What Doctors Don't Tell YouIt is generally assumed that low bone density indicates fracture risk. However, dense bones may not necessarily be sufficient to prevent hip fractures if there are other risk factors. A 1995 study of 65 year old women by Dr Steven R Cummings of the University of California at San Francisco (Am J Epidem, 1997; 145: 926-34), found a number of risk factors more significant than thin bones. They included:
Taking tranquillisers and sleeping pillsSmoking
Having vision problems such as poor depth perception
A past history of having an overactive thyroid gland
Being tall
Being unable to get out of a chair without holding onto the arms
Having a high pulse rate
Women who had five or more of these risk factors regardless of bone density! had a 10 per cent chance of breaking a hip in the next five years, while those with two or fewer risk factors only had a 1 per cent chance of doing so. In a 1996 panel discussion by the National Women’s Health Network, one finding was that low bone density is not a good predictor of bone fractures; better predictors are advanced age accompanied by poor muscle strength, the use of regular medications. The benzodiazepine drugs, in fact, have been found to increase the risk of hip fracture by 70 per cent, according to a Canadian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1989 (New York Times, April 12, 1996).
Other significant dietary risk factors that have received insufficient attention:
Eating a high proportion of animal protein together with flour products and sweets
Eating a high proportion of nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers)
Not eating enough vegetables
Not including enough good quality fats in the diet
Not including enough protein in the diet
Maryon Stewart
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD