Osteoporosis

How Your Diet Affects Bone Health

As a doctor practicing integrative medicine, I find that education is as important to my patients as anything else I do.  We focus on maintaining health and vitality of individuals instead of curing diseases, so dietary and lifestyle choices are often more effective than any medication I can prescribe.  In a perfect world, making healthy choices would be simple.  Unfortunately, the information that we have to guide these choices is often confusing, contradictory, incomplete, or flat-out wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

Osteoporosis: Not Just a Woman’s Disease

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures.  Osteoporotic fractures are most commonly seen in the hip, spine and wrist, although any bone can be affected.  In simpler terms, osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become weak and can break from a minor fall or, in serious cases, from a simple action such as a sneeze. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Heart and Your Bones

We all probably know someone who can predict the weather by the way their bones and joints feel.  And, when someone is especially committed to someone or something, they often say they “feel it in their bones”.   But we now have mounting scientific evidence linking the health of your bones to your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin D and Healthy Living

Both medical journals and the popular press over the last several years have been replete with information about the adverse health risks associated with insufficient vitamin D.  Low levels of vitamin D have been linked with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease[1], diabetes[2], certain cancers[3], osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, obesity, multiple sclerosis[4] and chronic pain.[5] Read the rest of this entry »

Low Vitamin D Levels Put Your Health At Risk

Do You Get Enough Vitamin D? Now that the long sunny days of summer are gone and winter is on the doorstep, it is even more important that you assess your vitamin D status.  The health benefits to having sufficient vitamin D levels have permeated the media in recent years.  We now know that nearly 85% of the US population are vitamin D deficient.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Essence of Estrogen

A hormone is a molecular messenger that acts on adjacent cells, the cells that produce it or travel to sites throughout the body that are sensitive to its effects.  Hormones regulate your body’s energy production, temperature, growth, immune system, reproductive capabilities and neuroactivity.  Your individual hormone balance is influenced by genetics, the environment, your lifestyle, eating habits and the function of your endocrine (hormone producing) system.  Read the rest of this entry »

How Much Vitamin D is Enough?

Osteoporosis: a silent epidemic

Osteoporosis, a disease you cannot feel; you can only test for it. Literally, the term osteoporosis means “porous bone”. It is a very common condition, affecting more than 40 million people in the United States.

Osteoporosis is defined by a reduction in bone mass, bone quality or the presence of a fragility fracture. It contributes to nearly 1.5 million fractures per year in the US. Read the rest of this entry »