Firework time here again............

[Ruby Red]

........so I'm off tomorrow for a whole week to the countryside to escape from it as much as we can anyway. I still have a pile of packing to do and I am feeling really ill, typical eh? Waited so long for this holiday and now I have like a heavy cold - head swimming, body aches - even my teeth and gums ache - never had that before, one minute hot and then cold, nose dripping, coughing, throat sore.....I do feel sorry for myself, what a way to start a holiday.

Anyway, I will take lots of pictures and post them when I get back.

I wish you all a safe and Happy Halloween.

[Erin251]

oh i hope you feel better, i would hate to be sick for the whole trip.

[Doreen]

awwwwww,so sorry to hear you are so sick when you are trying to get ready for a vacation! Hope you can clear up before you go, but that doesn't sound like it's going to disappear that fast.... hope you get better very quickly!!!

[Spyglass Sally]

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. It's the cold and flu time of year for many. In the interest of helping prevent them, I post the info below from Dr. Mercola's site. Be well!

In the largest study yet of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma. Vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds for decades, but little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, evidence has accumulated that vitamin D plays a key role in the immune system.

The wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, has been implicated in the seasonal increase in colds and flu, and previous small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections.
The newest study analyzed blood levels of vitamin D from almost 19,000 adult and adolescents, selected to be representative of the overall U.S. population.

Sources:

Archives of Internal Medicine 2009; 169 (4): 384-390

Life Extension Magazine February 25, 2009

Scientific American February 23, 2009

[Doreen]

Originally Posted by Spyglass Sally

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. It's the cold and flu time of year for many. In the interest of helping prevent them, I post the info below from Dr. Mercola's site. Be well!

In the largest study yet of the association between vitamin D and respiratory infections, people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu. The risks were even higher for those with chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma. Vitamin C has been used for the prevention of colds for decades, but little scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. In contrast, evidence has accumulated that vitamin D plays a key role in the immune system.

The wintertime deficiency of vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight, has been implicated in the seasonal increase in colds and flu, and previous small studies have suggested an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and a higher risk of respiratory infections.
The newest study analyzed blood levels of vitamin D from almost 19,000 adult and adolescents, selected to be representative of the overall U.S. population.

Sources:

Archives of Internal Medicine 2009; 169 (4): 384-390

Life Extension Magazine February 25, 2009

Scientific American February 23, 2009

My dr. had run bloodwork on me a couple months ago and said my Vitamin D count was too low, so wanted me on 5000 units a day. I had to do some math to fit it in right with my multi vitamin.

[Marylou Mader]

Originally Posted by Doreen

My dr. had run bloodwork on me a couple months ago and said my Vitamin D count was too low, so wanted me on 5000 units a day. I had to do some math to fit it in right with my multi vitamin.

Interesting Doreen, I too had a low Vit D count, I'm so cynical of Dr's and the drug companies, you know that all plays into the Osteoporosis theory. So let's start with Vit D and then lets do a bone density and then lets spend more on the Boniva or what ever new drug is on the market.

I have never seen a Vit D report until this past one on my blood work-up And I did have a bone density test prior to this. It was normal.

I'm sure it won't hurt, but be aware that Vit D can become over loaded in your system...

[Doreen]

Originally Posted by Marylou Mader

Interesting Doreen, I too had a low Vit D count, I'm so cynical of Dr's and the drug companies, you know that all plays into the Osteoporosis theory. So let's start with Vit D and then lets do a bone density and then lets spend more on the Boniva or what ever new drug is on the market.

I have never seen a Vit D report until this past one on my blood work-up And I did have a bone density test prior to this. It was normal.

I'm sure it won't hurt, but be aware that Vit D can become over loaded in your system...

I haven't gone as high as she wanted me to go.... I know it seems to be the new thing every one is being told with the low vitamin D. I had a bone density test last year, only because my mom had severe osteoporosis and actually fractured her spine without doing anything but sit to fracture it. So I want to keep up on my bones!

[Spyglass Sally]

Bisphosphonates (bone drugs) work in two ways. One, by killing osteoclasts which are responsible for breaking down old bone. Osteoblasts continue to build bones so you have the illusion of better bone density on the tests. I say illusion because they are not healthier bones, just denser because the natural breakdown and remodeling of bones is not happening.

Two, they glue calcium onto bone in abnormal ways, which also provides the appearance of greater bone density. On Dual energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) the bones appear to be more dense, but in fact the bisphosphonate-treated bone is actually swollen, chaotically disorganized, and weaker than healthy bone.

Among others, two recent studies from the Special Surgery (HHS) and Columbia University Medical Center have confirmed that after four years of use bisphosphonates had a negative effect on bones causing declining structural integrity of bone. ABC recently did an expose on this. Doctors expect you to be on these drugs for life, but the research shows the longer you are on them, the more detrimental to your health they are.

In addition to doing damage to your bone structure, they increase your risk for esophageal cancer by 30%; cause rotting jaw bones; and many other issues. As if that all isn't enough, the January 2008 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded "Although good evidence suggests that many agents are effective in preventing osteoporotic fractures, the data are insufficient to determine the relative efficacy or safety of these agents." (Emphasis mine)

If you're concerned about osteoporosis, I would recommend reading this short article (below the news piece about bisphosphonates causing leg fractures) where Dr. Mercola outlines A Safer Road to Bone Health … 10 Steps.

We have an epidemic of low vitamin D levels (vital for bone health, and general immune support) because people don't get enough sunlight. When they do go out, they often cover with sunblock, preventing vit d production.As far as toxicity worries go - a bit over rated. Read this for the science, not the myths.

Gee Stephanie, bet you didn't know your post would start all this! Hope you're feeling better.

[Doreen]

I couldn't read the short article because some pop up ad comes up and can't get rid of it or see through it.... I hate when they do that. There is no X to click on to get past it.

[Spyglass Sally]

Originally Posted by Doreen

I couldn't read the short article because some pop up ad comes up and can't get rid of it or see through it.... I hate when they do that. There is no X to click on to get past it.

Here ya go, but I have to put it in two posts:

Annual sales of osteoporosis drugs have about doubled to $8.3 billion since 2003, which is a solid indicator that many people are being kept in the dark about their serious risks.
I have been warning about these dangerous drugs for over a decade and finally enough time has lapsed to produce the damage that I said they would if they were used long enough. Osteoporosis is NOT due to a drug deficiency and taking a drug for this will only worsen, not improve, the condition.
One simply needs to treat the CAUSE of the disease and not the symptoms. The irony is that with Fosamax you aren’t even treating the symptoms. You are just fooling your body to produce a denser bone that is actually weaker. It does this because Fosamax is a poison that kills the cells in your bone that help your body repair and replace the bone.

Are Osteoporosis Drugs Leading to Broken Bones?

Fosamax is prescribed primarily to women with osteoporosis in order to make bones stronger and prevent broken bones from the disease. Recently the drugs have also been increasingly prescribed to women with osteopenia, a natural thinning of the bones as you get older, even though no conclusive benefit has been found.
Over the last couple of years, orthopedists have noticed that more women taking these drugs are suffering from serious fractures in their thigh bones -- an ordinarily rare occurrence. There are reports of the bone “snapping like a twig,” even during normal daily activities, which is again very rare as your femur (thigh bone) is one of the strongest bones in your body!
This prompted researchers to look into the matter, although their findings came back inconclusive. In the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers wrote:

“There was no significant increase in risk associated with bisphosphonate use, but the study was underpowered for definitive conclusions.”

In other words, the occurrence of thighbones’ snapping is rare, and it didn’t happen often enough during the study to really know one way or the other whether the drugs played a role.
However, that did not stop Dennis M. Black, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco and the lead author of the study, from telling the New York Times:

“There are risks we know about and risks we don’t know about with all drugs. I think people would be naïve to assume there is no risk.”

Well said. And in the case of osteoporosis drugs, those risks have been well established.

Fosamax Linked to Serious Bone Problems

Fosamax, again a drug used to strengthen bones, is associated with so many detrimental bone side effects it boggles the mind.
Ironic is an understatement.
Even reports of thigh fractures are not new. ABC News recently reported that the Food and Drug Administration asked Merck (the maker of Fosamax) to “add information about the report of femur fractures” to the medications’ package insert back in 2008!
More than a year later, they finally did.
Not surprisingly, Merck also tried to hide the fact that Fosamax is causing jawbone death, a disease now known to oral surgeons as Bisphosphate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (BRONJ) or “Fossy Jaw” -- a nasty side effect of Fosamax and related drugs that essentially causes your jawbone to rot and decay.
Bisphosphate drugs have also been associated with:

• Serious eye inflammation and possible blindness
• Liver damage
• Atrial fibrillation
• Increased risk of ulcers
• Esophageal cancer
• Renal failure
• Skin reactions
• Hypocalcemia (blood calcium levels are too low)