Bone Mineral Density Testing And Bone Scan Results
Furthermore, reference groups that set the “norm” change from institution to institution. The most insightful DEXA results come from comparison to a reference group of people of the same race, age, region, and gender as yourself.
Several studies in Canada, Turkey, and the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey here in the US compared BMD samples from a diverse but local population with those supplied by DEXA’s manufacturers. The results showed that the percentage of women who would be called osteoporotic by the manufacturer’s standards dropped 20% under the customized standards.
The worrisome thing about these discrepancies in bone density test results is that women are changing their behavior dramatically when they think they’re abnormal. When a test indicates low bone density, they feel frightened and immensely fragile. Often women stop lifting and exercising for fear of getting a fracture — when that’s just what they need to be doing to support bone health! They also may start a course of preventive — and speculative — osteoporosis drugs that may continue for the rest of their lives.
So look at your bone density test with a healthy dose of skepticism. For a bone density test to truly be useful, you would need to know your own baseline bone density at age 25–30 and compare it 30 years later to a reading from the same machine.
But even if your bone density is measured under ideal conditions, it’s important to understand that bone density is not the same as bone strength.
Is bone density really the problem?
Low bone density alone does not cause fractures, nor does high bone density guarantee that your bones are healthy. In fact, bone density provides only a sliver of information about your overall risk of fracture.
Bone is strong because of its capacity for self-repair. Your body is constantly breaking down old bone and replacing it with stronger, new bone. This process results in bone that is sufficiently dense and flexible to withstand the forces of everyday activities.
Some bone loss is normal as we age. Accelerated bone loss is a concern, but so is dense, old bone that may be quite brittle. The key to strong bones is to support a healthy, balanced bone metabolism. At our practice, we always look at bone density test results in the context of what the patient is doing to reduce the de-mineralizing demands on bone and increase the support that helps build new bone. Here’s what we recommend:
- Optimize your nutrition. A calcium supplement is not enough. There are 20 essential bone-building nutrients that women need. A healthy diet will supply some of the nutrition you need, and medical-grade nutritional supplements can fill any gaps.
- Alkalize your diet. Some foods create acid in the body which must be buffered by the alkalizing compounds contained in bone. This process places excess demands on your bones’ mineral reserves. Avoid meat, sugar and coffee (they are acid-forming) and eat more vegetables, fruit and nuts (they alkalize).
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