Bone Density Quotes

There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density enhancement, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning than the correctly performed full squat.

Judging Natalie as my mother had judged me was, I felt like telling her son, just my ass-backward way of showing love. I'd spent my life trying to translate that language, and now I realized I had come to speak it fluently. When was it that you realized the thread woven through your DNA carried the relationship deformities of your blood relatives as much as it did their diabetes and bone density?

We wanted more. We knocked the butt ends of our forks against the table, tapped our spoons against our empty bowls; we were hungry. We wanted more volume, more riots. We turned up the knob on the TV until our ears ached with the shouts of angry men. We wanted more music on the radio; we wanted beats; we wanted rock. We wanted muscles on our skinny arms. We had bird bones, hollow and light, and we wanted more density, more weight. We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet; we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more.

If you believe you are fragile, the biochemistry of your body unquestionably obeys and manifests it. If you believe you are tough, irrespective of your weight and bone density, your body undeniably mirrors it.

Remember Rio de Janeiro, the size of God’s hand, sardines fleshed-open at the market, the way I entered you and moved inside? Looking down, is this the kind of density you can live with? What is the slightness of our bodies to stay, to be good at loving a second time? My mouth pretends it is an oar when it lives inside your mouth, but you are far away.

loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual function. We just cannot isolate any causal relationship in a complex system.

Studies have shown that vibrations of 25 hertz applied to extremities promote wound healing, and increase bone density and muscle mass. They also help with pain relief. The cat’s purr is 25 hertz (25 cycles per second).

who decided that “astronaut” would be a great dream job for a kid? It’s like 97 percent math, 1 percent breathing some Russian dude’s farts, 1 percent dying, and 1 percent eating awesome powdered ice cream. If you’re the very luckiest kind of astronaut ever, your big payoff is that you get to visit a barren airless wasteland for five minutes, do some more math, and then go home—ice cream not guaranteed. Anyway, loophole: I can already buy astronaut ice cream at the Science Center, no math or dying required. Lindy, 1; astronauts nada. (Unless you get points for debilitating low bone density, in which case… I concede.) Not

It turns out, as shown by Karsenty and others who have since embarked on the line of research, that the reverse is also largely true: loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual function. We just cannot isolate any causal relationship in a complex system.

As one board-certified endocrinologist (Dr Ramona Krutzik) explained it, Fox’s advantages included the bone density she had accrued from her time as a man, the muscle mass she will have accrued from those years and the testosterone imprint on the brain which does not go away through taking androgens or having surgery. All this could give Fox not just a physical edge but also a potential aggression edge.

The missing remained missing and the portraits couldn't change that. But when Akhmed slid the finished portrait across the desk and the family saw the shape of that beloved nose, the air would flee the room, replaced by the miracle of recognition as mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, and cousin found in that nose the son, brother, nephew, and cousin that had been, would have been, could have been, and they might race after the possibility like cartoon characters dashing off a cliff, held by the certainty of the road until they looked down -- and plummeted is the word used by the youngest brother who, at the age of sixteen, is tired of being the youngest and hopes his older brother will return for many reasons, not least so he will marry and have a child and the youngest brother will no longer be youngest; that youngest brother, the one who has nothing to say about the nose because he remembers his older brother's nose and doesn't need the nose to mean what his parents need it to mean, is the one who six months later would be disappeared in the back of a truck, as his older brother was, who would know the Landfill through his blindfold and gag by the rich scent of clay, as his older brother had known, whose fingers would be wound with the electrical wires that had welded to his older brother's bones, who would stand above a mass grave his brother had dug and would fall in it as his older brother had, though taking six more minutes and four more bullets to die, would be buried an arm's length of dirt above his brother and whose bones would find over time those of his older brother, and so, at that indeterminate point in the future, answer his mother's prayer that her boys find each other, wherever they go; that younger brother would have a smile on his face and the silliest thought in his skull a minute before the first bullet would break it, thinking of how that day six months earlier, when they all went to have his older brother's portrait made, he should have had his made, too, because now his parents would have to make another trip, and he hoped they would, hoped they would because even if he knew his older brother's nose, he hadn't been prepared to see it, and seeing that nose, there, on the page, the density of loss it engendered, the unbelievable ache of loving and not having surrounded him, strong enough to toss him, as his brother had, into the summer lake, but there was nothing but air, and he'd believed that plummet was as close as they would ever come again, and with the first gunshot one brother fell within arms' reach of the other, and with the fifth shot the blindfold dissolved and the light it blocked became forever, and on the kitchen wall of his parents' house his portrait hangs within arm's reach of his older brother's, and his mother spends whole afternoons staring at them, praying that they find each other, wherever they go.

When I interviewed with the Chief of Family Medicine at a large medical corporation on the West Coast, he explained that, since he was part of a team of people who arranged for pharmaceutical companies to issue cash grants, he was in a position to offer me a particularly enticing salary. “What are the grants for?” I asked. “We have a quality improvement program that tracks physician prescribing patterns. We call it ‘quality’ but it’s really about money.” And that’s all it’s about. It works like this. In his organization, any patient with LDL cholesterol over 100 is put on a cholesterol-lowering medication. Any person with a blood pressure higher than 140/90 is put on a blood pressure medication. Any person with “low bone density” is put on a bone-remodeling inhibitor. And so on. The doctors who prescribe the most get big bonuses. Those who prescribe the least get fired. With a hint of incredulousness in his voice, he explained, “So far, every time we’ve asked for funding for our program, the drug companies give it to us.” If this is where healthcare is headed, then these hybrid physicians-executives will instinctively turn their gaze to our children and invent more creative methods to bulldoze an entire generation into the bottomless pit of chronic disease.

This is the science behind how UPF affects the human body: • The destruction of the food matrix by physical, chemical and thermal processing means that UPF is, in general, soft. This means you eat it fast, which means you eat far more calories per minute and don’t feel full until long after you’ve finished. It also potentially reduces facial bone size and bone density, leading to dental problems. • UPF typically has a very high calorie density because it’s dry, and high in fat and sugar and low in fibre, so you get more calories per mouthful. • It displaces diverse whole foods from the diet, especially among low-income groups. And UPF itself is often micronutrient-deficient, which may also contribute to excess consumption. • The mismatch between the taste signals from the mouth and the nutrition content in some UPF alters metabolism and appetite in ways that we are only beginning to understand, but that seem to drive excess consumption. • UPF is addictive, meaning that for some people binges are unavoidable. • The emulsifiers, preservatives, modified starches and other additives damage the microbiome, which could allow inflammatory bacteria to flourish and cause the gut to leak. • The convenience, price and marketing of UPF urge us to eat constantly and without thought, which leads to more snacking, less chewing, faster eating, increased consumption and tooth decay. • The additives and physical processing mean that UPF affects our satiety system directly. Other additives may affect brain and endocrine function, and plastics from the packaging might affect fertility. • The production methods used to make UPF require expensive subsidy and drive environmental destruction, carbon emissions and plastic pollution, which harm us all.

I forced myself to let my belly relax into a deeper breath. I closed my eyes and felt the solidity of the pavement beneath my feet and the rock beneath that, felt the density of the earth hugging me to it, felt it spinning on its axis, felt it hurtling through space in its trip around the sun, felt th solar system whirling through space as part of our galaxy, felt the flight of galaxies escaping from the site of that primal explosion we call the big bang. Always in times of stress, if I contemplated the vastness of the universe, I did in some measure relax, comforted by the knowledge that I was but a small speck in creation after all, a mote in the enormity of God's eye, a fleeting arrangement of atoms that would in due time cycle back into the earth from which I had come and be reshuffled into something else, blended back into the grace of the natural world. In my very insignificance did I find my immortality. pp 113-114

Aida swung by with cookbooks, dietary stipulations, menus. To nouvelle and classique French fare we added Neolithic recipes free of dairy, medieval Italian recipes heavy on squash and almonds, early agrarian recipes so crammed with husky, fibrous grains that they would, in Aida's words, Make you shit till you see god. Modern additions included a vegan diet beloved of the world's best cricket player, astronaut supplements for bone density, foods charcoal-infused and nitrate-free.

Last Night’s Moon," “When will we next walk together under last night’s moon?” - Tu Fu March aspens, mist forest. Green rain pins down the sea, early evening cyanotype. Silver saltlines, weedy toques of low tide, pillow lava’s black spill indelible in the sand. Unbroken broken sea. — Rain sharpens marsh-hair birth-green of the spring firs. In the bog where the dead never disappear, where river birch drown, the surface strewn with reflection. This is the acid-soaked moss that eats bones, keeps flesh; the fermented ground where time stops and doesn’t; dissolves the skull, preserves the brain, wrinkled pearl in black mud. — In the autumn that made love necessary, we stood in rubber boots on the sphagnum raft and learned love is soil–stronger than peat or sea– melting what it holds. The past is not our own. Mole’s ribbon of earth, termite house, soaked sponge. It rises, keloids of rain on wood; spreads, milkweed galaxy, broken pod scattering the debris of attention. Where you are while your body is here, remembering in the cold spring afternoon. The past is a long bone. — Time is like the painter’s lie, no line around apple or along thigh, though the apple aches to its sweet edge, strains to its skin, the seam of density. Invisible line closest to touch. Lines of wet grass on my arm, your tongue’s wet line across my back. All the history in the bone-embedded hills of your body. Everything your mouth remembers. Your hands manipullate in the darkness, silver bromide of desire darkening skin with light. — Disoriented at great depths, confused by the noise of shipping routes, whales hover, small eyes squinting as they consult the magnetic map of the ocean floor. They strain, a thousand miles through cold channels; clicking thrums of distant loneliness bounce off seamounts and abyssal plains. They look up from perpetual dusk to rods of sunlight, a solar forest at the surface. Transfixed in the dark summer kitchen: feet bare on humid linoleum, cilia listening. Feral as the infrared aura of the snake’s prey, the bees’ pointillism, the infrasonic hum of the desert heard by the birds. The nighthawk spans the ceiling; swoops. Hot kitchen air vibrates. I look up to the pattern of stars under its wings.

Twenty-seven bones make up the human hand. Lunate and capitate and navicular, scaphoid, and triquetrum, the tiny horn-shaped pisiforms of the outer wrist. Though different in shape and density each is smoothly aligned and flush-fitted, lashed by a meshwork of ligatures running under the skin. All vertebrates share a similar set of bones, and all bones grow out of the same tissue: a bird's wing, a whale's dorsal fine, a gecko's pad, your own hand. Bust an arm or leg and the knitting bone's sealed in a wrap of calcium so it's stronger than before. Bust a bone in your hand and it never heals right.

The calcium in vegetable sources may prove more bioavailable (useful to the body) than the stuff you get from milk. One study compared the absorption of calcium from kale and from milk and found kale the clear winner. (Yeah, kale!) Recent studies have shown that plant-sourced calcium in particular increases bone-mineral density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. This is probably not just due to the calcium content of the plant—the complement of other vitamins (such as vitamin K), minerals, and phytonutrients work synergistically to provide additional benefits to bones. Yet another reason to eat your greens.

WARNING: Before commencing any program of sustained physical inactivity, consult your physician. Sedentary living doubles the likelihood of stroke and coronary artery disease, making it as risky as smoking, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. If unaccustomed to sitting for extended periods, you may experience weak muscles, low bone density, high cholesterol, hyperglycaemia, a rapid resting heart rate, mental decline, mood disorders, and obesity. Start slowly and increase inactivity gradually. If you experience drowsiness, difficulty in concentration, or craving for stimulation, discontinue inactivity immediately.:-)

He experienced a range of intense and unpleasant side effects [on puberty blockers], as he tried different doses. ‘On one of them I had really bad insomnia. And another one, I had really bad anger problems.’ … ‘Your mood goes like it’s a roller coaster,’ he explains. ‘There are moments when you’re euphorically happy. The next day, you crash really bad and you are exhausted. And then you’re really, really depressed, like, suicidal depressed.’ Jacob says he had felt depressed before starting on puberty blockers and had experienced anxiety… ‘On the blockers I broke my wrist twice, my knuckles, my toe. It really ruins your bone density.’ Four broken bones in just a few years…As Jacob’s health deteriorated and his puberty continued to ‘break through’, he grew increasingly distressed…After more than four years on the blocker, Jacob felt worse than he ever had before the medication. While his friends were getting their first boyfriends and girlfriends, experiencing their first kisses and sexual experiences, he felt nothing. ‘You have no desire, no drive whatsoever,’ he says. ‘You don’t even feel attracted to people.’ … Emotionally, he felt years younger than his peers. Michelle noticed it too. And physically, Jacob had stopped growing.

There are two main types of devices: those that deliver whole-body vibration (WBV) and those that deliver low-force or low-intensity vibration (LIV). Two companies make the low-intensity vibration machines: Juvent and Marodyne. Both products are based on Dr. Clinton Rubin’s research. The LIV Tablet and the Juvent both impart what feels like a comfortable hum when you stand on them. By contrast, most WBV machines subject the user to an intense shaking. I worked with a master trainer using one such machine, the Powerplate. There was no question that my muscle tone built up quickly, but I never felt right about the intensity. My concern is that over time older adults could end up with conditions such as detached retinas, eye floaters, or even joint damage. For now I would steer clear of the WBV devices. I own a Juvent.

Consider the life of a pregnant sow. Her incredible fertility is the source of her particular hell. While a cow will give birth to only a single calf at a time, the modern factory sow will birth, nurse, and raise an average of nearly nine piglets — a number that has been increased annually by industry breeders. She will invariably be kept pregnant as much as possible, which will prove to be the majority of her life. When she is approaching her due date, drugs to induce labor may be administered to make the timing more convenient for the farmer. After her piglets are weaned, a hormone injection makes the sow rapidly “cycle” so that she will be ready to be artificially inseminated again in only three weeks. Four out of five times a sow will spend the sixteen weeks of her pregnancy confined in a “gestation crate” so small that she will not be able to turn around. Her bone density will decrease because of the lack of movement. She will be given no bedding and often will develop quarter-sized, blackened, pus-filled sores from chafing in the crate. (In one undercover investigation in Nebraska, pregnant pigs with multiple open sores on their faces, heads, shoulders, backs, and legs — some as large as a fist — were videotaped. A worker at the farm commented, “They all have sores. . . . There’s hardly a pig in there who doesn’t have a sore.”) More serious and pervasive is the suffering caused by boredom and isolation and the thwarting of the sow’s powerful urge to prepare for her coming piglets. In nature, she would spend much of her time before giving birth foraging and ultimately would build a nest of grass, leaves, or straw. To avoid excessive weight gain and to further reduce feed costs, the crated sow will be feed restricted and often hungry. Pigs also have an inborn tendency to use separate areas for sleeping and defecating that is totally thwarted in confinement. The pregnant pigs, like most all pigs in industrial systems, must lie or step in their excrement to force it through the slatted floor. The industry defends such confinement by arguing that it helps control and manage animals better, but the system makes good welfare practices more difficult because lame and diseased animals are almost impossible to identify when no animals are allowed to move.

Z-Score Basics The Z-score, as mentioned earlier, compares your BMD to the average for those of your same gender and age group. Here are a few other basics to keep in mind about Z-scores: Z-scores are used to assess premenopausal women and men under age fifty. A Z-score better than (above) –2.0 is considered normal for one’s age. When a Z-score falls below –2.0, BMD is lower than normal for one’s age. This result should be a flag for further testing to determine if active bone loss is occurring.

you got a scan and measured bone density, a number greater than 135 gm/cm2 means your osteoporosis risk is low—

Most fractures result from a fall. Muscular weakness and poor balance can turn an electrical cord or the turned-up edge of a rug into a hazard. That’s why the major benefit of exercise as you age is not to add bone density, but to maintain strength, balance, and coordination, and thus decrease your chance of falling.

Cycling isn’t load-bearing because the bike supports your body weight. Studies have shown that some professional racers competing at a Tour de France level have a bone mineral density well below average for their age.

If your density is low, you are at greater risk for breaking a bone. Every bone is vulnerable, but those most commonly fractured are the spinal vertebrae, ribs, forearms, and hip bones.

Be Careful of Potentially Unsafe Exercises While it is true that any bone in the body can fracture when exercising due to a fall or some other mishap, some exercises pose a higher risk for people with osteoporosis. As we learned in Chapter 1, fractures of the spine are the most common fractures that people experience, especially as they get older. Therefore, when we engage in controlled exercise poses or routines—for instance, in yoga or strength training—it is vital to protect the spine. Following are some of the exercises that are not recommended for people who have a moderate or high risk for fractures: • forward bending • shoulder stands • twists (rotational moves for the spine) • jackknife (legs bent over the head)

Although the current medical approach to treating osteoporosis is quite often one dimensional—prescribing medication, calcium, and vitamin D supplements—I’ve encouraged you to take the true complexity of bone into account, using an approach that, while it may or may not include medications, always includes proper nutrition; assessment for and resolution of any gastrointestinal dysfunction; hormone balancing if needed; and exercise. I’ve asked you to maintain a healthy skepticism regarding your diagnosis and the recommendations of your doctor( s), doing a good job on your homework before agreeing to any treatment program—and always watching out for treatments (conventional or alternative) that claim to be magic bullets!

grams per square centimeter) • T-score: applied to men and women over the age of fifty and post-menopausal women of any age • PR (peak reference): your percentage compared to the average person of the same sex age twenty-six to twenty-nine • Z-score: age-matched bone density score; used for men under age fifty and premenopausal women under age fifty • AM (age matched): percentage of bone you have compared to a person of the same sex and age

Vertebral Fracture Assessment (VFA) This assessment is not typically ordered unless you have had a fracture or you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis. There are additional pages that are included with the VFA report and you can request a full copy of those pages as well. The most important scan page is the one you see here with the full spine images. The densitometrist will assess the images and check to see if you have any fractures in your spine. More information on this study can be found in Chapter 3.

The full-body scan will reveal these: Amount of heart calcium—the best non-invasive measurement of atherosclerosis. Bone density—how far are you from osteoporosis? 
 Colon problems—any early signs of colon cancer. Thoracic or abdominal aneurisms—these can be fatal and ~4% of people over 65 have one. Cancers or pre-cancerous condition in various organs—includes lungs, liver, gall bladder, spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, etc.

A typical 40-year-old will have a bone density of 175 mg/cc. These are strong bones, hard to break and quick to heal if they do. With age, there is about a 2% loss per year. This adds up. By seventy, other things being equal, the density will have sagged to around 105, with is the “fracture threshold.

Indeed, long-term elevated cortisol levels can lower immune function and bone density; elevate blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight; increase the risk of heart disease, depression and mental illness; and interfere with learning and memory.

Furthermore, the agricultural revolution stunted children’s growth rates. An analysis of juvenile long bones from Neolithic sites shows declines in length and density over the periods when farming took root. Hunter-gatherer skeletons are far more strapping than those of settled laborers, and it’s only since the Industrial Revolution that we’ve regained the stature of our ancestors from ten thousand years ago.

Extensive research over the last forty years has shown that WBV safely promotes and increases bone density, more so than conventional exercise, which has long been understood to be important for healthy bone development.

Whole Body Vibration Training Basics Goals ♦ Minimum recommended usage (but work up to this slowly): five to ten minutes of vibration at mid-level frequency each day, but it is not a problem if you miss some days. It is great if you can work up to doing twenty minutes per day. ♦ Maximum recommended usage: twenty to thirty minutes of vibration per day. Basics ♦​To target different muscle groups, choose different positions from the pictures in this book or from the poster found on my website. ♦​Do each exercise position for thirty seconds to one minute, either holding the position (static, or isometric) or moving in and out of it (dynamic, or kinetic). ♦​Many benefits are achieved even if you only stand on the machine. In fact, standing upright on the plate is a great position for increasing bone density, as it helps to transmit the vibration throughout your body. So, even if you are too tired to work out, do stand or sit on your plate—relax and vibrate! ♦​Mid-level speed settings are optimal for muscle strengthening exercises. Higher speed settings are better for stretching and massage. The most important thing is just to do some vibration! Remember that all vibration works for strengthening, stretching and massage, lymphatic drainage, and other health benefits.

if you take people and you put them in a zero-gravity environment like astronauts, they lose muscle mass, they lose bone density. We’re taking these kids in the name of protection, we’re putting them in a zero-gravity environment, and they’re losing muscle mass and bone density. They need to live in a world that has gravity. When you—you need to expose your children to germs and dirt in the environment to build up their immune system.

Ten minutes of WBV training will give you the benefits of one hour of conventional weightlifting, including increased muscle strength, bone density, flexibility, coordination, balance, and weight loss.

Chapter 3 addresses the issue of bone-density loss and WBV’s capacity to stimulate bone growth. WBV was, in fact, originally developed forty years ago in Russia to counteract the devastating effects of zero gravity on their cosmonauts in outer space.

Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, and Reclast achieve an increase in bone density by halting your body’s natural ability to reabsorb old and damaged bone.

Starting from middle childhood, however, boys and girls begin to take part in different social worlds with specific sets of challenges; moreover, sex differences in muscle mass and strength, bone density, and adiposity become more pronounced, giving boys a definite advantage in dealing with physical danger.

Interval training is the repeated performance of high-intensity exercises, for set periods, followed by set periods of rest. Intervals can consist of any variety of movements with any variation of work and rest times. It burns far more calories and produces positive changes in body composition with much less time than aerobic training. This is not only because of the muscle it builds, but also the effect it has on the metabolism following the workouts. Strength training creates enough stress on the body’s homeostasis that a large energy (calorie) expenditure is required long after the exercise has stopped. During low-intensity aerobic exercise, fat oxidation occurs while exercising and stops upon completion. During high-intensity exercise your body oxidizes carbs for energy, not fat. Then, for a long time afterward, fat oxidation takes place to return systems to normal: to restore depleted carbohydrates, creatine phosphate, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), circulatory hormones, re-oxygenate the blood, and decrease body temperature, ventilation and heart rate. Not to mention the longer term demands: strengthening tendons and ligaments, increasing bone density, forming new capillaries, motor skill adaptation, repairing muscle tissue and building new muscle. And the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you are able to burn during and after exercise.

There are many examples of how Medicine 2.0 gets risk wrong, but one of the most egregious has to do with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for postmenopausal women, long entrenched as standard practice before the results of the Women’s Health Initiative Study (WHI) were published in 2002. This large clinical trial, involving thousands of older women, compared a multitude of health outcomes in women taking HRT versus those who did not take it. The study reported a 24 percent relative increase in the risk of breast cancer among a subset of women taking HRT, and headlines all over the world condemned HRT as a dangerous, cancer-causing therapy. All of a sudden, on the basis of this one study, hormone replacement treatment became virtually taboo. This reported 24 percent risk increase sounded scary indeed. But nobody seemed to care that the absolute risk increase of breast cancer for women in the study remained minuscule. Roughly five out of every one thousand women in the HRT group developed breast cancer, versus four out of every one thousand in the control group, who received no hormones. The absolute risk increase was just 0.1 percentage point. HRT was linked to, potentially, one additional case of breast cancer in every thousand patients. Yet this tiny increase in absolute risk was deemed to outweigh any benefits, meaning menopausal women would potentially be subject to hot flashes and night sweats, as well as loss of bone density and muscle mass, and other unpleasant symptoms

The bottom line is that five or six prunes a day may help preserve bone density.3204

Research has found that loss of bone density may be an even better predictor of death from atherosclerotic disease than cholesterol levels.

I was back in disgust. I stood in the centre of the big room, naked, letting the heat strike me from the three points of heat, and I knew, and it was an illumination — one of those things one has always known, but never really understood before — that all sanity depends on this: that it should be a delight to feel the roughness of a carpet under smooth soles, a delight to feel heat strike the skin, a delight to stand upright, knowing the bones are moving easily under flesh. If this goes, then the conviction of life goes too. But I could feel none of this. The texture of the carpet was abhorrent to me, a dead processed thing; my body was a thin, meagre, spiky sort of vegetable, like an unsunned plant; and when I touched the hair on my head it was dead. I felt the floor bulge up under me. The walls were losing their density. I knew I was moving down into a new dimension, further away from sanity than I had ever been. I knew I had to get to the bed fast. I could not walk, so I let myself down on my hands and knees and crawled to the bed and lay on it, covering myself.

Visceral belly fat, the harmful fat surrounding organs, was reduced The risk for cancer and inflammatory diseases declined Immune and brain function improved. In the mouse brain, neurons were regenerated, improving learning, memory, and concentration It also reduced the incidence of skin lesions and it ceased bone mineral density loss Intermittent fasting actually promoted healthy bone formation

Research has found that loss of bone density may be an even better predictor of death from atherosclerotic disease than cholesterol levels.

nerves. This structure is surrounded in both the root and crown by the dentine or tooth bone which is nourished from within. The dentine of the root is covered by cementum which receives nourishment from the membrane which attaches the root to the jaw bone. The dentine of the crown or exposed part of the tooth is covered with enamel. Tooth decay proceeds slowly through the enamel and often rapidly in the dentine, always following the minute channels toward the pulp, which may become infected before the decay actually reaches the pulp to expose it; nearly always the decay infects the pulp when it destroys the dentine covering it. When a tooth has a deep cavity of decay, the decalcified dentine has about the density of rotten wood. With an adequate improvement in nutrition, tooth decay will generally be checked provided two conditions are present: in the first place, there must be enough improvement in the quality of the saliva; and in the second, the saliva must have free access to the cavity. Of course, if the decay is removed and a filling placed in the cavity, the bacteria will be mechanically shut out. One of the most severe tests of a nutritional program, accordingly, is the test of its power to check tooth decay completely, even without fillings. There are, however, two further tests of the sufficiency of improvement of the chemical content of the saliva. If it has been sufficiently improved, bacterial growth will not only be inhibited, but the leathery decayed dentine will become mineralized from the saliva by a process similar to petrification. Note that this mineralized dentine is not vital, nor does it increase in volume and fill the cavity. When scraped with a steel instrument it frequently takes on a density like very hard wood and occasionally takes even a glassy surface. When such a tooth is placed in silver nitrate, the chemical does not penetrate this demineralized dentine, though it does rapidly penetrate the decayed dentine of a tooth extracted when decay is active

Studies have shown that supplementing elderly patients and postmenopausal women with protein increases bone density, reduces bone loss on x-ray, and improves clinical symptoms in patients with recent hip fractures.227-229 Increased protein consumption results in several anabolic (growth) processes, including bone formation, and is not just limited to muscle growth. It appears that when vitamin D and K are present with protein, calcium is pulled from the blood to stimulate bone formation. 

Estradiol—Estradiol is the strongest estrogen; it helps you think clearly. It is produced in the ovaries and has many protective effects, including maintaining bone density, improving growth hormone production and cardiovascular function, keeping your blood from getting “sticky,” supporting cognitive function and mood, assisting in growth hormone release, and improving your lipids profile. Too much estradiol can be associated with estrogen-related cancers, but deficiencies can lead to osteoporosis, heart disease, dementia, and other diseases of aging. Estradiol keeps you looking and feeling young and vibrant. It also provides antiaging protection for the skin. And it even helps prevent weight gain. Researchers at Yale University have found that estradiol suppresses appetite using the same pathways in the brain as leptin, which is one of the hormones that regulate appetite.

Estriol—Estriol is the weakest of the three estrogens and has a protective role in breast tissue. It is believed to protect vaginal tissue too. Estriol helps to reduce hot flashes in women, protects the urinary tract, and plays a role in retention of bone density. It can help increase “good” HDL and decrease “bad” LDL cholesterol. One compelling study showed that taking estriol can reverse brain lesions in women with multiple sclerosis. Estrogen is particularly needed in women to make serotonin function at its best in the brain. Serotonin is one of the brain’s feel-good hormones. With no estrogen, your mood can change to anxious and depressed. Cognitive functions, such as critical thinking and short-term memory, are also eroded with the loss of estrogen production. Below is a list of symptoms related to low and high estrogen levels:

With modern Western diets, the body must work hard to keep the blood from becoming overly acidic from the excess animal protein being eaten. To do this, it uses alkaline bone tissue substances such as bicarbonates and calcium. This can lead to the loss of bone density and helps explain the high rates of osteoporosis in cultures where people eat large quantities of acidifying animal foods. Osteoporosis rates among the Eskimo people, who eat an almost completely flesh-based diet, are among the highest in the world.18 Next are northern Europeans and North Americans, who eat high quantities of flesh, eggs, and dairy products.19 While there are other factors that may affect bone health, such as vitamin and mineral intake, levels of loadbearing exercise, and mental and emotional factors, there is evidence that brittle bones and osteoporosis are correlated with eating the large amounts of animal protein typical of our meals.

Balance and Bones Are Critical To maintain an active lifestyle as we age, we need to keep our balance. Balance declines as we age, thanks to the loss of muscle mass and bone density, among other things. The CDC released some interesting numbers: 1 out of 4 seniors suffers from a fall every year, but fewer than half of them tell their doctor. Your likelihood of falling doubles after the first fall.

Once the collagen mineralizes, it becomes part of your bone, increasing density and mass.

But there’s another reason to challenge your body with heavy weights: bone density.

Small free weights (three to five pounds) used in simple, familiar exercises are a good way to preserve upper body tone and bone density and supplement the cardiovascular benefits of an active lifestyle.

Evidence is overwhelming that, after switching to agriculture, human stature decreased, a very reliable indicator of a decline in overall wellbeing. People fell sick more often because of higher population density and because pathogens jumped from domesticated animals to humans. The quality of nutrition declined, as is abundantly documented in ancient bones and teeth.

Modification of brain waves Improved balance of sex hormones Lower mortality rate from heart attacks Lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension Greater bone density Better circulation Deceleration of symptoms associated with senility Greater balance and efficiency of bodily functions

The following stand out among those proven through scientific research, as observed by Dr. Kenneth M. Sancier of San Francisco’s Qigong Institute in his article “Medical Applications of Qigong”3: Modification of brain waves Improved balance of sex hormones Lower mortality rate from heart attacks Lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension Greater bone density Better circulation Deceleration of symptoms associated with senility Greater balance and efficiency of bodily functions Increased blood flow to the brain and greater mind-body connection Improved cardiac function Reduction in the secondary effects of cancer treatments Practicing these arts not only keeps us in shape, it also helps extend our lives.

You’re crying now her paradise an empty pond blurring your eyes to a crisis that needs more than tears. For her, pain is over the gate is open her job done. Her name is the Sixth Mass Extinction glaciers, forest, buildings, man.

On that basis alone, one has to conclude that exercise is the most important factor affecting bone density.

in a second approach, one should merely talk not of how this radical antinomy which seems to preclude our access to the Thing ALREADY IS THE THING ITSELF—the fundamental feature of today’s society IS the irreconciliable antagonism between Totality and the individual. What this means is that, ultimately, the status of the Real is purely parallactic and, as such, non-substantial: it has no substantial density in itself; it is just a gap between two points of perspective, perceptible only in the shift from the one to the other. The parallax Real is thus opposed to the standard (Lacanian) notion of the Real as that which “always returns at its place,” i.e., as that which remains the same in all possible (symbolic) universes: the parallax Real is rather that which accounts for the very multiplicity of appearances of the same underlying Real—it is not the hard core which persists as the Same, but the hard bone of contention which pulverizes the sameness into the multitude of appearances.

There is no more underrated and research-backed therapeutic tool than walking. It reduces back pain, and body pain in general, through dozens of mechanisms. Studies show that walking does the following: Increases circulation of natural opioids in the body175 Reduces pain sensitivity176 Stimulates production and circulation of synovial fluid within joints177 Improves lumbar (low back) function178 Strengthens foot muscles, creating a more stable and pliable base for the hips, back, and neck (especially in minimalist shoes)179 Reduces perceived pain levels, improves blood pressure, and strengthens feelings of personal power180 (if you walk with upright posture instead of slumped) Reduces bone density loss with age, helping to prevent osteoporosis and reduce osteoarthritis pain181 Is a surprisingly effective weight loss and weight management technique, which in turn keeps overall compression forces on joints down182 Increases blood flow to spinal muscles, improving oxygen and nutrient delivery required for cellular healing183 Speeds up elimination of cellular waste products through the repeated contractions of various muscle groups throughout the body183 Reduces the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which has a correlative relationship with subjective pain levels184 (Barefoot walking) Improves body awareness and wound healing, reduces inflammation, and helps prevent chronic inflammatory diseases185 Walking doesn’t just help relieve back pain—it targets the central causes of pain. And as you can see from the many studies on walking and pain relief, the benefits are not limited to the locomotion of walking. It’s movement in general that increases circulation of natural opioids, reduces pain sensitivity, stimulates synovial fluid production, and supports cellular health.

You can see all these processes play out just in the hand: [...] the musculature is not bulging but flat, speckles of calcification in the arteries and translucency of the bones, which, from age fifty, lose their density, osteoarthritis will give the joint surfaces a ragged, worn appearance, deterioration of the cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the pads of the fingers produces loss of sensitivity to touch, loss of motor neurons produces loss of dexterity, handwriting degrades, hand speed and vibration sense decline.

According to a study done in 2011 by the welfare department of the CISL trade union, in the three-year period from 2006 to 2008 it could take as long as 540 days to have a mammogram scheduled (Puglia), 90 days to get a bone-density scan done (Veneto) and 74 days to see a geriatrics specialist in the generally well-organized Tuscany region. I myself know someone who had to wait seven months to get a heart bypass, and one of my next-door neighbors here in Rome waited almost a year for a hip replacement. Of course, this is not unusual for a country with national health; all the Brits I know decry their own system violently and even in Sweden, once a model for such things, there is considerable disorganization. The fact remains that the Italian national health system is often more virtual than real, forcing people who can afford it to look for an alternative solution.

A typical 40-year-old will have a bone density of 175 mg/cc.

Bones If you got a scan and measured bone density, a number greater than 135 gm/cm2 means your osteoporosis risk is low—for now. Other things being equal, you will lose bone density at 2% per year. A person with a density of 135 gm/cm2 will be at the “fracture threshold” in about 15 years. This is where bones start to crush in, height is lost, and the back may start to hunch over. Calcium supplementation may slow this, but increase the risk of heart attack, so this is not recommended. However, safe prevention is quite simple. Proper load-bearing exercises, such as squats and deadlifts, will not only stem the loss of bone but will reverse it. New bone will be built. These lifting sorts of exercises are described in the EXERCISE section coming up.

Studies of the animals’ brain activity showed that the constant light exposure reduced the normal rhythmic patterns in the brain’s central circadian pacemaker of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) by 70 per cent.”6 And crucially, this disruption resulted in a loss of muscle tone and bone density, which, notably, was reversed once the animals’ normal cycle of light and dark was restored.

bone density decreases, muscles atrophy and weaken, blood vessels thin. Even simple things take a herculean effort.

moderate to light strength training that leads to hypertrophy of the skeletal muscle (increase in size of the muscle, along with increase in bone mineral density) is the key.

Exercises like squats, deadlifts, and standing presses place significant training loads on the axial skeleton, pelvis, and hips, and force increases in bone mineral density where the Masters Athlete needs them most.

The best rebounders are ones that use bungee cords instead of steel springs. I especially like the JumpSport and the Bellicon brands. Both have rails (must buy separately) that can help you balance. The JumpSport has one that goes completely across the trampoline, adding both safety and versatility with exercises. Both companies supply videos for beginners. Will using these rebounders increase bone density? Studies are scant; however, I think it is a very good exercise to include in your program, and I do think it may be stimulating to bone.

Consistent exercise develops proprioception, our sense of where our body is in space. Translated literally, “proprioception” means “sense of self.” The proprioceptors are most abundant in our ankles, where they help us to avoid tripping and falling.

Here are some tips for an anti-inflammatory eating plan, including increasing the diet’s alkalinity:  Add more alkaline foods to your diet when you can. You can find lists of alkaline-/ acid-forming foods online, including my website. You will note that meat, sodas, sugar, coffee, alcohol, and refined carbohydrates (such as those found in cookies, cakes, and other sweets) are high acid formers. Some of the highest alkaline-forming foods are lemons, limes, parsley, kelp, kale, broccoli, and pumpkin seeds.  Eat several servings of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, each day, as well as some fruits. Get plenty of raw foods in your diet. Eating a salad each day loaded with raw veggies is a good way to start. You also might want to add a fresh apple cider vinegar dressing to your salad—see my website for recipes.  Get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fatty fish, fish oil supplements, ground flax, chia, and hemp seeds, and walnuts.  Eliminate trans fats and fried foods.  If you eat animal protein, rely on fish and lean meats, such as chicken or turkey; cut back on red meat and dairy. (Note: There is growing concern about both fish toxicity and the sustainability of popular fishing methods. The Environmental

In certain regions of Japan, a staple dish called natto or fermented soybean, frequently eaten several times a week, is uniquely rich in vitamin K2. Recent scientific examination has pinpointed vitamin K2, and in particular vitamin K2 in the form of menaquinone-7 (MK-7), the active ingredient in this popular eastern Japanese dish, as having a supportive effect on bone quality during osteoporosis treatment. People living in the Japanese regions where this dish is eaten have several-fold greater blood levels of vitamin K2 (MK-7), accompanied by less osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Some of the main factors affecting whether or not nutritional supplementation is right for you include:  Digestive health: You may need to supplement if you have a GI condition that limits your ability to access the nutrients in the food you eat.  Food intake: The amount of food you eat may be insufficient to meet your nutritional needs, even if that food is nutritious. And certain diets may fail to provide all of the nutrients you need, or they may provide nutrients in excessive amounts—many diets are extreme. For example, the Atkins diet leans heavily on proteins and fats, while vegan diets provide no animal protein.  Food’s growing conditions: Depletion of the nutrients in our soils means fewer nutrients in the food that grows in those soils. In one study that compared nutrient data for foods from 1940, 1991, and 2002, of the seven minerals examined, all but sodium had undergone significant depletion by 2002; some minerals (e.g., copper) no longer occurred at all in the food.

But the best way to know if you are actively losing bone is through lab tests that evaluate bone turnover.

But the best way to know if you are actively losing bone is through lab tests that evaluate bone turnover. Depending on your history and risk factors you may also need tests that can identify any secondary conditions (e.g., parathyroid disease, vitamin D deficiency, or kidney disease) that could result in bone loss (see Chapter 5).

The symptoms of hormonal imbalance are many, and can include depression, anxiety, severe headaches, joint pain—and bone loss. A disruption in the balance of hormones produced by one gland or set of glands can cause other glandular systems to malfunction as well. Hormonal imbalance can be caused by a number of factors, including poor nutrition, stress, aging, blockages in “nerve flow” (i.e., distortions in the “flow” of the activity of the nerves), and even environmental toxins. Sadly, many people with hormone imbalances are put on symptom-focused medications when their symptoms—depression, for example—could be resolved with a treatment that corrects the underlying imbalance, benefitting the body as a whole.

Imbalances in Women’s Sex Hormones What happens when a woman’s sex hormones are out of balance? Imbalances in estrogen and progesterone can occur at any age but are most common during puberty, before menopause, and for many years after menopause. Women can also suffer from low testosterone, experiencing symptoms that include low libido, muscle weakness, and others that may resemble those associated with hypothyroidism. Symptoms associated with sex hormone imbalances in women include: • bone loss • loss of muscle mass • depression • hot flashes • irregular periods • low libido • memory lapses • mood swings (PMS) • acne • headaches • heart palpitations • fibrocystic breasts • thinning skin • nervousness • night sweats • poor concentration • sleep disturbances • urinary incontinence

I encourage you to practice mindful eating meditation with one meal or one snack each day. Have at least one meal a day without any distractions. That means no radio, TV, reading, or conversation. Eat in silence. Begin by setting up a disruption-free environment. Notice what you are choosing to eat, and notice the portions you put on your plate. Next:  Take a few deep breaths before beginning to eat.  When you start to eat, be aware of how the food feels in the mouth, fully chewing each bite before swallowing.

Notice how the food tastes. Really paying attention to the taste of food often shows us that the flavor is more complex than we’ve realized.  Notice when you are approximately 80 percent full, and stop eating. If you decide to continue eating, notice what it feels like to eat more. Once you have finished eating, notice how your stomach feels. Do you feel full? Does your stomach feel comfortable or uncomfortable? Did the meal satisfy you? Finally, did you make healthy choices at this meal? If not, are you judging yourself for it? What are you telling yourself about the choices you made? Whether or not you wish your meal had been more nutritious, your eating meditation has much value. Intentional, complete awareness of our food intake can help us to eat healthy food, and cultivating mindfulness of “bad” choices can eventually place limits on such behaviors or stop them altogether.

An elimination diet involves removing suspect foods or ingredients from your diet because you or your doctor thinks they may be the cause of your symptoms. To test, the “problem” foods are eliminated for a period of time in an effort to see if symptoms are alleviated. Some of the more common foods that can cause allergies or sensitivities include: dairy, gluten, eggs, nuts, corn, grains, soy and other legumes, citrus fruits, and nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes). Caffeine, alcohol, and sugar are also typically eliminated to make sure these are not masking, causing, or contributing to the symptoms you are experiencing.

Before prescribing medication, the NOF recommends that doctors implement the following procedures:  Obtain a detailed patient history pertaining to clinical risk factors for osteoporosis-related fractures and falls.  Perform physical examination and obtain diagnostic studies to evaluate for signs of osteoporosis and its secondary causes.  Modify diet/ supplements and other clinical risk factors for fracture.  Estimate patient’s ten-year probability of hip and any major osteoporosis-related fracture using the United States–adapted FRAX.  Make decisions on whom to treat and

Don’t make decisions about drugs based on one article you may have read online or on a neighbor’s story about a good or bad experience with a medication. Your body and your health needs are unique to you. Seek out the answers that will help you make informed decisions about the care you require.

Andropause” is the term for the hormone loss—primarily a drop in testosterone—that occurs in men as they age, usually beginning in their sixties.

In both men and women the adrenals produce small amounts of estrogen and testosterone. They also produce several other hormones that have a direct or indirect impact on the bones, including DHEA, androstenedione, aldosterone, and the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. When the adrenal hormones are imbalanced, especially as a result of prolonged stress, the impact on the bones can be significant. The subsections below focus on two of the most important adrenal hormones, DHEA and cortisol.

Cortisol: All of us experience stress as a normal part of daily life, and when we do our adrenal glands secrete cortisol, which has been dubbed the “stress hormone.” Cortisol, formerly known as hydrocortisone, regulates our body’s fight-or-flight response to stress, enabling us to respond and adapt to life’s daily challenges. It also reduces inflammation in the body and assists with the functioning of the immune system. An excess, long-term exposure to cortisol—brought about by prolonged stress—reduces calcium absorption in the intestines and can inhibit the bone-building cells, osteoblasts. This scenario can result in bone loss.

Imbalance of the adrenal hormones is one of the most common conditions I see in my practice. The typical cause is chronic stress, which can result in diminished adrenal function (sometimes called “adrenal exhaustion” or “adrenal fatigue”) and may include the depletion of DHEA. DHEA and cortisol levels are most reliably determined using saliva tests. It takes time to resolve adrenal depletion, which is a condition that typically brews for months, if not years. You can promote adrenal balance by attending to the basics: Learn stress-management techniques, drink plenty of water, and regulate your blood sugar levels by eating small meals throughout the day. Along with potential bone loss, some of the most common symptoms of adrenal imbalance are listed below: • allergies/ asthma • arthritis • chemical sensitivities • morning/ evening fatigue • high blood sugar • inflammation • increased abdominal fat • memory lapses • sleep disturbances • susceptibility to infections • autoimmune illness • sugar cravings • aches and pains • infertility • chronic illness • elevated triglycerides • depression or anxiety • nervousness or irritability

Generally speaking, some of the main factors to consider when evaluating the appropriateness of osteoporosis medications include:

Still, rather than automatically treating the condition with osteoporosis medications, further evaluation is needed to determine whether there is a secondary cause for the bone loss, such as hyperparathyroidism, lack of exercise, or deficiency of a nutrient such as calcium or vitamin D. Alternatively, bone loss in women may result from hormone depletion at menopause or the onset of menopause, for which treatment using bioidentical hormones can be considered. Regardless of the cause of a person’s bone loss, or even if the cause is identifiable, it may be minimized or stopped altogether using more natural means rather than osteoporosis medications.

McCormick shares his nutritional approach and other lessons he learned about bone health in his book, The Whole-Body Approach to Osteoporosis.

So why do so many believe their bone density has increased when it has not? Earlier in the book we saw how the limitations inherent in bone density testing combined with errors made by untrained care providers could lead to false perceptions of changes in bone mass. As we learned in Chapter 2, the following are just some of the factors that account for these misperceptions:  failure to use the same testing facility and same machine for all tests  poor patient positioning (e.g., incorrect hip rotation can lead to test results that are off by as much as 7 percent)  insufficient maintenance (not all testing facilities maintain their DXA machines in accordance with manufacturer guidelines)

limited education (often, testing and/ or reporting errors occur because the technicians and reporting doctors have no training in bone densitometry)

Studies have shown that a healthy, bone-supportive nutritional program and a robust exercise program can increase bone density and therefore reduce fracture risk.

deeper issues (e.g. muscle, bone, brain, organs, glands, fat, etc.), we want around 10-40J per area, so optimal treatment times and distances with the lights I recommend are: 2-7 minutes per area (if the light is 6” inches away) 5-10 minutes per area (if the light is 12” away) I do not recommend going further away than 12” if you’re treating deeper tissues. Roughly 6” inches away is ideal for delivering the most light to the deeper tissues. If you get the Joovv light, these tend to have lower power density than the Red Rush360 and Platinum lights. So for the Joovv lights, you’ll want to add roughly 20-40% more time to the above dose ranges (when using them from 6-12” away from your body) E.g. If you would use the Red Rush360 for 10 minutes (from 12” away), you may need to use the Joovv Mini for 13-15 minutes to get the same dose. For use on the brain, some people recommend much relatively higher doses (the high end of my recommended dose ranges), due to the fact that it’s harder to deliver a significant amount of light to the brain tissues since the light has to penetrate through the skull before it can reach the brain. Thus, less overall light actually makes it to brain tissue (relative to say, treating fat or muscle tissue). As a general rule, the deeper the tissue and the more it is covered by bone, the longer doses will be needed to deliver a significant amount of light to that targeted tissue.

Add to these dangers the very good chance that a pandemic could strike at any point. Humans now exist in such density that infectious diseases spread like wildfire. When we add to this the ease of global travel, a doomsday scenario is not hard to imagine.

The tradition has been to think that aging causes bone weakness (bones lose density, become more brittle), as if there was a one-way relationship possibly brought about by hormones (females start experiencing osteoporosis after menopause). It turns out, as shown by Karsenty and others who have since embarked on the line of research, that the reverse is also largely true: loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual function. We just cannot isolate any causal relationship in a complex system. Further, the story of the bones and the associated misunderstanding of interconnectedness illustrates how lack of stress (here, bones under a weight-bearing load) can cause aging, and how depriving stress-hungry antifragile systems of stressors brings a great deal of fragility which we will transport to political systems in Book II