Today's newsletter has another update about strontium AND some news about studies of natural Osteopenia Treatments by the NIH (National Institutes of Health USA).

1. Strontium - A reader emailed that a California company has a pharmaceutical form of strontium before the FDA.(Thanks, Richard) I know that some of you prefer drugs to natural treatments. If you want more information about this product, just type: STRONTIUM MALONATE in the Search box on the web site.

strontium - Note #2. The last time I was getting a prescription filled for doxycycline, I noticed that the pharmacist drug interaction paper said that strontium should not be used when taking doxycylcine.

I was glad I noticed it! And it served as a good reminder that any of us taking ANY supplements (even calcium) should be sure that our health care providers knows ...or our pharmacists knows...or that we really read those papers that most pharmacies provide when you get a prescription filled.

2. When trolling the Clinical Trials section of the web site I clicked on the link to the ClinicalTrials.gov, It keeps tabs on clinical trials around the world in ALL areas of health care. It lists some trials that are recruiting participants about bone loss, increasing bone mass etc.

What I found interesting: Some of the trials are for natural substances and not drugs.

One caught my attention. It is about Olive Oil. (As I think about it, I has been using Olive leaf extract for other conditions (there are 3 or 4 pages about Olive leaf on the web site). Having read about this trial, I am wondering if my use of olive leaf might have had a positive effect on my bones.

The clinical study is based on recent information that inflammation may be another cause of bone loss. Olive is an anti-inflammatory and so....

Here is the study's introduction. I suggest that you read it and then decide if this might be a dietary change you would try....even before the study results are published. After all there are so many studies about the beneficial effects of Olive oil, olive leaf etc.

INTRODUCTION: "Apart from estrogen deficiency, the early postmenopausal period is also characterized by an increasing inflammatory and oxidant status, which further contributes to the development of osteoporosis/osteopenia. The link between systemic inflammation and osteoporosis has only been established recently as it was found that higher circulating hsCRP levels are associated with lower bone mineral density in both healthy pre-and postmenopausal women.

Furthermore, it was already known for a long time that one of the most important cytokines implicated in the pathogenesis of various metabolic bone diseases, including postmenopausal osteoporosis, is interleukin (IL)-6, which is produced by osteoblasts, monocytes and T-cells.

Olive oil is the principle fat source of the traditional Mediterranean diet, a diet that has been associated with a low incidence of some diseases, including coronary heart disease and osteoporosis. In addition to the main ingredient (ie. oleic acid) extra virgin olive oil also contains phenolic compounds, such as oleuropein- and ligstroside-aglycones and their derivatives. They are formed in olives by enzymatic removal of glucose from the polar parent compound oleuropein-glycoside. A Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil supplies 10 - 20 mg of phenols per day.

The main metabolic attribute of oleuropein is that it exerts both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity by lowering the levels of proinflammatory cytokines like IL-1, IL-6 or TNF-alpha. By inhibiting osteoclast activity, this may result in lowering the rate of bone resorption and, at least in part, protect against osteoporosis development."

The introduction continues with more information. Oh, and they are LOOKING FOR PARTICIPANTS. If you want to read more about this, go to the web site, click on Clinical Trials [it is in the navigation bar] scroll down to the gov site and then run through their list looking for trials LABELED IN GREEN...as RECRUITING.

Final note. I continue to hear from women and men who are reversing their bone loss...And what is fascinating is that different people have success using different strategies. So maybe it is true that the key is to find what has caused your own bone loss and then do things that address that aspect of your life.

The one thing that seems to be true of everyone who has written so far is that they do several different things. And before you ask, No, I will not share '"exactly what they did" because I would consider that a breach of confidence. Those who give permission to have their strategies published are on the Testimonials page.

My hope and dream is that in the next few years, ALL of you will be writing to say, "I did it too!". Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all eliminate Osteoporosis and Osteopenia from our lives? The money saved in drugs and hospitalizations alone!

Such things can only be done one person at a time.

Oh, I hope you are telling those younger than you, to read about the life style changes that could save their bones...and make it possible to build even stronger ones now.

Enjoy April,

Kate