Defining the frequency of rare bone problems

By Jonathan Evans Herbal Information Specialist /Business Representative for the Herbarium Special to PRIME I was scanning the newspaper when a story about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) caught my attention. A review panel is considering warning labels and what they should say for a variety of products like Actonel, Fosamax. Reclast and several more. It seems some people using these drugs that allegedly build bone are experiencing spontaneous femur fractures. Folks, the femur is the strongest bone in your body, yet these people were experiencing fractures simply standing on a subway train or climbing stairs. I went online to check some information, then looked at some articles we have been handing out to customers. In 2006, reports were coming in about "rare" cases of bone loss (actually it was bone death, or "osteonecrosis") in the jaw. Increasing reports continued. In 2007, more reports of fractures in "rare" cases. Now we see "rare" femur fractures, but the FDA still thinks this stuff is okay, they just do not know how long it is good or how much of a warning to put out. Take it for five years, maybe three years? Here is a suggestion: How about no years? Aside from "rare" bone fractures, loss of bone, death of bone and apparent brittle bone conditions that are continuing to develop, there are concerns about kidney failure and esophageal cancer. Please, would somebody define "rare" for me? If you look at the literature it appears these rare occurrences are happening with alarming frequency. Let me tell you something for nothing. Fosamax does not build bone. That is the truth. It does keep your body from dissolving old bone cells. It halts bone breakdown, but it also halts bone formation. Old bone cells are weak and brittle but when you stack them up they look good on a bone density scan. To me, taking these medications is akin to putting siding on a termite ridden house. It looks good on the outside, but will fall apart at the slightest pressure. Add to this the fiasco of women being told to take Tums or cheap calcium carbonate (Oscal, Caltrate) for their bones. Never a mention of magnesium and certainly not enough vitamin D. So here we have the United States with one of the highest intakes of calcium on earth and yet we have some of the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world. Do you see the problem? Here is another little story about the FDA and the Law of Unintended Consequences. A bill was passed to have more control of food sourcing to help stem the rising tide of food contamination. We warned people to contact their legislators, to hold back on this particular bill. It was unnecessary since we have more than adequate regulations, we just need the FDA to enforce them. Never mind more rules. Enforce the ones we have. Watch out for the big agribusinesses who are making the contributions to our elected officials. The new rules were said to have the potential of ruining small businesses or farm stands. You know, the regular mom-and-pop stuff. No way we were assured. Tsk, tsk, Leave this to those who know better. Right. I heard this morning that Diemand Farm in Wendell, which does a brisk wholesale egg business, and to my knowledge never had a salmonella outbreak, is getting hammered by the added paperwork to track and record their egg business, and will have to cut production and lay people off, as was predicted. Okay, lets end this column on an upbeat note. The Thanksgiving holiday is fast approaching, and we here at Herbarium want to help make it a memorable one. Try serving hot mulled cider or wine with the meal. It will help take the chill off, fill the house with wonderful spicy notes, and really brighten up your family gathering. We have a great mixture of mulling spices ready to go and the recipe to help you. We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving holiday. —Jonathan Please send your questions on botanical remedies to Natures Rx : Jonathan Evans via e-mail at info@theherbarium.com, or by regular mail at The Herbarium, 264 Exchange Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. If you are requesting additional information from Jonathan, please include a self-addrresed stamped envelope.