Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

A day doesn’t go by that I don’t see Valerie Bertinelli or Sally Fields on TV advertising Boniva® or some other treatment for osteoporosis. This condition is a major health problem in older people, especially women, who often sustain fractures as a result of falls. There are over 1.5 million fractures a year attributed to osteoporosis in the US each year.¹

Normally, the bony skeleton is maintained by continual renewal called remodeling, removing old bone and replacing it with new bone.¹ The entire skeleton is replaced every seven years. To do this, our cells require calcium, and to absorb calcium from our diet, we also require vitamin D, which our bodies can manufacture in the skin, with exposure to sunlight.

In osteoporosis which means “porous bone,” bones are peppered with millions of microscopic holes, or pores, the result of continual bone resorption over time. (Resorption is the process in which bone is broken down and calcium is released into the blood.) The normal balance between bone resorption and new bone creation is lost, with bone loss overwhelming the formation of new bone.¹ This results in a net loss of bone volume and strength and bones that are brittle.

The bone that remains is normal bone; there’s just less of it. Think of Swiss cheese: the cheese itself is normal, but it’s shot throughout with lots of holes. Really advanced osteoporosis would be analogous to lacy Swiss cheese.

In my book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, I list chocolate as one of the best foods on earth.
Chocolate is also one of the seven foods that make up what researchers writing in the British Medical Journal1 called the “Polymeal,” a kind of super meal that, if eaten daily or even a few times [...]

Did you see this worrisome headline? “Older Women Who Take Calcium Supplements to Maintain Bone Strength May have an Increased Risk of Heart Attack.”1 When we all thought calcium supplements were relatively safe, we now find out that high dosages of calcium supplements may adversely influence vascular health.

Some people know that magnesium contributes to bone strength, but are surprised to learn that adequate levels can prevent serious medical conditions.

Weight training is an enormously beneficial activity for men and women alike. It burns fat, protects against osteoporosis, improves posture, prevents age-related loss of muscle, and helps maintain healthy blood sugar control. Unfortunately, many women are scared away from this extremely beneficial activity due to a number of highly misleading myths.

Ladies, today I’m going to blow these myths out of the water so you can go ahead and start lifting your way to a leaner, firmer, healthier, and sexier body!