice Karuza

October 27. 2010 14:45

According to a page posted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, reverse osmosis is "essentially a molecular squeezing process which causes H20 molecules to separate from the contaminants." www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/MISC/biotreat/reverseo.html

The process doesn't add additional hydrogen atoms to the water, which would make it more acidic, but it can remove minerals -- something you need to keep in mind.

Managing Editor

November 1. 2010 11:03

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post.  I HAVE HOPE NOW!
I am a tall, thin, 63 year old women and my bone mineral density testing was making me think I had no hope and my doctor was also making me think things were very grave.

Thank you for your research and keepings us informed.

Mae Leach    

Mae Leach

November 1. 2010 14:50

Dear Mae,

Dr. Brown always says "take heart, take action" -- and also, "it's never too late for better bones." We're glad that this post has made you feel more hopeful about your bone health, but please also take this as an opportunity to learn more about improving your bones through an alkaline diet, good nutrition, exercise, and a lessening of stress and other health burdens by reading our articles. We appreciate your kind words and offer our best wishes for continued good health.

Managing Editor

November 2. 2010 12:35

Hi,

I had my bone density checked 4 years ago and was diagnosed with ostopenia.  I am 55, thin and small boned.  My mom has osteoporosis, but she also had chemotherapy for lymphoma so I don't know if I have a true family history or not.  

I started the Better Bones plan and just had my density checked again.  This time it was on a DEXA so I'm not sure I'm comparing apples to apples after reading the post by "the bone architect."  

In any case, the results revealed that I increased the bone mass in my lumbar spine by 4%, and it decreased by 3% in my left hip.

I know the MD is going to want me to take medication and I don't want to.  I'd like to give myself another year and see if I can build up my hip.  I read an article indicating that jumping rope can be a great exercise for improving bone density.

Any thoughts on any/all of this?

Thanks.

Barbara

barb

November 2. 2010 14:13

Dear Barbara, if your bone density measurements weren't taken on the same type of machine, or for that matter on the same specific DEXA machine, the margin of error could be great enough to account for the differences you see in both measurements. We would agree with you that it's premature to consider a bone drug given that you have such contradictory results. Respected bone researcher Susan Ott, MD, has found that bone loss in the amount you've mentioned is more often than not due to variations in the measurement, not in the bone, and she suggests that it really requires a loss of 6% within a year to really show that significant bone loss is taking place.

But, let's assume that the changes are real and that you've genuinely lost 3% of your hip bone density. If you're on our program and following the dietary principles and taking the supplements, you should already be on your way to establishing alkaline balance and a solid supply of the key nutrients for bone health, so let's examine another key component of bone building: exercise. Given that you're interested in increasing bone density in your hip, trying an exercise program that focuses on building the muscles in your legs, hips and pelvic zone may be one way to go. Jumping rope or simply hopping on one foot, as Susan described in an earlier blog post, is one method of doing this (see her blog post entitled "Hop 100 times today!", below), but other, lower-impact exercises that focus on strengthening the muscles in your hips, buttocks, and thighs could likewise be helpful, because the more you move your muscles, the more they stimulate osteoblast activity. See our article on exercise here: www.betterbones.com/healthylifestyle/exercise-bonesandosteoporosis.aspx. You could also take a look in our store at the variety of videos and exercise mechanisms that are available and see whether any of these appeal to you.

As far as your doctor is concerned, please keep in mind that the Surgeon General's recommendations make it clear than drug therapy is intended to be a last resort. If your MD accepts the idea that you've lost bone in your hip based on your DEXA, he/she must equally accept that you've built bone in your spine on the same basis. That alone is good reason to hold off using the bone drugs to see if more time on your nutrition/exercise program helps turn around the apparent loss in your hip bone. You may wish to review Susan's video on the Surgeon General's recommendations, which you may find here: www.betterbones.com/bonehealth/videos-drsusanbrown.aspx

wishing you the best of health.

Managing Editor

November 14. 2010 18:32

I was glad to read about ethnic differences.  I had a bone density test at 52 - just post menopause, because my mother, who was Chinese, had been diagnosed with osteoporosis (unfortunately she died soon after of other causes so I'm not sure how it would have progressed).  My tests came back showing osteopenia in the hips and osteoporosis in the spine. My doctor said I should start appropriate medications immediately.  I asked for how long, she said for ever. I asked what the consequences of NOT taking them would be, she said I could experience a bone fracture just from standing. This made no sense to me as I'm about 5 ft and weigh around 100 lbs - moreover after reading up on the biphosphonates I rejected that suggestion too and did not go back to see her.  I have also read that rates of fractures among Chinese women in China are less than in the West, perhaps due to diet. So far (3 years since diagnosis), I have not experienced any fractures, despite falling on a wonky sidewalk right onto my wrist.  I do strenuous gardening, skipping and other exercises.  If my spine and other bones were so weak, wouldn't I have experienced some fractures?

Laura Hall

November 15. 2010 09:17

Laura, if you did not fracture from your fall, then it's unlikely in the extreme that simple exercise would cause you to fracture. It's more likely that such exercises are helping to keep your bones strong. Your physician's advice to go on a bone medication is, unfortunately, a fairly common response, given that many physicians incorrectly assume that thin bones = weak bones. But it's not in keeping with the Surgeon General's recommendations for how osteoporosis and osteopenia should be managed (see Susan's earlier post entitled "Is your doctor following the Surgeon General's advice about osteoporosis" for more on this -- there's a link at the bottom of this page.)

Managing Editor

November 15. 2010 11:47

Hi,

I am a 63 year-old and have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.  My first bone-density DEXA was about 10 years ago; since I have had 2 more and there hasn't been any change.  I walk 6 days @ wk. year-round, 30 min. per day and I try to get as much calcium,as what I need, in my diet thru foods.  I do not take a calcium supplement due to diarrhea from capsules.  However, I can take liquid that does not give me diarrhea but the type that I was taking isn't available anymore.  I have always wondered about my results from my DEXA tests due to I am VERY small-boned.  My mother had osteoporosis but her weight was only about 100 lbs. for most of her life.  I am about 160 lbs.  My wrists and ankles are very small and I always have problems buying a wristwatch that has a small enough face that doesn't look huge on my arm.  I weighed about 5 lbs. when I was born, too.  So, I started out and continue to have small-bones.

Appreciate this article very much and it enforces my own feelings as far as the accuracy of DEXA for all bone-types of women.

Sally Thoman

November 15. 2010 12:18

Hello,

I had my first DEXA scan in 7/10 and was diagnosed with osteopenia in my hip and osteoporosis in my spine.  I'm 47 years old and about a year menopausal.  I'm very active, thin and small.  I'm just under 5 feet tall and weight 95 pounds.  I've never broken a bone.  The DEXA did take into account my BMI which is between 18-19, thus my height/weight was worked into the calculation.  My question though is that at the extremes ie very thin vs very heavy, are these calculations less reliable?  I've heard various responses but clearly the photon absorption is affected by many things including the amount of surrounding fat tissue.

Heather

Heather

November 15. 2010 15:27

Dear Heather,

one thing you should know is that DEXA doesn't really measure bone density -- it actually measures bone area, and sets it against a standard based upon an average young woman's bones. The further away you are from that standard, the more inaccurate the measurement. Moreover, the key factor that you need to know isn't whether you currently have osteopenic or osteoporotic bone density, because neither of these facts will tell you whether you're at risk for fracture. What's important is, a) are you actively losing bone right now, and b) are your bones currently weak or strong? A single DEXA can't answer either question; for that, you need to look at alternative measurements. To determine whether you're actively losing bone, Dr. Brown often suggests using NTx or Dpd tests (see www.betterbones.com/bonehealth/bonebreakdowntests.aspx) to determine what level, if any, of bone breakdown is going on. To help you determine your current fracture risk, we suggest you take our bone health profile, www.betterbones.com/bonehealthprofile/default.aspx, which assesses a variety of risk factors, and recommend that you consider testing your pH (see www.betterbones.com/alkalinebalance/phtesting.aspx), as both of these measures will give you insight into your bone strength.

Once you know the answers to these questions, you have the foundation for further action: whether it's developing an alkaline diet to reduce the effects of chronic low-grade acidosis on your bones, or getting further tests to uncover additional health problems that may be contributing to bone loss, until you investigate, you won't know what steps will help. Dr. Brown often says that it's never too late to improve your bones, and she's a big believer in learning about the different factors that affect bone health so you can address the ones that are within your control.

Managing Editor

November 16. 2010 15:58

I am jumping now 100 times per day on my yoga mat. I hope my knees don't go bad. joyce

anniejam

February 11. 2011 19:44

This is to answer Janice's question on RO water systems.

Yes, the water they make is  extremely acidic. I was on an alkaline diet for months and kept coming up acidic. finally I used my PH strips to test my RO drinking water, and it was extremely acidic.  So I measured how much baking soda it took to make a glass of water alkaline, and it was 1/8 tsp for my large drinking glasses which equal about 3 cups.  I only take one glass of this baking soda water a day, and I now stay perfectly alkaline even though I drink about 4 other glasses of the straight RO water,  Everyone should PH test their water since we drink so much of it.

catherine/santa fe

June 8. 2011 14:05

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