Osteoprosis and SuperBugs

A recent article in the New York Times (Fearing Drug’s Rare Side Effects, Millions Take Their Chances With Osteoporosis, Gina Kolata, June 2, 2016) bemoans the fact that women are not using the osteo drugs available because of  the published accounts of “rare” fractures and other side effects. Related articles are attached to the story (Mar.24,2010, Jan,18 2012, June12,2012, Oct.5,2015) all point to these “rare” incidents.
How rare can they be?  Stories dating 6 years back warn of the problems. The doctors  and researchers in the story are puzzled and say there is not enough evidence to blame the drugs.
It also is painfully apparent to me that four important factors are left out of the story.

1. Are we getting too much calcium in our diet, or are women taking calcium carbonate as their supplement?
2. Are the women using acid blocking medications such as Prilosec or Omeprazole?
3. Are the women using thyroid medications?
4. Is anyone using MAGNESIUM?

Every time I see these reports, the emphasis is on calcium or calcium and vitamin D. If the reporters and researchers actually paid attention to the research that is available to anyone who tries to find it, two very big facts jump out at you. People are not taking anywhere near enough vitamin D and they sure are not even considering the importance of magnesium.  Magnesium helps with the absorption of calcium and  it activates the vitamin D.
It seems the researchers keep repeating the same studies and  expect to see different results. That is the classic definition of insanity, but there you go...

Another story, a column actually, caught my attention. Ezekiel Emanuel, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, vice provost for global initiatives and chair of the Dept. of Medical Ethics and Health Policy  at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an Op-ed piece in June ( How to step on a superbug, Washington Post) His first paragraph cited a strain of e. Coli  that is resistant to antibiotics signals a superbug is inevitable.
     Excuse me, professor, but it sounds to me like the superbug is already here.
In a nutshell,  Emanuel is calling their ffor more work on developing new antibiotics and stop the over prescribing of the ones we have. Part of the column seemed to blame the public for demanding something to help with an illness,many times viral in nature and  not antibiotic  responsive.  Simply stated, overuse breeds  resistance. One of the newest antibiotics that may be available is extremely ($4,500.00) expensive. It is to be used to fight MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).  
With all due respect,  there are some other issues to look at. No one seems to realize that our food chain, especially chickens and beef are routinely given doses of antibiotics in their feed to help protect from infection from the filthy pens and stockyards and to fatten up the animals for market. We are ingesting these antibiotics and developing  bacteria that are resistant.  There are other methods to fight some of these bacteria, such as essential oils; BUT, and it is a big BUT, we have to change our way of thinking.
You cannot use the same oils at the same strength  all the time  and expect not to have the bugs develop a resistance. One of the reasons these bugs have become so strong, despite the ubiquitous hand sanitizer  dispensers  in hospitals, supermarkets etc, is it is the same strength over and over again.  My wife Kathy, a nurse and Certified Clinical Aromatherapist/ Instructor has lectured for years on this very subject.

The oils have been shown to be effective in fighting MRSA, but the formula has to change frequently to fight bacterial resistance. The American public seems to just want a quick fix, and the pharmaceutical industry  wants something that can be reproduced at a low cost.

Well, you got it, now what do we do?