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CHAPTERBone Health
B
one degeneration has many causes. It can be brought about by an
autoimmune disease, the lack of a key enzyme, a more pressing
need for bone calcium elsewhere in the body, or a medication such as
synthroid (used for underactive thyroid), which can lead to osteoporo-
sis. But the greatest cause, and one that exacerbates existing degenera-
tive bone disease, is the acid waste by-products of undigested food,
heavy metals, and man-made chemicals. Circulating in the synovial
fl uid that surrounds the bones, it eats away at the bone mass.Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis
Stephanie, age sixty, a children’s dress designer, had very painful arthri-
tis. Because of its severity, she was convinced that whatever imbalance
in her body was responsible for the two staph infections and autoim-
mune disorder she had earlier in her life was also the cause of her
arthritis. Her fi rst staph infection, osteomyelitis, occurred when she
was nine. It was in the bone marrow of her left femur (the bone that
extends from the knee to the hip). The infection left her with minor
bone damage and a slight limp. She caught the second staph infection
when she was in her early thirties. While planting fl owers in her gar-
den, her index fi nger suddenly swelled up and turned bright red. Within
a half hour the swelling and redness spread to the rest of her hand and
began moving up her arm. The doctor came to the house and gave her
antibiotic injections that killed off the infection and saved her life.