It is January 2010, and I am pleased to inaugurate my first Annual Natural Bone Health Crystal Ball Reading. Keeping up with the best of intuitives, psychics, and mediums, I hereby predict what will be the new hot topics in bone health for 2010.
Better Bones Crystal Ball Predictions for 2010
1. Bone density testing gives way to multiple-factor risk assessment
The old standard of using bone density measurements to decide if a person is in serious danger of fracture will be replaced by multiple-factor risk assessment.
2. Fall prevention pushed forward
The vast majority of all fractures occur from a fall. Although not glamorous, avoiding falls and learning how to fall safely will be big in 2010. Tai chi, yoga, and qi gong will become sports of Olympic dimension.
3. Calcium intake goes down, vitamin D "discovered" as a key bone-builder
High intake of calcium will be linked to increased arterial calcification and heart attacks while controlled trials will prove vitamin D repletion capable of reducing low-trauma fractures by 50%.
4. First fracture red-flagged
No matter what your bone density, scientists will clarify that the experience of a low-trauma fracture is the best predictor of a future fracture.
5. Bone density testing found not to measure the density of bone
What the scientific community has known for several years will make headlines: so called bone density testing does not measure bone density, but rather is a measurement that reflects bone area. This means smaller individuals with smaller bones are reported to have lower bone density than they actually have. Thin, small-boned people will breathe a collective sigh of relief.
6. New break for fracture healing
With 9 million osteoporotic fractures worldwide each year, in 2010 scientists and doctors from all over the world will put much more attention on the best ways to speed fracture healing. My Better Bones Program will become popular among those who have fractured.
7. Exercise time reduced so that even busy people can build bones
Whole body vibration devices will be shown to remarkably shorten exercise time needed to build both bone and muscle. (We at the Center for Better Bones are, in fact, studying this exercise short-cut now.)
8. Vitamin D repletion becomes the standard of care
By the end of 2010 every physician in this country and Europe will be aware of the importance of testing for vitamin D adequacy. Year-round levels of at least 50-60 ng/mL will be sought by the health-conscious worldwide.
9. Metabolic acidosis ranked as #1 hidden cause of bone loss
As vitamin D inadequacies are corrected, chronic, low-grade metabolic acidosis will rise to the top of the hidden-causes-of-bone-loss list. International research on the skeleton’s role in maintain pH balance will reach a critical mass, revealing potassium to be a better bone-builder than calcium.
10. Vitamin K found to dramatically protect both bone and heart
Long overlooked and underdosed, vitamin K will become recognized as the key nutrient that keeps calcium in the bones and out of the arteries. Testing for vitamin K will begin, and most of us will be found deficient.