by Wendy on March 10, 2010
Add broken bones to the list of possible side effects of the popular Osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, which millions of women take to prevent bone fractures and bone loss associated with menopause. There have already been warnings that bisphosphonate drugs, including Actonel, Reclast and Boniva, can cause severe musculoskeletal pain and a serious bone-related jaw disease called osteonecrosis. There were even concerns in 2008 about related heart problems.
ABC News reported earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been aware of reports of spontaneous fractures, but did not inform the public or doctors who prescribe bisphosphonates of the possible side effect. An FDA spokesman explained to ABC News that they didn’t think it was necessary at this time. However, today, the FDA announced that it will indeed investigate the possibility of a link between long-term use of osteoporosis drugs and thigh bone fractures though, “at this point, the data that FDA has reviewed have not shown a clear connection between bisphosphonate use and a risk of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures,” the statement said.
Bisphosphonates are vital for women who are at high risk for Osteoporosis. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, half of all women over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis and more than 20 percent who break a hip die within one year. “For most people taking bisphosphonate medicines, the benefits outweigh the risks of these unusual but serious conditions that appear to be associated with them,” the NOF said in a written statement on their website. “These medicines play an important role in stopping bone loss and preventing broken bones.”
Though bisphosphonates are commonly prescribed — some argue that they are overprescribed for women with marginal bone loss, or osteopinia-- you should carefully consider the need for taking osteoporosis medicine if your doctor thinks you’re a good candidate for drug therapy. If you’ve had the bone mineral density test, obtain a copy of the report and go to this website for an explanation that will help you understand what the results mean. Then review the findings with your doctor and ask questions.
by Wendy on March 8, 2010
If your physician has told you that your cholesterol level is high, chances are you’ve left her office with a prescription in hand for a statin drug like Lipitor or Crestor to get it under control. However, if you had consulted Dr. John La Puma, you might have received some recipes instead. Dr. La Puma is a board-certified internal medicine specialist who happens to be a professionally trained chef (or a chef who happens to be a doctor). It’s his interest and expertise in the intersection of food and medicine that makes his book, Chef MD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine such a valuable resource when you want to know what you should eat when you have a condition like arthritis, allergies or even a common cold. Here is a list of foods that Dr. La Puma “prescribes” for maintaining a healthy cholesterol level.
- Black Tea
- Dark chocolate
- Yogurt
- Cinnamon
- Ground flaxseed
- Rice bran and oat bran
- Barley
- Avocado
- Macadamia nuts
- Hazelnuts
- Sunflower oil and canola oil
- Egg whites
Because of the correlation between declining estrogen and rising cholesterol levels, it’s not unusual for women in their forties and fifties to experience rising cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease later in life. If you haven’t hit the danger zone yet and you want to reverse this trend, diet and exercise could help. Of course, if your physician has recommended prescription drug therapy, it would be wise to add exercise and a diet rich in these foods to your regimen. It could reduce the amount of of time you need to taking a statin drug.
by Wendy on March 1, 2010
Recent research on aging suggests that by controlling certain factors in our lives, living to the ripe old age of 100 is not too far fetched. In fact, Danish experts predict that most babies born in rich countries this century will eventually be centenarians. This chart below suggests 11 factors that could influence your own longevity, including be outgoing, floss more, and my favorite, take more holidays. Of course, all this is debatable, but there is compelling research showing the impact that certain lifestyle and environmental changes can have on your health now and in the future.
To find out where you stand on the longevity scale, check out this life expectancy calculator, which was created by the director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of centenarians and their families in the world. According to their website, the calculator “uses current and carefully researched medical and scientific data in order to estimate how old you will live to be.” There are 40 questions related to personal, lifestyle, nutrition and medical history and it should take about ten minutes to complete. Once you’ve received your “score,” you’ll be provided with advice on areas where you could improve and thus add months and perhaps years to your life. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on February 15, 2010
Thanks to Oprah, Suzanne Sommers, Dr. Christiane Northrup and many physician-authors before them (like Dr. John Lee), mid-life women now are far more knowledgeable about hormone therapy options that can help alleviate the most life-disrupting symptoms of menopause. What they (and their doctors) might not know so much about are the many kinds of tests that can be used to determine the best combination and doses of HRT products and supplements for optimal hormone balancing. To shed some light on this, I contacted Genova Diagnostics, and asked its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Hanaway, to describe the different tests that a woman, complaining of menopausal symptoms, should request from their physician. (All lab tests require an ordering physician and cannot be obtained directly by consumers.) [click to continue...]
by Wendy on February 11, 2010
As we approach Valentine’s Day, it seems like an appropriate time to talk about sex, or more specifically a woman’s (diminishing) sex drive as she ages. According to Genie James, M. M.Sc., author of the new book, In the Mood Again: Use the Power of Healthy Hormones to Reboot Your Sex Life – at Any Age, this lack of desire, or loss of pleasure is caused not by too much stress, fatigue, or embarassment over drooping body parts, as some experts would have you believe. The reason your sex life is in the toilet (as she puts it) is due to a shift in our bodies’ hormones – which begins as early as our 30s (and continues to go south for the next three decades). She wrote this book, she says, to tell everyone how to safely and naturally turn back your sexual clock. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on February 8, 2010
If you have 90 minutes that you can devote to yourself every Saturday for the next four weeks, tune in to Hay House Radio’s “I Can Do It!” conference series featuring some of the leading experts in personal development, mind-body medicine and spirituality including; Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup and Marianne Williamson.
Two 90-minute sessions are scheduled each Saturday on the Hay House Radio website; the first begins at 9 am (pacific time); the second at 11am. This Saturday’s program will begin with Wayne Dyer, Ph.D., on Changing Lifelong Thinking Habits; followed by Dr. Christiane Northrup, whose topic is Creating a Life of Unbridled Joy.
The cost to tune into all eight programs is only $20, a fraction of what you would have paid to attend the San Diego “I Can Do It” conference where these sessions were originally recorded. When you register for the first lesson, you are automatically enrolled in the rest of the series. So it pays to register early. To see the complete event descriptions, and log-on information, visit the Hay House Radio website.
by Wendy on January 29, 2010
Do you know that you don’t have to be overweight to have too much body fat? You can weigh in at what you think is your ideal range and normal body size, but still be considered obese and thus, at risk for future heart problems. This phenomenon of “normal weight obesity” is the focus of a report by the Mayo Clinic, whose authors estimate that as many as 30 million Americans fall into this category. An informative feature story about this appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s HeartBeat Column this week.
Apparently, what’s most critical in evaluating whether you’re really fit or just acceptable is not your BMI score, the traditional measure for obesity, but how much body fat you’re carrying around. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on January 26, 2010
January is a time for setting new goals…and crowded gyms. It happens every year. Resolved to get fit and healthy, new members (or those who have been MIA) fill up group classes and the wait for using the cardio equipment becomes too long for my schedule. So, I’ve learned to be patient because I know that in just one month, most of them will be gone and I can return to my own, stress-free pace. Until then, I hit the outdoors for long walks and do Pilates floor exercises at home. It’s always a fresh reminder that there’s really no excuse for not exercising.
For one thing, there’s so much available on the web to help us plan our workouts and monitor how we’re doing. Here are just a few examples. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on January 18, 2010
If you’re concerned about losing bone strength during the menopause transition, you’ve probably been advised by your physician to increase your intake of dairy foods and/or take a daily calcium supplement of at least 1000 mg every day to help prevent bone loss. But you’ll be surprised to learn that Calcium may not be the answer at all.
In their book, Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Diet Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis–Without Dairy Foods, Calcium, Estrogen, or Drugs, authors Michael Castleman, and Amy Lanou, Ph.D., a senior nutrition scientist for the Physician’s Committee on Responsible Medicine, argue that the highest incidence of hip fractures have actually occurred in countries where dairy consumption was the highest. Moreover, the science doesn’t support dairy’s usefulness in reducing the risk of fractures. They point out that of the 86 studies that have examined the connection between calcium supplementation and bone health, two-thirds showed no impact on bone health above 500 mg. So if fortifying our bodies with added Calcium is old, conventional thinking, what is the new answer when it comes to preserving bone vitality as we age? [click to continue...]
by Wendy on January 13, 2010
I found these beautiful fans in a small, Barcelona shop last month and just couldn’t resist buying one. There was a time when I considered a fan a mere tool for alleviating menopausal hot flashes. Now, I see it as a feminine, fashion accessory that I can whip out on hot days or during a particularly claustrophobic plane trip. Who has to know why you’re fanning anyway? If you have a fan that’s as pretty as these are, you’ll likely be asked where – not why – you bought it.
