Add osteoporosis drugs to the list of toxic medications
The problem with modern drugs is simple: virtually all of them are made from chemicals that are foreign to the human body and potentially toxic. They might be fine as long as they are used occasionally or for brief periods of time, but when these new drugs are prescribed “forever” you can bet trouble is around the corner.
An article just published in the New York Times reveals that women who have been on the common osteoporosis drugs are now coming down with osteonecrosis of the jaw, a condition where parts of the jaw bone deteriorate and then die. This is apparently becoming so common that some dentists refuse to treat women on these medications or ask them to stop taking them for some time before dental work. However, this precaution is unlikely to help since these chemicals remain in bones for years after being discontinued.
For the full article, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/health/02jaw.html. What the Times calls a “mysterious side effect” is not a mystery at all to me. I even anticipate that in time we will see this complication develop at other sites as well, not only in the jaw. In fact when these drugs first came out skeptics remarked that while they increased bone density, they also caused the quality of the bones to deteriorate – so we could say that this outcome was predicted from the beginning.
What about natural options? Once again people have not been informed about these even though there are many, some backed by conclusive and abundant research. First among these is vitamin D, which also ranks in first place as the most commonly deficient vitamin in America as a result of widespread and growing sun phobia.
The Vitamin D Council was established by a group of researchers with top credentials to disseminate scientific information on the importance of vitamin D among the research and medical communities as well as the public at large. If you go to this page on their website http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/research.shtml you will see that vitamin D deficiency is not only a known cause of osteoporosis, but is also associated with chronic pain, depression, cancer, high blood pressure, and more.
The key with vitamin D is to do a simple blood test called 25-hydroxy vitamin D and to slowly increase the supplemental dose until an optimal blood level of 50 to 60 ng/mL is achieved. After doing this test for years I believe I only saw an optimal result on a first screening one time. In a few cases, levels were so low the lab could not detect any vitamin D at all! Testing is important because there is great variability from person to person in terms of how well vitamin D is absorbed and how much of it is needed to achieve target levels.
