If I have my calendar right, this month is the 10th anniversay of the Osteopenia3.com site. Whew! That is a long time to be doing research and 'translating' it into 'ordinary language' and putting it on a web site.

.

I have not done much with the site for the last few weeks. To be honest I am tired. BUT Spring has come to the Hudson Valley. This morning I went out and pulled weeds for about 20 minutes. I long for the physical stamina to work out there for a few hours each day. (And gardening is one of the better exercises for our bones.)

Ealy studies

I had been diagnosed with Osteopenia and was given a prescription for a drug. But it kept eroding my throat so I stopped it. My next dexa showed more bone loss. A very nice young physician told me I had to do SOMETHING and gave me a prescription for another drug. But when I got home and looked it up, I found that the possibility of kidney cancer was a reported side effect. NO WAY was I going to take that.

. So I began looking into things. A leaflet referred to a supplement from Japan, AAACA that had some studies published in scientific journals that showed it increased bone density even in the very old (persons over age 80) I wanted to know more so I searched the scientific data base about this AAACA. I was impressed.

.

And then, I am not sure how it happened, but I learned that Lane Labs in New Jersey made and sold this special form under the name of Advacal. I ordered some. Took it for a few years and yes, my dexa scans improved. That was my first inkling that there were natural things that could improve bone density.....and yes, after all these years I realize that was the beginning for all this work. .

I am not taking Advacal now - in fact I am not taking any calcium supplement. Seems my calcium levels were showing HIGH in my blood test. My physician got concerned about the state of my parathyroid and wanted to order more tests. I asked that we wait a couple months, stopped all calcium supplements, got retested and yes, the numbers were back to normal. .

I have noted that over the years Lane Labs has kept up with the latest research. They made a version with Vitamin K after that research was published. AND what I like is that they also kept the original version also so that persons taking wafarin, coumadin or other blood thinners ( who need to avoid Vitamin K) still have a choice, Next they came out with a special version for men. .

Yes, I am impressed. I do not know of any other bone building supplement that has as many double blind scientific studies showing its effectiveness.

.

There are other supplements that have some 'in house' studies - example (Algae Cal) but their reports include taking strontium as well as their calcium supplement... .and we all know that strontium increases density so we can not really tell if it is the calcium or the strontium that causes denser bones. Also Ezsorb (calcium aspartateanhydrous) gives some studies on their web site but as far as I can tell none of these have been published in scientific journals so they could be paid 'in house studies''. That does not say that these two supplements are not worthwhile - just that none of them have the acceptance by the scientific community that AAACA (Advacal) has.

Nostaliga and Disclaimer

OK...it is a bit of nostalgia that has me thinking of Advacal. No I am NOT recommedning it. As you know I do not recommend any product (Keeping the AMA off my back).

But I want to say that I am an 'affiliate' for both Advacal and AlgaeCal.....and am always grateful when anyone buying either uses the SHOPPING page on the www.osteopenia3.com web site. (Yes, I get a small per cent of sales that use the link on the site.)

Ending

Next month starts a new decade for the web site. I promise to do my best to find some sparkling new research about bone density and/or avoiding fractures. And I am slowly converting the code to CSS so the site can be made to look a bit more 'jazzy' - a tedious process. .

Thanks for reading. Be well. Be happy and do practice balance each day.

Kate