Author(s): Jane Plant

Medical A-Z

Osteoporosis is a major public health threat to the Western World. It is estimated that 30% of post- menopausal women in industrialised countries on a western diet are osteporotic rising to 70% of those aged 80 and over. In the US today 10 million individuals have osteoporosis. 18 million more have low bone mass increasing their risk of the disease. More women in Canada die each year of osteoporotic fractures than from breast and ovarian cancer combined. The orthodox medical view of osteoporosis is that there is no single cause; that it is due to decreased bone formation in early life or to increased bone loss later in life. Some of the main risk factors are said to be calcium deficiency, vitamin D status, reproductive hormone status (especially oestrogen in women and testosterone in men), parathyroid function, lack of adequate weight-bearing exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking. Jane Plant and Gill Tidey suggest instead that new scientific information indicates that the overwhelming cause, acting throughout our life, is the western diet and lifestyle and that we can at any time reduce our risk and prevent further degeneration. They provide scientific evidence and meal plans and recipes to help those facing this debilitating condition.