Blog About Health & MedicineOnline sources for health informationHomegeneric viagraALTERNATIVE THERAPIES FOR BONE DENSITY: MIND-BODY MEDICINEPosted by admin on July 24th, 2011Comments OffHolistic medicine means paying attention to the mind and spirit as well as the body. Stress reduction, meditation, and faith or spiritual focus are all proven risk-factor reducers for a range of health concerns, and despite a lack of specific studies on the topic, I see no reason why bone density wouldn’t be among them. One study showed that women in their 40s (when they should still be near peak bone mass) with clinical depression had bones that looked like they belonged to 70-year-olds. It was a small study, but the dramatic results at least hint at the powerful interconnection between your bones and your brain. It should be no surprise, after all we’ve learned about the role of emotions, stress, social support, faith, prayer, beliefs, and attitude toward heart disease and cancer, and a host of other disorders. Bones are no different from any other part of your body when it comes to being affected by whatever is going on anywhere in the body.Stress triggers the release of stressor hormones that (among other things) greatly accelerate bone loss. The unrelenting nature of chronic stress makes it particularly important to reduce the constant stresses we’ve come to think of as almost normal, as well as the intermittent, specific stresses that are bound to come into your life. The emotions stirred up by your car’s breaking down, for example, are stressful, and you’ll feel better in general if you find a way to manage them effectively. But constant worry about whether your old clunker will make it all the way to the office each morning, and about how you’ll pay the bill next time it does give out, are more serious in the long run. By all means, switch to public transportation or get a more reliable car if you can, and set aside some money out of each paycheck to cover any necessary repairs to try to set your mind at ease. But beyond that, try some of the techniques here to ease the inevitable stresses of day-to-day living. Do away with as many sources of stress as you can, but learn how to manage what does come your way.You (and in all likelihood your bones) will benefit from guided imagery, meditation, focused walking, and anything that elicits “the relaxation response”—the term coined by Harvard scientist Herbert Benson, M.D., to describe the calm state of the body without the rush of “fight or flight” messages stress-crazed Americans seem to subsist on. Stress raises hormone levels that can interfere with bone remodeling, so lowering stress takes one more obstacle out of the way of healthy bones.The simplest approach is simply being present in the moment. Unless you are a Zen monk, you’ll probably find this difficult to do in the midst of your daily life (though that is the ultimate goal), so st