Description
Author Dr. Lani Simpson, both a Doctor of Chiropractic and a Certified Clinical Densitometrist cuts through the confusion and inaccuracies surrounding osteoporosis to explain her whole-body approach to bone health, which includes discussions of digestive health, diet, supplements, and exercise. You may be surprised to learn which foods and medicines hurt bone health and which ones help in building strong bones.
The book also sheds light on basic bone biology, how aging affects the bones, the risks and benefits of drugs and alternative treatments, a comprehensive breakdown of calcium supplementation – and some delicious recipes for bone-building meals.
We all share concerns about bone health and osteoporosis. Whether you are one of the nearly 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, or a younger person building a healthy body, Dr. Lani’s No-Nonsense Bone Health Guide will answer your questions and help you live long, healthy, and fracture-free into your golden years.
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Amazon Customer –
Being recently diagnosed with early and severe osteoporosis I was looking for information on this condition that was recent and clear for the average reader and could also offer a sense of direction. Lani’s book was that and more. She explains the possible causes of osteoporosis, and presents impartial and in depth medications, side effects, diet and lifestyle suggestions to cope with this diagnosis. I found this book to be very enlightening and practical at the same time. It gave me direction and helped with a difficult decision making process regarding treatment options. I highly recommend this health guide for both men and women.
Vazta –
Let’s you know all the facts positively and negatively for your choice in bone health. Information very useful. I Found out more about my bones and how they function and options on how to take care of them. There is not just one way but several options to choose from. Just got to find the one that works best for you. Or like me I chose multiple options to work together for a goal of the best outcome. I found every day doctors just don’t tell you everything you need to know and this book was so much more detailed and a great wealth of information. Thank you Dr Lani for writing this book. Has help me lots.
adele mary king –
I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and wanted to research the pros and cons of taking the medications offered to me. I found this book very informative and extremely helpful in making my decision not to take prescribed medication and treat this in a more holistic way, it also enable me to question my Z score rather than my T score which showed I have osteopenia rather than osteoporosis and medication is not recommended at this stage, so I now take a high dose of calcium and vitamin D 3, and continue to exercise and eat healthily. I feel all women who go into menopause who don’t take HRT should be aware of bone loss caused by the lack of estrogen and need to take a supplement to keep their bones healthy.
Dottie Parish –
This is an outstanding book on the health of our bones and on understanding and treating osteoporosis. Dr. Simpson is a chiropractor who has been trained to read dexa-scans and understand these tests. She works closely with a medical doctor. Her research and experience with patients is detailed in the book and is thorough and convincing. She experienced bone loss herself and tells her own story. Dr. Simpson says that many of the medications given to promote bone growth actually cause harm. (I have had difficulty with these same medications so was glad for the validation of this.) She also says that often dexa-scans are not accurate and gives help in how to assure you receive valid tests. I was most surprised by Dr. Lani’s connecting the health of the digestive system of the patient and the health of the bones. When the digestion is off the body does not absorb the needed nutrients especially calcium and magnesium. (I’ve had digestive problems and never connected this with bone loss.) Instead of giving separate medications or treatment for the bones and the digestion she believes it’s essential to treat the body as a whole and understand what will help it heal. She offers a realistic plan for eating right, taking some supplements and exercising to correct the digestive issues and build stronger bones or at least stop the bone loss from progressing. This is a great reference book with much information here including pictures and diagrams. I highly recommend this book.
Clifford Boucher –
Excellent
Edwina –
After reading so much literature in the form of books and articles over the past few years on the topic of osteoporosis I finally have a book that really explains everything so clearly! Every page is a gem of information on how to live with this difficult “disease”. Dr Lani explains the ins and outs of osteoporosis drugs, all different kinds of alternative therapies we can consider, the array of vitamins and minerals we need to take to build stronger bones and in the form and amount that we need them, the important role that digestion plays, and much much more. I am 72 and have severe osteoporosis and this book is a game changer for me because I can see where the supplements I’ve been taking can be improved and there are evidently alternative therapies that I didn’t know about that can make a difference in my bone health. I’m far from done reading it and I’m sure there will be other caveats that will be essential to know as well. Thank you Dr Lani, for writing this totally life changing book!
Mara Murguia –
This book is full of great information and easy to read, compere to others, talks about all the things you need to do to improve your health and gives advice in the case of medication is a good thing for you, so you have a better idea of what to do.
Amazon Customer –
Good read
Burnt –
Great book to further knowledge with straightforward advice
chris –
Very well written and factual. Easy to read even though it contains a lot of detailed information. Takes away the fear of an osteoporosis diagnosis!
Tess –
Excellent, comprehensive study of bone health: causes, treatments. She doesn’t go overboard into food. So if you’re looking for calcium charts, go online, as there are plenty of them out there. She went into some detail regarding ph imbalance and gut health, which I was not aware of, so I have branched out looking at that as perhaps a cause of my osteoporosis. I am grateful for that, as after testing myself, I found I am acidic and will now add treatment to my regimen. This is a good reference book. A keeper.
Gardebman –
Most of this book is excellent, but some of the sections like on dietary advice is so short as to be incomplete or misleading.
The diet section should have been the first and longest chapter because of its importance.
RED MEAT The Author recommends that the consumption of this protein be reduced. The reason may be in how most people eat red meat. They are overcooking it and really eating brown meat because of bacterial contamination/ food poisoning concerns. When meat is over cooked it is changed from its hydroscopic raw form that will absorb the water based digestive enzymes /HCl acid into a hydrophobic water repelling state that is dramatically less permeable to the stomach’s digestive fluids/HCL. As a result well done meat is very hard to digest and rare meat is much easier to digest. When well done red meat is eaten the body will secrete what HCL it can which is insufficient to digest the meat. This ties up the HCL so it is not able to be available for combining with minerals in vegetables.The minerals in vegetables must be combined with HCl to be absorbed. Many people start to lose the ability to make sufficient HCL after the age of 50 which is why bone loss picks up after this age. More discussion of HCL supplementation is needed. Most brands of HCL cause burning of the stomach or esophagus due to their additional ingredients. I know of only two brands of HCL that are easy on the stomach.
Cuts of meat that can be seared on both sides to kill the bacteria from handling the meat are bacteria safe if cooked rare or medium rare. Rare meat is still cool in the center and is an acquired taste. Food poisoning can be countered by a glass of water with two tablespoons of natural vinegar or a shot of alcohol in a glass of water. Dumpster diving winos do not get food poisoning.
DAIRY PROTEINS Dr lani suggests reducing dairy intake. Commercial dairy is full of antibiotics that kill the intestinal flora that are needed for normal absorption of the trace minerals from the intestinal tract. Organic dairy products do not pose this problem.
VEGETABLE BASED PROTEIN An increased intake will result in much more magnesium and trace minerals in the diet and as research quoted on page 231 result in less fractures. But you can also get more of these minerals from supplements.
One downside to vegetable proteins is the high content of phytates that bind all minerals in the intestines and dramatically reduce absorption.
Second downside is the high content of lectins in nuts, seeds and beans that can damage the intestinal lining and cause mal-absorption syndrome.
Third is that most nuts and seeds need to be made into a nut milk to have a sufficient surface area to be worked on by the digestive enzymes. Most people will not chew a mouthful the 20-30 times that is required to make half of the nuts and seeds particles of a small enough size. Buying nut and seed butters are several months to a year old which increases ones intake of oils that have started to go rancid.
Fourth Nuts and seeds may need less HCl acid to be digested but they need more pancreatic enzymes to be digested. Hemp seeds are one of the only seeds that are easy to digest and have a enough of the essential amino acids like animal proteins do. They are a positive addition to the diet as a source of protein. Ther only other complete vegetarian proteins are the algaes like spirulina and chlorella. The lower the cost of the algea the more likely it is to be contaminated with heavy metals.
Counting grams of protein you eat can be deceiving. You need to monitor blood protein levels at the very least if you go vegetarian. Most people of northern European lineage will have muscle wasting on a diet relying on raw nut, seeds and beans for their protein intake. Soy foods have been so heat damaged that the heat sensitive amino acids have been completely destroyed. Yes raw soybeans are a complete protein but not after they have been cooked for more than a half hour. You get more complete protein from a green salad than from soy foods. I am not saying that no one can stay in protein balance on a vegetarian diet just that most people can not. If you go vegetable protein you need to be working with a practitioner who will do blood testing to make sure you are not only eating enough protein but digesting and absorbing enough.
Dr Lani does not discuss the best ways of supplementing with trace minerals. Her suggestions about magnesium is partially correct. MAGNESIUM glycinate is a great form as is magnesium malate, theonate and chloride. Magnesium citrate is usually magnesiumr carbonate with some citric acid added. It is low quality and often contaminated with lead. Magnesium oxide is very alkaline and can alkalize the intestinal tract reducing the uptake of all minerals. I would not take a multi with more than 25 mg magnesium oxide if I had bone loss. Best to take none of this super cheap form. It acts as a flow agent and tableting agent so all the companies love to use it even the health food ones.
PH BALANCE Its actually not an acidic pH that is the most dangerous for bone health as claimed by Dr Lani but an alkaline pH. Calcium needs a balanced pH to remain in solution as it performs all the essential functions in the body. If the body becomes too alkaline it will come out of solution and be deposited in the joints, soft tissues and other parts of the body. Urine pH testing by itself is not valid. One must also test the respiration rate and breath hold time as well as other tests. The body regulates blood pH by speeding up respiration rate to blow off / expell excess acids or slows it down to conserve acids. Ever see someone breath into a paper bag to cure the hiccups when you were a child? Doing so temporarily corrects an alkaline pH of the blood.
No comprehensive plan for toxic metal elimination. Lead and aluminum are major weakeners of bone. We can avoid about 80% of our aluminum exposure. A list of all sources of dietary and cosmetic exposure to aluminum is mandatory for osteoporosis.
My book ASTHMA RELIEF NATURALLY discusses many of these issues at greater length. Its focus is on reducing inflammation which is also an important factor in bone loss.
OSTEOPOROSIS is comprehensively covered by this book and I would have to rate it a 4 star for people who have been diagnosed with this condition. However for people in the 40-50 who have thinning of the bones and normal health yet want to stop their bone loss it just isn’t as helpful. It is for this audience I thought the book was written , After all it does say bone health not Osteoporosis on the front cover.. If you have just a decrease in bone density it can be easily stopped by improving the diet and nutrition in the experience of many practitioners. This book has not prioritized what to do first so it is not a great self help book. So I plan to write a booklet for the prevention of bone ill health.