THE BONE DENSITY PROGRAM: HYPE AND HOPE
You might like them as an occasional treat, but otherwise you’re going to find no place here for so-called energy bars or nutrient shakes that contain way more sugar and fat than calcium or plant chemicals with beneficial hormonal properties. Some new products are more useful than others (like, say, calcium-fortified orange juice or soy milk), but mocha-chip-swirl-whatever is birthday cake, not a serious effort at guaranteeing long-term health and longevity. The explosion of products may be inevitable in our consumer economy, and it is beneficial in one important way: all the hoopla is putting a crucial health issue that’s been overlooked for far too long into the mainstream.Amid the hubbub, there are also some real advances emerging in bone health. We’ll look at the cutting-edge science that explodes some myths and illuminates new truths about bones and how to keep them healthy, whether it’s natural hormone supplements without the possible increase in cancer risk, or the latest research on increasing bone density through a simple set of exercises, or the latest pharmacological drug now available for the first time. But as wonderful as the rapid changes in our understanding are, they are just an adjunct to the most essential information in this book: the basics of food, exercise, nutritional supplements, and hormones that can give you a lifestyle that prevents the possible devastation of low bone density or restores you to bone health even if you’ve already experienced loss.*5\228\2*
