Vacationing from Osteoporosis Drug

Here's a little of an article that I found quite interesting.

TUESDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- In a nod to the adage that you can get enough of a good thing, a new study found that most postmenopausal women who stopped taking the osteoporosis drug Fosamax after five years did not increase their risk for nonvertebral fractures over the next five years.
But they did show a moderate drop in bone-mineral density.
"There are a subset of women who can probably stop for a certain period of time," said study lead author Dennis Black, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. "These tend to be women who are at a lower risk for fractures, maybe don't have previous fractures, and their bone density is not really low."
"On the other hand, women who are at very high risk, especially for fractures of the spine, might be better off continuing on the drug," Black said.

Dieting without exercise harms bone health

Listen to this! well, in this case, read this!
Men and women who lose weight through caloric restriction, without exercise, also lose bone at the hip and spine, increasing their risk for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis and fractures, a study shows. Adding regular exercise to a calorie-restricted diet helps shield the bones from the harmful effects of dieting.
"Exercise protects against bone loss during voluntary weight loss," Dr. Dennis T. Villareal, who led the study, told Reuters Health. "Therefore, it would be important to combine calorie restriction and exercise to derive the benefits of weight loss and preserve bone."

importance of calcium

Calcium is a mineral that plays an essential role in growth, the development and maintenance of strong bones, muscle contraction and transmission of nerve impulses. Having adequate calcium during childhood and adolescence is important for developing an optimal peak bone mass by the mid 20's to early 30's.
Unnecessary to say that I am a milk lover!

calcium and diabetes

A study that tracked 80,000 women for 20 years says that calcium intake may lower the risk of diabetes. Results of the study:
Women who consumed the most calcium (more than 500 mg a day) from supplements had a 20 percent lower risk of diabetes than those who consumed the least (250 mg a day or less). Women who consumed the most vitamin D from supplements (more than 400 IU a day) had a 13 percent lower risk of diabetes than those who consumed the least (less than 100 IU a day).

calcium

its calcium people, relax....