I started doing a lot of research on this topic after my best friend, Jan, was diagnosed as having osteoporosis about 3 months ago. Jan had never been sick a day in her life and she's been concerned at the way her family members have been taking 'pills for this and pills for that'for several years now--so Jan was horrified when her physician casually told her she had a "disease called osteoporosis" and then casually wrote a prescription for Fosamax for her without even mentioning the risks and side effects of bisphosphonates to her.
I studied science in college myself, and I began doing research on Jan's behalf. Here's what I've learned:
Osteoporosis is a natural process of aging. It is NOT a disease, as it is currently defined. In fact osteoporosis was not defined as a disease until 1998. This inaccurate redefinition of osteoporosis into a 'disease' benefits one group of people only--the drug manufacturers.
Given our large population of aging baby boomers, this re-definition of osteoporosis makes it the Golden Goose diagnosis for drug companies, who spend more money marketing their drugs than they spend on researching them. Just imagine the size of the market for drugs for osteoporosis, since more than half of all aging Americans who are tested for osteoporosis will be diagnosed with it! What a windfall for the drug companies!
Have you seen Sally Fields smiling as she power walks across your TV screen with weights in her hands in her ads for Boniva? We all trust Sally Fields, right? Well, maybe we shouldn't because studies are now showing that bisphosphonates like Boniva and Fosamax actually INCREASE the likelihood of breaking a hip. Breaking a hip is the most debilitating consequence of osteoporosis as one ages.
HOWEVER, hip surgeries are among the most successful surgeries performed in the US. Does one really want to take drugs with serious side effects, starting at age 60, to prevent a 5% likelihood of a hip fracture 25 years down the road?
You would be wise to question your physician about the risks of taking bisphosphonates, AND the fact that studies are now showing that bisphosphonates don't make the bone stronger but instead make the bone more brittle. I wonder if Sally Fields knows the truth.
Sally Fields, if you're reading this then PLEASE do your research because you aren't helping people, you're placing them more at risk of getting fractures!
It's ALSO inaccurate to say that the 'Dowager's hump' is a result of osteoporosis. It IS NOT. The Dowager's Hump is a result of bad posture and movement habits. Think of Morgan Freeman, who is tall and upright in his 80s. We can all be tall and upright if we choose to--some of us just need to take Feldenkrais or Somatics classes to learn to keep our posture flexible and our movement optimal.
And it is ALSO inaccurate to say that we lose height as we age "because" of osteoporosis. That's flat out wrong. We lose height as we age because we all have an S-shaped curve in our backs and because our ligaments and muscles tend to shorten as we age. An S-shaped curve is collapsible; that's how we lose height. Gravity pulls us down. Osteoporosis may be present as we age but it is NOT the cause of kyphosis, the Dowager's hump in the upper-shoulder/neck region that you often see in the elderly. Hey, you see kyphosis in computer geeks too. You see kyphosis all the time, in those who habitually slump forward at the computer.
There's no doubt in my mind that bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis will ultimately be removed from the market because of the harm that they cause to the body. But physicians will keep on prescribing bisphosphonates until this happens.
Saving 
