Why do almost all doctors—especially mainstream docs—think that osteoporosis is exclusively a women’s disease? How many men have ever been advised by their doctors that they should have their bone density checked? The answer—close to zero.
Turns out that osteoporosis is a “human” disease and has little to do with a person being female or male. Indeed, it has everything to do with declining hormone levels—especially estrogen in women and testosterone in men. The reason more women have historically had a higher incidence of osteoporosis is that women’s steroid hormones decline to almost zero after menopause. Until recently, men’s decline in testosterone occurred at a much slower rate; hence, osteoporosis has been less prevalent in men.
This is rapidly changing as men’s testosterone levels are now declining in their thirties instead of their fifties as in the past. Here’s something most doctors don’t seem to know—men and women don’t get osteoporosis because they have a shortage of Fosamax or Boniva in their bodies. They get osteoporosis because they lack sufficient estrogen and testosterone to make their bones strong. So wouldn’t it make sense that a natural way to reverse osteoporosis is to restore both men’s and women’s hormone levels to an optimal level using bio-identical hormone replacement?
Four years ago—when I was just 54 years old—I had a DEXA scan done to determine my body composition and my bone density. I had been lifting weights for more than 14 years, eating healthy and taking calcium supplements for at least 7 years so I assumed my bone density scan would come back looking great. Instead, I had one of the biggest shocks of my life.
I remember sitting in the doctor’s office looking at the report in disbelief. I thought for sure there was a mix up and this report showing osteopenia—a precursor to osteoporosis—was someone else’s. But that was not the case. I was rapidly heading to full-blown osteoporosis.
Long story short, I went on testosterone replacement without changing anything else—not my diet, not my supplementation nor my exercise routine. Three months later a DEXA scan showed that my bones were in the normal density range and there was no longer any evidence of osteopenia. Subsequent DEXA scans continue to show that my bones are stronger than ever.
My advice to all men ages 40 and above—get a DEXA scan and have your testosterone levels checked by a doctor who knows how to properly restore testosterone. Women would be well advised to do the same—get a DEXA scan and have your estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels assessed.
You don’t need drugs to have strong bones well into your nineties. But you do need optimal levels of hormones.
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