Mercola cites Robert Thompson's book The Calcium Lie, which holds that bone is made of at least a dozen minerals and that focusing only on calcium supplements may worsen bone density. Thompson recommends unprocessed salt instead, and Mercola questions drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva.
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Osteoporosis
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Drug
Do Bone Drugs Do More Harm Than Good?
Bone drugs rank among the most heavily advertised, yet they may not work and many women may not need them. NPR reported that Merck hired a firm to stoke fears of osteopenia and push Medicare-reimbursable bone scans; Fosamax's esophageal side effects surfaced only after launch.
Drug
Anti-osteoporosis drugs bisphosphonates may help reduce breast cancer risk?
A Journal of Clinical Oncology study of 4,039 postmenopausal Israeli women found those on bisphosphonates for more than a year had 28 percent lower breast cancer risk after adjustment. It was not a trial, so something else linked to the drugs could explain the difference.
Miscellaneous
FDA: Anti-Osteoporosis Bisphosphonates Linked to Leg Fracture
The FDA warned on October 13 that osteoporosis bisphosphonates including Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva and Reclast may raise the risk of atypical thigh-bone fracture, while saying it remains uncertain whether the drugs cause it. Labels and Medication Guides must now carry the risk.
Health News
Osteoporosis Drugs: Worth the Risk?
A task force review of 310 osteoporosis patients with a rare femur fracture found 94 percent had taken bisphosphonates, with a stronger link among long-term users. The group says it cannot confirm the drugs caused the fractures, which occur in under 0.1 percent of patients taking them.
Drug
Anti-osteoporosis drugs bisphosphonates boost esophageal cancer risk
A UK case-control study in the British Medical Journal found people who took oral bisphosphonates over five years, or had more than 10 prescriptions, were twice as likely to have esophageal cancer as those who took less or none. The drugs showed no link to colorectal cancer.
Drug
Osteoporosis drugs bisphosphonates linked to esophageal cancer
A UK case-control study in the BMJ found people taking oral bisphosphonates for more than five years, with 10 or more prescriptions, were twice as likely to receive an esophageal cancer diagnosis — about 2 extra cases per 1,000 over five years. Stomach and colorectal risk did not shift.
Food
Could drinking beer help cut osteoporosis risk?
Testing 100 commercial beers, University of California researchers found silicon contents of 6.4 to 56.5 mg/L, with light malts richer than dark. The study measured content, not bone outcomes, though a separate Spanish study of 1,697 women found beer drinkers had greater bone density.
Drug
New Treatment Could Cure Osteoporosis
Gerard Karsenty at Columbia tested LP533401, which blocks serotonin production in the gut, in rodents with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Six weeks of daily low doses prevented the condition in animals that did not have it and cured those that did, he reports in Nature Medicine.
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