<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I recently asked to hear from list members who had improvement in their bone scans through diet and exercise. I received a total of 17 responses; 7 had shown improvement without medication. I have my second bone scan tomorrow - I hope to add my name to this 7! I have included a summary of responses. Thanks to all! - - - - - - - - - In my first year on the gf diet, I had significant improvement in my osteopenia (in the hip) but only slight improvement (insignificant) in my osteoporosis (in the spine and forearm) without medication. I subsequently started taking Fosamax. My understanding is that I would probably have continued to improve without the medication, but that the improvement will be more dramatic with Fosamax. I will know more once my next set of scans comes in. - - - - I was diagnosed with celiac after age 40. I then had my Dr. do a bone scan just to be safe. My bones turned out to be normal. However, 3 years later I was approached to do another bone scan by the Loma Linda University Medical Center in a study they were conducting on women and bone disease. After the scan the Dr. came out to talk to me and I thought "Oh boy, here we go, osteoporosis!" Imagine my surprise when he wanted to ask me about my diet, my disease, and if I took supplements etc, because my bones had actually improved! Remember, I was "normal for my age" at the first exam, but now I have bones which as he put it, were 10 years younger or healthier than average women my age! I was 45, and he said "I had the bones of a woman at age 35." I don't use milk products (intolerant and allergic to them), I was a vegetarian, and the only supplements I took were "Tums," and these were for recurrent heartburn due to acid reflux, and I did not take them every day, but only as needed. My only conclusion can only be that the information I have been reading is true, eating too many milk products and meats can actually leach calcium from our bodies. And, after going GF my body was able to absorb the what naturally occurring calcium I did get more efficiently than before. So therefore, my bones were strengthened further. This is just one woman's experience, you will have to draw your own conclusions. - - - - I sure would be interested in learning what you've heard from others. I took Fosomax for two years but was an undiagnosed celiac and the result is that my bone density didn't improve appreciably. I am taking a testosterone to help build bone and that didn't help either. (Maybe it did as I didn't get any worse.) Now that I am beginning to absorb nutrients on a GF diet, I am looking for improvement. Meanwhile, I have stomach acid problems - due to Fosomax? The hardest part of the equation is exercising regularly. - - - - I'm 43 years old and was diagnosed with CD 8 years ago. I have osteopenia, not osteoporosis, and so far, my bone scans have remained the same over the years. I'm not lactose intolerant, so I drink milk and take calcium supplements with vitamin D. I also do weight-bearing exercise. - - - - I am on Fosamax. My guess is that diet could alone change bone mass - but the Fosamax is a used to stop the body from robbing the bones of calcium - something about blocking uptake? I guess that could mean it wouldn't need to be a permanent thing? I am not a doctor, and I haven't been fortunate enough to reverse my osteo, but I have halted further deterioration with diet and Fosamax. - - - - There is a really good book - Nutritional Healing by Balch & Balch. They have lots of diet approaches listed - and while I know you didn't ask about books, I have found the book excellent for other ailments. Perhaps the library has a copy you can glance at - most health stores do. - - - - I took lots of calcium and still developed a severe case of osteoporosis without the Fosamax. My yearly bone scans show much less damage since I have been on the Fosamax. I was told that Osteoporosis runs in families so I always tried to get more then enough calcium. - - - - the best treatment is exercise...walking is great...20 min a day supplemented by a balanced cal/mag with vit D and Boron. Two drs recommended TriBoron by Twin Labs. My bone density is 1.5...not bad for a 58yr old. - - - - I am 56 years old and was diagnosed with CD 2 years ago. I had a bone density DEXA test a little over a year ago and found that my rating was a -2.5 which is the beginning range of osteoporosis. A year ago I began using miacalcin. I didn't want to use any of the other menopause or osteoporosis treatments. Several weeks ago I had another DEXA test to see if my bone density had improved and it had! It is now -2.34. I have been taking 1500 calcium/day as well as garlic, baby aspirin, lecithin and I am moderately active. It seemed to me that this was good news - that I had improved this much. However, now I need to find someone locally - a doctor - who can tell me if this is good enough. I eat quite nutritiously - not going overboard, but trying something with soy products about once a week and I do use some soy flour in baking. I guess until someone who knows tells me that I am not doing enough, I feel like the diet, exercise, and supplementation is doing the trick. - - - - I look forward to reading your summary. I'm a 65 year old post menopausal woman, diagnosed CS about four or five years ago. My MD's all recommend HRT, Fosamax, and other drugs, all of which I refused. I'm taking calcium complex supplements prescribed by my chiropractor/nutritionist. The MD's say diet, food supplements and exercise alone are not enough, and that I should take those drugs. I react not too well to drugs, especially those taken on a long-term basis. So I avoid taking meds whenever I could. I've taken bone density scans, and they've shown a slight decrease in my bone mass - I attribute this to my various bouts with diarrhea - and I think, hopefully, is now controlled due to a sensitivity/allergy to soy products. For me to tell this to the MD's will probably pass through with dismissal nods, so I look forward to hearing of any alternative methods of dealing with Osteoporosis. - - - - After celiac disease diagnosis, I had a bone density scan and was told the reading in my spine was low. About one year later I had another test and the scan was normal. The tests were made at two different hospitals, so the equipment was different. To increase my bone density, I increased my intake of calcium-rich vegetables (such as kale), took calcium supplements (calcium/magnesium tablets), and increased weight bearing exercise. I am very happy I was able to achieve an improvement without medication. - - - - I experienced a remarkable improvement in my osteopoenia (I think that's the right term--its kind of pre-osteoporosis) just after 1 year of being GF and taking calcium supplements. The MD is pretty careful about knowing how much calcium I ingest and in what form. I am lactose intolerant so I have cut way back on dairy. But I eat a lot of greens, and she suggested taking calcium fortified OJ, which I do when I remember to do so. Also, my dentist is much impressed with the improvement in my mouth--a real stoppage of bone loss in the jaw means improved gums. Yeah! - - - - I had trouble about four years ago with my hips and back in about 1996. I had alot of xrays and tests, then finally had the bone density test. I was told I had osteoporosis, and would need to take vitamin D (Drisdol cap) prescription twice a week and calcium dietary supplement everyday. I was also told to walk at least 4 days a week for minimum of 20 minutes to maximum of 45 minutes. This last November I had another bone density test done, and was told that I had shown improvement. I still take vitamin D prescription and calcium dietary supplement. One more thing to mention is I have had cd for 12 years, and have been on hormone replacement therapy for 13 years this spring. - - - - Bone scans two years apart showed improved bone density after using calcium supplements and walking more. - - - - Here's an article (followed by two websites) that explains it well: http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html "High protein diets cause serious metabolic changes that lead to bone loss and kidney stones. Red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs are acidic in make up. Vegetable foods are alkaline by nature. The body guards its acid-base balance (pH) carefully so that all of the pH-dependent biochemical reactions take place normally. The dietary-derived acid load from high-protein animal foods must be buffered. The primary buffering system of the body is the bones which dissolve for that purpose into phosphates and calcium. The alkaline phosphate then buffers the animal-food derived acid. This is the first step in bone loss that leads to osteoporosis. The second step leading to osteoporosis consists of changes in kidney physiology caused by the acid, the sulfa containing amino acids (plentiful in meat), and the increased solute load, all resulting in a loss of large amounts of bone material, including calcium, into the urine. The presence of this bone material in the kidney system also lays the foundation for calcium-based kidney stones." "The Nurse's Health Study recently found women who consumed 95 grams of protein a day compared with those who consumed less than 68 grams a day had a 22% greater risk of forearm fractures (Am J Epidemiol 143:472, 1996). Metabolic ward studies done on people have found a negative calcium balance is created when 95 grams of protein are consumed with 500 mg of calcium. The calcium intake must be raised up to 800 mg before calcium balance is achieved (the calcium entering the body is the same as the amount leaving). People following the Zone diet commonly consume 100 grams of protein and less than 800 mg of calcium. Athletes attempting to follow the Zone diet will consume 140 grams or more of protein a day. Even with a very high calcium intake of 1400 mg daily these people are still in negative calcium balance." ================= http://www.veg.org/veg/Articles/calcium.html Everything you ever wanted to know about calcium in 5 easy lessons. =================== http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm Calcium in the Vegan Diet by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. - - - - Sorry, but I can't help you with information. I am at the stage where I'm being offered drugs to combat low bone density and osteoporosis in later life. I prefer to be drug free, if possible. Please summarize you findings. I will read it with great interest. Thanks for posing the question. - - - Let me know what you find out. I asked my doctor if my bones would improve with diet, exercise and calcium and he said they could, but Fosomax was the best bet. So I went on it - have absolutely ZERO stomach problems - and my bones improved a LOT in one year (via Dexa Bone Scans). So that's my recommendation.