The Better Bones Blog
by Dr. Susan Brown, PhD.
Can prunes reverse bone loss?
My friend and fellow osteoporosis researcher Dr. Bahram Arjmandi says yes, the humble prune can reverse bone loss, and his research data is looking strong. For more than a decade Dr. Arjmandi of Florida State University in Tallahassee has tested a wide variety of “functional foods” for their potential impact on bone health. He has […]
How often should a low-risk individual get a bone density test? Canadian authorities say only every 5 years.
If you are thinking that you should have a bone mineral density retest every year or two, you should know that Canadian osteoporosis authorities might disagree. Summer 2008 findings from the large Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study led researchers to suggest that bone density testing in middle-aged and older adults can be delayed for intervals of […]
Oral alendronate (Fosamax®) use seriously increases the risk of severe dental complications
For some time now we have been hearing reports of strange jaw bone decay (osteonecrosis) associated with the use of Fosamax® and other bisphosphonate osteoporosis drugs including Actonel® and Boniva®. We have been told, however, that the risk of this frightful side effect (1) was extremely low (on the order of 1/1000 of a percent) […]
Welcome to the Osteo Blast (now the Better Bones Blog!)
Greetings to all, Some of you might be wondering why you have not heard from me for several months—no newsletters, few e-mail notices. Well, over the past year I have been very busy writing numerous new articles for our redesigned web site, betterbones.com. My goal was, and is, to produce the world’s most informative and […]
Declining nutrient content of US foods
When we eat a carrot or apple today are we getting all the nutrients we have been told the food contains? The answer is no. According to the data collected by the USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture), today we would need to eat five apples to get all the same nutrients that one apple contained […]
How many women experience an osteoporotic fracture?
A few months ago one of our readers asked me to estimate just how many people in the U.S. actually experience an osteoporotic fracture. Sometimes it is difficult to tell fact from fiction and to sort out a pharmaceutical-induced “osteoporosis scare” perception from real fracture data. Taking this reader’s question to heart, I asked myself […]