http://www.ehow.com/about_512547 9_degenerative-bone-disease.ht ml
What Is Degenerative Bone Disease? By Sadie Bell, eHow Contributor Degenerative bone disease is fairly common and is known by the more common term osteoporosis. It can occur in both men and women, although it's more prevalent in women. Primarily, osteoporosis causes the bones to weaken and become brittle. Small impacts can cause fractures in those with the advanced form of this disease. However, treatments are available to help people live a more fulfilling and productive life.
What Is Osteoporosis? Osteoporosis or degenerative bone disease is an illness that causes the bones to lose their internal support structure, placing them at higher risk for fracture and breakage. A lack of calcium and vitamin D in your diet contributes to this condition as well as a sedentary lifestyle. It is natural to lose some bone as you age, but having a poor diet can contribute to more rapid bone loss later in life. Who Is Most Likely to Get This Disease? Anyone can develop osteoporosis, but there are some risk factors that increase your chances of developing it. For instance, if you are a woman, over the age of 35 and have a family history of bone disease, you're much more likely to develop the disease. Likewise, having a small build and using tobacco products can also contribute. Other factors include being of Asian or white descent, having an eating disorder or having used corticosteroids frequently. What Symptoms Often Present Themselves? Unfortunately, degenerative bone disease does not present with any symptoms in its early stages. However, as the disease progresses, you could notice that you've lost some of your height, that you suffer from back pain or that your bones fracture easily. Areas that are especially susceptible include the wrists, hips and spine. A rounded back or stooped posture is also a sign of this disease. How is Osteoporosis Diagnosed? Several tests are used to diagnose degenerative bone diseases. The primary method of testing is DEXA or dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. This can detect the density of your bones in the most susceptible areas. Sometimes, ultrasound or CT scans are also used to make a diagnosis. What Are Treatments for This Disease? Even though degenerative bone diseases can cause serious damage to your body, there are treatments for osteoporosis that can manage and even reverse the bone loss that makes fractures possible. One such treatment is called raloxifene or Evista, which is its brand name. This drug works very much like estrogen and is suitable only for female patients. It takes the place of estrogen in the body for women who have already gone through menopause, helping to boost bone production. Another type of treatment is Tamoxifen, a synthetic hormone primarily used in the treatment of breast cancer. For men, there are biphosphonates, which work to restore bone that's been lost due to excessive steroid use
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According to this article we now know that there are several factors here. Genetics, Diet, Age and Lifestyle. What really gets me, is that while it shows no early symptoms you will eventually know it's there. Didn't her parents know she had fractured bones, or was in pain? Clearly proper treatment was not sought out, vegan or not. Diet has nothing to do with the parents not going to get help for this condition sooner, and for not getting proper medical care for their child. If your child was in pain and easily braking/fracturing bones, wouldn't you get help? Wouldn't you do everything in your power with all of your strength and all of your heart to make your child get better? I'm sure that there are several types of degenerative bone disorders, but if calcium and vitamin D were the issue, they should have gotten her some supplements or treatment from a doctor long before it got this far.
VEGANMAMMA2010
Posts: 43
9/27/10 11:52 A
Sorry I must have said that in a way I hadn't intended. John Salley wasn't meant to be a generation example, just an example of a healthy vegan.
"People still believe you have to eat "complimentary proteins." These theories got their final coffin nail in the late 1980's, scientifically speaking, but people love to hold on to whatever makes them comfortable with their lifestyle. Even Dr. Benjamin Spock stated that a vegan diet was better for children than an animal based one. According to Dr. Michael Greger, MD, the American Pediatric Association stated how healthy a plant-based diet was versus a meat-based. There are whole generations of vegans. If you read VegNews, they had an article on families of intergenerational vegans. "
VegNews is a vegan magazine. I'm sure I could find the article for you, and more examples.
However this isn't the point! I know I'm contradicting myself here but we shouldn't be arguing over nutrition, we should be looking into the bone disorder and finding more information regarding that.
ZUMRUTUANKHA
Posts: 2
9/24/10 2:50 A
John Salley becomes vegan after his father's death. So, not a good example for vegan generations. Not to mention mythic far asian families because there are also people who are said to live without any food there. (and we also know many who died trying this). People can go very extreme I think.
GUERILLA
Posts: 2798
9/23/10 8:55 P
How can you even think about feeding a newborn apple juice and soy milk? Can you imagine how that baby must have suffered? Oh God.
But that has little to do with the parents being vegans and a lot to do with them being mentally ill.
Jana
--
Tandem breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapering, baby wearing momma. :)
ZUMRUTUANKHA
Posts: 2
9/17/10 4:45 A
Is there a healthy vegan family surviving for 3 generations? Ever heard of anyone having grand grand parents, grand parents and parents vegans? Never heard of it. I don't think that vegan thing proved itself. Maybe we will see next century.
JABBERWOCKYGIRL
Posts: 709
8/4/08 9:39 A
I definitely think that the report of this couple shows that it IS the parent's fault. The point made by the nutritionist that they were probably not RAISED vegan and haven't educated themselves enough about how to raise their own child this way, it's a dangerous situation. It would be the same as with an omnivore diet! If you weren't raised to eat healthy food and haven't educated yourself as to proper nutrition, you're going to run into similar problems. The omnivore child just has a better chance of survival because of the access of a variety of nutrients...does that make sense? Just playing devil's adovcate.
The vegans stand out more, because it is an extreme decision (I'm not saying it's a positive or negative one). It's not the "norm" so, of COURSE they are going to be looked at differently/more harshly. But, the same can be said of any extreme lifestyle choice. You get a lot of uneducated individuals who advocate these lifestyles and, quite unfortunately, make those who are living well in their choices swept under the carpet.
http://tinyurl.com/65c6q3
This, I thought, was a great article. While it's clearly written by vegans, I felt that it was very well rounded. They didn't seem to hide any information that may be important to those considering a vegan diet for their children.
I love that it mentions that calcium is a big issue and that, as you see in the chart, is absolutely the biggest difference between the vegan and omnivore diet! The article, like most nutrition/diet articles shows the best sources of calcium for a vegan diet. I learned some new sources that I would NEVER have thought of! It looks like dandelion greens would fall somewhere in the middle.
The mention that a breastfeeding mother, who is vegan, also has to be well nourished in order to provide adequate nutrients for her baby, supports the fact that the parents need to be leading a healthy vegan diet in order to pass that on to their children.
***Sheila***
Zoe Ann 3/18/2009, 7lbs. 13oz.
Sydney Alice 3/9/07, 8lbs. 12oz.
Guardian Mommy of Ashley May (14)
CHAKRA
Posts: 3416
7/19/08 2:11 P
Totally agree with lilyspryte! Although we do tons of high fats. The good fats though. Brain food!
Stephanie
Happy mom to 3 boys
~Online weight loss & wellness coach
LILYSPRYTE
Posts: 3725
7/15/08 2:50 P
In my opinion, people who feed their children diets high in fat, preservatives, and sugar are just as irresponsible as parents who only feed a baby apple juice and soymilk. There are too many resources out there for anyone in a developed country to simply not know what diet is best for their children.
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
LILYSPRYTE
Posts: 3725
7/3/08 7:13 P
"would it be ok to take a child away from his parents if he ended up with serious heart problems resulting from a typical "fast food, american" diet? i think people would be less upset about that"
I agree. There are people who have been on talk shows with their morbidly obese children and the children were not taken away from their parents. The parents may have been verbally chastised, then loosely agreed to see a nutritionist for their child, but the children certainly were not taken away. I hope to find out more about this case in the near future. Like I said before, I am not vegan, nor am I vegetarian, but there are so many different ways to get all that your body needs without animal products. Vitamin D from the sun, calcium from fresh, wild greens, protein and iron from beans and legumes, and many more. If it is the diet that caused this girl's condition, I hope that the parents are sent to a nutritionist to learn the proper way to balance a vegan diet. I wonder if her condition is reversable in any way. My initial thoughts tell me "no", but we can hope, right?
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
TBSOMEDAY
Posts: 3020
7/3/08 5:14 P
there are plenty of ways to get vitamin d without animal products as previously mentioned....sunlight is a big one
i would think there is a lot more to this case than we know
perhaps they were totally restricting her diet to only a few things
or perhaps she has some sort of disease that caused these problems that has nothing to do with her diet
i think there is so much more to know in order to figure out if they were neglectful a balanced vegan diet would never have left her in that condition
would it be ok to take a child away from his parents if he ended up with serious heart problems resulting from a typical "fast food, american" diet? i think people would be less upset about that??
"I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
Edward Everett
LILYSPRYTE
Posts: 3725
7/2/08 11:20 A
This is where I was baffled! I am not vegan, nor am I vegetarian. But I have researched means of getting vitamins, nutrients, and healthy fats through products other than meat. These parents clearly didn't research correctly, and it looks as though both sets of parents were trying to follow the stereotypes of the label rather than adapting it to the health of their children. From what I understand, part of the ideology of veganism is to protect and nurture living things around you. Therefore, most labeled vegans agree that human breast milk is ok for feeding human babies. But this girl in Scotland, she was probably malnourished for years. Leafy greens, lentils, beans..... where were these? You can get a good amount of calcium from dandelion greens alone. But should these parents be charged with abuse and neglect? This could end in their daughter being taken from them. What would that result in compared to this poor girl's condition that she will suffer from for the rest of her days? Would any sort of justice truly be won in charging the parents with neglect or abuse?
I am still up in the air with the charges. Clearly the result should be moving in the best interest of the child. Your thoughts?
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
SIZE2BYJUNE7
Posts: 11
7/1/08 11:45 P
Breast milk is not an "animal product" the way cows milk is. One significant difference: Breastmilk is not (after the first couple weeks anyway, lol) produced through any means of cruelty or blood shed. ;)
~Jen
CALLICOOP
Posts: 11781
6/29/08 12:58 A
The 'authorities' are not commenting on the case, so it is hard to even know if it is the family's diet that is a problem. It may be a genetic disease. The reporter also said that vitamin D is in animal products, but it is also made in our bodies when we are exposed to sunlight.
I think the parents are going to have to show that they have given their child the best they could and have a good knowledge of nutrition to avoid some child abuse charge.
In the same way a child that develops heart disease or diabetes from junk food diet have to defend themselves from child abuse charges, these parents will have to defend themselves.
The American couple that fed a newborn baby apple juice and soy milk instead of breast milk were just DUMB!! They were guilty of abuse and some sort of homicide.
David Wolfe and the Health Ranger are vegans and are the healthiest ppl I have seen in my life. They do supplement with all kinds of good stuff too. Herbs, oils, fats(non animal) ect.
I could never go all vegan but I just stopped all milk from our diet. Not dairy, only milk. I do eat a lot of raw stuff and juice.
Stephanie
Happy mom to 3 boys
~Online weight loss & wellness coach
1BOY_1GIRL
Posts: 3762
6/27/08 1:49 P
Some vegans are not very smart in their food choices... Keeping animal products out of your diet is not good enough. You really need to balance your diet with plenty of nutriciously dense foods. I know many vegans that live on rice and pasta. And certain supplements might also be necesary. Plus, I have known of many people that became unhealthy by the lack of animal proteins and regained their good health once they added some forms of animal proteins. We are not all alike...
'Attention is narrowed perception.' Alan Watts
KAYMINNIS
Posts: 9721
6/27/08 11:51 A
I think it was both. there are plenty of vegans who are perfectly healthy, but you have to add in the right foods to make up for what you are not getting with "normal" eating. and children need more then adults too to grow and develop properly.
the parents should have researched properly to find out what their daughter needed and how to provide the correct nutrition to her.
A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman.
Doctors are under pressure to report the couple to police and social workers amid concerns that her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their dietary beliefs.
The girl, who has been fed on a strict meat and dairy-free diet from birth, is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones.
The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce. Decalcification leads to the bones becoming brittle and can cause curvature of the spine.
Dr Faisal Ahmed, the consultant paediatrician treating the child at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, declined to discuss the specific case. He said, however, that he believed the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet needed to be highlighted.
One leading nutritionist, who asked not to be named, said: “In most instances, the parents who are imposing this very restrictive and potentially hazardous diet are not themselves brought up as vegans. They are imposing on their children something . . . which we do not know enough about to know it is safe.”
Jonathan Sher, head of policy at Children in Scotland, an umbrella group representing 400 organisations, said social workers should intervene where a vegan diet was putting children’s health at risk.
Last year, an American vegan couple were given a life sentence for starving their six-week-old baby to death. In 2001 two vegans from west London were sentenced to three years’ community rehabilitation after they admitted starving their baby to death.
Glasgow city council said the incident involving the 12-year-old girl had not been referred to its social work department.
________________________________ _______________
What are your thoughts? Was it because of the diet? Or the lack of proper care by her parents? Or both?
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
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