July 29, 2026 • 30 mins
Hosted by Laurie Alverio, The Still Blooming Radio Show is a warm, honest and empowering space for conversations about aging, caregiving, wellness, relationships and community
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following is paid programming by The Still Blooming Radio Show.
The content of this show is that of The Still
Blooming Radio Show and does not reflect the views or
policies of this station or iHeart Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
News Radio Wham 1180 welcomes you to this still-blooming radio show, Aging, Living, Thriving,
presented by Hand in Hand in your home.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Join in with your comments or questions.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Call 222-1180 or 1-800-295-1180. Now live from the News Radio
Wham 1180 studios in downtown Rochester, here's your host, Lori Alvareal.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Good morning, everyone, and.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Welcome to the still-blooming radio show. Heard every Saturday on
WAM 1180. I'm your host, Lori Alverio, founder of Hand
in Hand in Your Home. And I'm so grateful you've
chosen to spend part of your Saturday morning with us.
Here on the Still Blooming Radio Show, we believe aging
isn't about slowing down. It's about continuing to grow, find purpose,
(00:59):
and embrace every season of life. Whether you're an older adult,
a caregiver, an adult child supporting aging parents, or simply
planning for your own future.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
This show is for you.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
My own journey into serving older adults began many years
ago as a nursing home housekeeper and later a certified
nursing assistant. Those experiences have shaped who I am and
opened my eyes to the incredible resilience of older adults.
But they also showed me how difficult it can be
for families to navigate healthcare and aging alone. Since then,
(01:33):
I've spent more than 25 years working in social services, healthcare,
and community advocacy. I've also been a caregiver to members
of my own family, so I understand both the personal
and professional side of this journey. That's eventually what inspired
me to create Hand in Hand in Your Home, a
company that's dedicated to helping older adults remain independent, connected,
(01:57):
and supporting while giving families someone they can just trust
to help navigate the aging journey. And it's also why
I chose to continue the Senior Rock legacy and create
the spinoff of Still Blooming Radio Show to bring trusted
experts into your home every week, answer your questions, introduce
(02:19):
you to valuable community resources, and remind you that no
matter your age, you're still blooming. Today's conversation is one
that affects nearly every family.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
We're talking about bone health.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Most of us don't think about bone health until something breaks.
But the truth is our bones are changing throughout our
lives and understanding how to keep them healthy can help
us stay active, independent, and confident for years to come.
Joining us today is Dr. Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Petrescu, thank you so much for joining us today. We're
so excited to have you here. So let's dive right
in and help our listeners build a strong foundation for
lifelong bone health.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Dr. Petruscu, before we.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Jump into osteoporosis and fractures, I'd love for you to
start with, you know, the basics, because I think many
people assume our bones are just bones. They don't realize
they're actually living tissue that It's constantly changing. As someone
who's worked with older adults for many years, I've seen
(03:34):
firsthand how one falls and one breaks a hip. And
that essentially changes everything for someone's life literally overnight.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So let's start.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
What exactly is happening inside our bones throughout our lives?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
How do healthy bones actually work?
Speaker 6 (03:57):
Hi, Lori, and thank you so much for inviting me
on the show today. This topic of bone health is
very dear to my heart, actually. In fact, if that's okay,
I want to share a personal story. And I know
how passionate you are about older adults. But I experienced
(04:18):
this firsthand with my mother. Unfortunately, she died very young
at the age of 61. And at the time, as
far as I knew, she did not have any chronic
health conditions that she was experiencing. The only problem that
(04:39):
she had was osteoporosis. And it just happened that she
broke her hip into a very minor accident. And within
a year, she passed away. And at the time, it
didn't occur to me, I mean, that couldn't possibly have
(05:00):
anything to do with her death. It really puzzled me.
And as I advanced my career and researched more into
bone health and menopause, the one risk factor that she
had was premature menopause. And then As you probably know,
(05:20):
in the last few decades, there is so much research
being done on bone health and menopause and how things change.
The whole body metabolism changes in midlife and menopause. And
later on, I learned that, in fact, the risk of
(05:42):
mortality after a hip fracture is 30% within a year.
And 50%, one in two people with a hip fracture, 50%
does not return back to the previous lifestyle and mobility.
There is significant deconditioning and quality of life issues that
(06:04):
happen in half of the people suffering a hip fracture.
So this is very dear to my heart topic. And
for obvious reasons, I've been reading and researching a lot
on this. And it's pretty astonishing to me what happens
to our bones. Right. So talking about the natural history
(06:25):
of bone health, we continue to grow and build up
bone really up until.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Age 25, 27.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
Right. Meaning we reach our max bone density before age 30.
And after age 30, and mind you, most people, especially
women at 30, in their 30s, they're still hormonally active.
(06:53):
And we maintain this bone density more or less in
our 30s. But starting in perimenopause, which is early, late 40s,
the typical age of menopause for U.S. women is 52.
But perimenopause starts about 10 years earlier than that. We
(07:14):
lose 3% per year of bone density. Let that sink in.
Natural history of our bone health... is pretty dramatic. And
for most people, they first realize or even ask the
question about bone health when they present with a fracture.
(07:37):
When in fact, we can be proactive and learn more
about the status of our bone health early on so
we can do something about it and prevent this fracture. Wow.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
We're going to take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
You're listening to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM
1180 and streaming on the.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Welcome back to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM 1180.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Today, we're talking to Dr.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care about protecting bone health.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Petrescu, can we talk about how to keep our bones healthy?
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Yes, absolutely. The key point is to start building a
really good foundation for our bones before age 30. Meaning children,
our listeners, if you have children, if you are at
that age or you have children or grandchildren, please make
(08:44):
sure they stay active. What stimulates bone production is physical activity, jumping,
running around, weight lifting. We have to start setting up
this foundation early on in life. So we meet our
30s when things start to slowly, progressively decline with a
(09:05):
good foundation. So physical activity is important. extremely important, especially
plyometric exercises, jumping and strength training exercise. We have to lift.
We have to lift heavy, progressive overload. The muscle strength
will then stimulate the bone to regenerate and produce more bones.
(09:29):
So then throughout our life, we have to focus on
strength training exercises, especially as we grow older, after age 50,
when There is a natural phenomenon called sarcopenia and osteopenia.
The bones and the muscles start to thin. We have
to balance that out and lay more bone. Physical activity.
(09:50):
Next is nutrition. We have to support our bones in
offering appropriate nutrition, the building blocks to create more bones.
So what are those? Lean protein, 30 grams of protein
with each meal, especially after age 45, 50, we need
to have protein on each plate. Lean protein and fiber,
(10:14):
non-starchy vegetables to support the gut microbiome. Protein is extremely important.
Then calcium. What's the best source of calcium? Green, leafy vegetables. Yes,
we know the classics of dairy and milk and cheese,
but that cheese comes with lots of saturated fat. Saturated
(10:36):
fat is detrimental to bone. It's detrimental to cardiovascular health.
We have to eat greens. Think about the greens, where
are those coming? The cow, the dairy, right? The cow
gets their calcium from the greens, the grass that they eat.
So we can eat also greens to get plenty of calcium.
(10:59):
And magnesium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, phosphorus, extremely important to
help us maintain and build strong bones. If you live
in upstate New York and we don't get much sun
and much sunshine, you have to make sure you check
(11:19):
your vitamin D level and keep your vitamin D at
optimal levels for bone health, which is a 40 to 60.
It's extremely important to check these biomarkers, blood tests, to
make sure you are getting enough nutrition support for your
bone health. And if need to, as a lifestyle medicine physician, Laurie,
(11:43):
you know, I believe food is medicine. We have to
get nutrients from food. However, if you are deficient in
certain microelements, certain minerals, then Please supplement. Make sure you
give your bones enough nutrition support so you can build
more bones. Those are the foundational needs for good, strong,
(12:09):
healthy bones. Make sure you exercise. Make sure you have
a focus on strength training and plyometric exercises.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
I think that's encouraging because healthy eating... isn't just about
maintaining our weight, right? It's also about protecting our bones
for decades to come. Can someone in their 60s, 70s,
or even 80s still improve their bone health? Do you
(12:39):
recommend that they're exercising? Does walking count? And then some
of them, some of us have dietary restrictions, right? What
would that look like You know, for someone who's, you know,
a much older adult, are they strength training?
Speaker 6 (12:59):
Yes, that's a wonderful question, Laurie. And yes, we can
still make improvements at any age. Start early, as early
as you can, but start where you are. As soon
as you know, and from now on, you know, you
have to focus on your bone health, regardless of your age.
(13:21):
This is the highlight of my day when my People
in their 70s, 80s come back with their bone density
scan or their bone assessment, and it's better than last year.
We celebrate. We have the happy dance because you can
make improvements at any age. The trouble is the awareness.
We know how to improve the bone health. Problem is,
(13:45):
we do not pay attention to that until we have
a problem, which is typically first manifestation is a fracture,
which is a problem. In my practice, I do proactive
health care. I do not want to wait for things
that are very well established in medical literature. And we
have very clear pathways to prevent. We need to know.
(14:09):
You need to know your numbers. And from there, to
have a rigorous program of improvement and monitoring, I also
believe we have to track progress. What exactly are you doing?
What's your treatment plan? And monitor, make sure you are
on the right path, make sure you are improving. And
if you're not, we need to change the plan. We
(14:30):
have to advance. There is always something we can do
to optimize bone health. The issue is, as I alluded earlier,
the time of screening, which current guidelines recommend people to
have a bone density scan, a DEXA scan at age 65.
(14:52):
which is terrible. From 30s, 40s to 65, people lose
opportunity to work on optimizing their health. And their first
manifestation is a fracture. We need to be more proactive
than that. Right.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Thank you, Dr.
Speaker 6 (15:08):
Petroski.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
We will be right back.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
You are listening to The So Blooming Show on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Today, day after day, news happens. It's happening again.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Fast.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Iran is begging every day.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Let's do a deal.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Let's talk. They're not ready to make a deal. Keep
up with the events of the day. Save America Act.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Saudi Arabia. Nuclear deal.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
What's going on? NewsRadio.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Wham!
Speaker 3 (15:31):
1180.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
Joining us today is Dr. Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care.
Let's jump right back into this.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Petrescu, can you tell us what everyday habits quietly are
weakening our bones over time?
Speaker 6 (15:50):
That's a great question. It's not only about improving bone health,
but let's learn about what actually can be detrimental to
our bone health. Number one is sedentarism. We have to
keep our body moving. Start where you are and whatever
you can do. We mentioned about strength training, plyometric exercise,
(16:12):
but any movement, weight-bearing exercising, including walking, So keep your
body moving because that's how you stimulate the muscles to
pull on the bone and stimulate the bone to produce
more blood. more of it, right? But other things that
(16:32):
are detrimental and very well established in medical literature is smoking.
If you are smoking, I encourage you, I urge you,
stop smoking. Talk to your doctor, get help. You need
to stop smoking for your bone health and so many
other health benefits. excessive alcohol. It doesn't come very intuitive
(16:56):
to think about it, but there are very good clinical
trials showing three times increased risk of bone loss and
fracture in people who drink excessive alcohol. So please talk
about alcohol consumption to your doctor. There are many medications
(17:17):
that can impact bone health. Number one, the most notorious steroids,
steroid type medication, cortisone, prednisone, and people with autoimmune conditions
that have chronic inflammation. The chronic inflammation itself is a
risk factor for osteoporosis and osteopenia, which is thinning of
(17:43):
the bones. But also the treatment that we use in
certain autoimmune conditions like steroids can weaken the bone. So
if you have a chronic medical condition, chronic liver disease,
chronic kidney disease, you are at increased risk of osteopenia
and osteoporosis and fracture, please talk to your doctor for
(18:06):
early screening. Knowledge is power. If you know your numbers,
you know how aggressive you have to work on improving
that bond density. And not lastly, family history. When you
talk about, it's not a modifiable risk factor if you ask,
(18:28):
but knowing your family history, up to 40 to 50%
increased risk of a fracture for yourself. So please talk
to your family, especially first degree relatives, your mom, your dad.
If they have a history of osteoporosis with fracture, you
are at significantly higher risk than the average population. You
(18:51):
need to talk to your doctor and get screened early, right?
So many things that we can do to optimize health
and avoid in order to improve our health.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Are there signs that people should never ignore that might
indicate a weakening bone or an increased risk for a fracture?
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Actually, in fact, no. So bone does not hurt. When
you lose bone density and you get osteopenia or even osteoporosis,
you have no signs. You don't have any pain whatsoever.
(19:37):
People who have pain, bone pain, it's mostly degenerative changes, arthritis,
bone spurs that cause the pain, but it's not weakening
of the bone itself that will give you pain. any symptoms,
unless extreme rare congenital conditions of bone formation. But in general,
(19:58):
for most, the vast majority of population, you will not
have any symptoms. And the first manifestation of osteoporosis is
a bone fracture. You fall, you break bones, like, oh,
my God, you're 55. You have a hip fracture or
a femur fracture. That's not normal. We check Texas Scan.
Sure enough, you have osteoporosis. That's where, especially because there
(20:22):
are no actual specific clinical signs of thinning of the bones,
weakening of the bones. We have to be aware and
we have to screen early. So how can we know
if there are no symptoms? How can we know we
have weakening of the bones? There is a free online calculator.
(20:43):
Anyone can get there. It's called the FRAX score, F-R-A-X, free,
widely available online. It takes in consideration many risk factors,
not only your age, but also additional past personal history,
(21:03):
medication use, and family history to give you an idea
to begin with, are you at higher risk of osteoporosis
compared to the general population? So the FRAX score is
a very good tool to begin with. And then early screening.
In my practice, I do focus on preventive health. We
(21:30):
have to be proactive and learn about these things early.
So if we wait for the insurance companies, if we
wait for the government, Medicare, Medicaid, to pay for the guidelines,
the USPSDF guidelines, recommends a DEXA scan at 65, but
we need to start getting a baseline bone scan at
(21:54):
age 30 to 40. We need to know where we start.
Maybe you're already starting at a lower baseline. And then
from there to monitor longitudinally if you are at risk
of fracture.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
Oh my goodness, you really are starting early. We're going
to take a quick break. So thanks for staying with us.
You're listening to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM 1180.
Welcome back to our final segment of the Still Blooming
Radio Show.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
Petrescu, today's conversation has been so informative, and I hope
our listeners are realizing that it's never too late to
start thinking about bone health. As we wrap up, I'd
like to talk about what we can do over the
long term to stay strong and independent.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
We hear a lot about hormones and bone health.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Can you explain how hormones may affect our bone health
throughout our lives?
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Yes, absolutely. As I previously alluded to, especially in midlife
for women, but also later in life for men, changes
in hormones will affect every organ system, but particularly bones.
Now we have, and we have had for a long time,
(23:12):
FDA approval for osteopenia, for estrogen therapy. We know women
in midlife and after menopause lose 3% per year of
their bone density. And proper hormone therapy in paramenopause and
menopause prevents osteoporosis. It's extremely important to talk to your doctor,
(23:35):
regardless of your age. about whether or not you are
a candidate. Hormone therapy is not for everyone. But if
you are a candidate, please talk to your doctor about
options to optimize your hormones. Absolutely. And by that is estrogen, progesterone, testosterone,
all of them are important to keep our bones and
(23:58):
muscles healthy. And know your risk. I think it's important
to be in the to have the knowledge and understanding
where is your poor health and what is it that
you need to do further and how aggressive you need
to work on it so i want to talk a
little bit about ways to screen and monitor for osteoporosis
(24:19):
because again if you wait until you're 65 it's too
late you need to start early and start where wherever
you are whatever age you're at um So the gold
standard screening and diagnostic test is a DEXA scan. Most
of our listeners probably have heard about this test. This
is an X-ray-based test that assesses bone density. And It's
(24:47):
an X-ray base. It's a wonderful tool. It is the
most accurate tool we have currently. However, many of our
listeners may not know there is a new technology available,
which was developed more than 10 years ago in 2015
in Europe, in Italy. It's called Ecolight. So REMS technology,
(25:13):
which REMS, R-E-M-S, stands for radiofrequency ecographic multispectrometry. I know
it's a mouthful here, right? But what it means is
a high-frequency ultrasound. It's no X-ray, no radiation, which is
extremely important. Who wants to be exposed to radiation frequently? Right.
(25:35):
It's a wonderful technology. The research in the last 10
years in Europe has been amazing. Over 100 peer-reviewed studies,
clinical trials that show this technology is incredible in assessing
bone density. And as of 2024, they came to U.S.
It's cleared by FDA in U.S. to be used. There
(25:59):
are very few centers in the U.S. currently using this
technology in New York City and L.A., and I'm extremely
excited to bring this technology to Athena Direct Primary Care
Lifestyle Medicine to make it available in upstate New York
for people to know about their bone health. It's ultrasound.
(26:21):
There is no radiation to that. And additionally, apart from
the T-score, the bone density that the DEXA scan will provide,
this technology, the Echolite, REMS technology, um offers us a
fragility score which tells tell us about the quality of
the bone not only the density of the bone but
(26:44):
the quality of that bone so it's a wonderful tool
to help us assess your baseline wherever you are or
whatever age you are and monitor longitudinally every six months
every year to make sure you who are making improvements
to your bone health and lots of ways to optimize
(27:05):
that as we previously discussed. Nutrition, exercise is a lifestyle
medicine practice. We absolutely discuss about in detail about your
nutrition and physical activity to optimize about your hormone balance.
Make sure everything is aligned to give your bone balance.
(27:26):
The best chance to improve or maintain, if you're starting
with a great bond density to begin with, let's make
sure we maintain that through our lifespan, because we know
as we age, we are going to lose every one
of us. Nobody is as failed, men and women. more
accelerating in women in midlife. But for men as well,
(27:49):
we see bone density going down and then risk of fracture.
And with a tremendous impact on mobility, Again, 50% of
people with a bone fracture will not return back to
their baseline after that hip fracture. And 30% of those
(28:11):
with a hip fracture may die in the first year.
The statistics are clear. We have to take action, and
we have to take action early and monitor and continuously
work on improving bone health before we get the symptoms,
which is a fracture. it's pretty incredible, right? So it's
(28:36):
part of whole body health, right? Bone health is is
part of metabolic health, whole body health. And it's often
overlooked because, again, it causes no symptoms. People now are
more aware about muscle mass and sarcopenia, weakening of the
(28:58):
muscle as we grow older. But as the muscles become weak,
The bones are also become weaker. So we have to
be proactive to take steps and so many wonderful ways
to actually improve bone health. And it's very difficult to
reverse osteoporosis. There are plenty of treatments available, but the
(29:21):
best treatment is prevention.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Oh, thank you, Dr.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
Petruscu.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
We like to end every show with our still blooming
lightning round. So very, very quickly. just answer with the
first thing that comes to mind, coffee or tea?
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Coffee.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Favorite health snack?
Speaker 6 (29:43):
I'm sorry?
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Favorite healthy snack?
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Healthy snack, peanut butter and apple.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
One exercise everyone should try?
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Walk. The most natural thing, every human can walk 10,000
steps every day. Love it.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
We would also like to thank the Greater Rochester Area
Partnership for the Elderly for the incredible work they do
bringing organizations together to support older adults and caregivers.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Throughout our region.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Join us again next Saturday for another inspiring conversation on
the Still Blooming Radio Show. Heard every Saturday on WAM 1180.
Until then, remember, you're not done growing yet. Every season
begins a new bloom. Thank you, Dr.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Petrusco.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Oh, my goodness. My pleasure.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Thank you. Thank you.
The following is paid programming by The Still Blooming Radio Show.
The content of this show is that of The Still
Blooming Radio Show and does not reflect the views or
policies of this station or iHeart Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
News Radio Wham 1180 welcomes you to this still-blooming radio show, Aging, Living, Thriving,
presented by Hand in Hand in your home.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Join in with your comments or questions.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Call 222-1180 or 1-800-295-1180. Now live from the News Radio
Wham 1180 studios in downtown Rochester, here's your host, Lori Alvareal.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Good morning, everyone, and.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Welcome to the still-blooming radio show. Heard every Saturday on
WAM 1180. I'm your host, Lori Alverio, founder of Hand
in Hand in Your Home. And I'm so grateful you've
chosen to spend part of your Saturday morning with us.
Here on the Still Blooming Radio Show, we believe aging
isn't about slowing down. It's about continuing to grow, find purpose,
(00:59):
and embrace every season of life. Whether you're an older adult,
a caregiver, an adult child supporting aging parents, or simply
planning for your own future.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
This show is for you.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
My own journey into serving older adults began many years
ago as a nursing home housekeeper and later a certified
nursing assistant. Those experiences have shaped who I am and
opened my eyes to the incredible resilience of older adults.
But they also showed me how difficult it can be
for families to navigate healthcare and aging alone. Since then,
(01:33):
I've spent more than 25 years working in social services, healthcare,
and community advocacy. I've also been a caregiver to members
of my own family, so I understand both the personal
and professional side of this journey. That's eventually what inspired
me to create Hand in Hand in Your Home, a
company that's dedicated to helping older adults remain independent, connected,
(01:57):
and supporting while giving families someone they can just trust
to help navigate the aging journey. And it's also why
I chose to continue the Senior Rock legacy and create
the spinoff of Still Blooming Radio Show to bring trusted
experts into your home every week, answer your questions, introduce
(02:19):
you to valuable community resources, and remind you that no
matter your age, you're still blooming. Today's conversation is one
that affects nearly every family.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
We're talking about bone health.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Most of us don't think about bone health until something breaks.
But the truth is our bones are changing throughout our
lives and understanding how to keep them healthy can help
us stay active, independent, and confident for years to come.
Joining us today is Dr. Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Petrescu, thank you so much for joining us today. We're
so excited to have you here. So let's dive right
in and help our listeners build a strong foundation for
lifelong bone health.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Dr. Petruscu, before we.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Jump into osteoporosis and fractures, I'd love for you to
start with, you know, the basics, because I think many
people assume our bones are just bones. They don't realize
they're actually living tissue that It's constantly changing. As someone
who's worked with older adults for many years, I've seen
(03:34):
firsthand how one falls and one breaks a hip. And
that essentially changes everything for someone's life literally overnight.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So let's start.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
What exactly is happening inside our bones throughout our lives?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
How do healthy bones actually work?
Speaker 6 (03:57):
Hi, Lori, and thank you so much for inviting me
on the show today. This topic of bone health is
very dear to my heart, actually. In fact, if that's okay,
I want to share a personal story. And I know
how passionate you are about older adults. But I experienced
(04:18):
this firsthand with my mother. Unfortunately, she died very young
at the age of 61. And at the time, as
far as I knew, she did not have any chronic
health conditions that she was experiencing. The only problem that
(04:39):
she had was osteoporosis. And it just happened that she
broke her hip into a very minor accident. And within
a year, she passed away. And at the time, it
didn't occur to me, I mean, that couldn't possibly have
(05:00):
anything to do with her death. It really puzzled me.
And as I advanced my career and researched more into
bone health and menopause, the one risk factor that she
had was premature menopause. And then As you probably know,
(05:20):
in the last few decades, there is so much research
being done on bone health and menopause and how things change.
The whole body metabolism changes in midlife and menopause. And
later on, I learned that, in fact, the risk of
(05:42):
mortality after a hip fracture is 30% within a year.
And 50%, one in two people with a hip fracture, 50%
does not return back to the previous lifestyle and mobility.
There is significant deconditioning and quality of life issues that
(06:04):
happen in half of the people suffering a hip fracture.
So this is very dear to my heart topic. And
for obvious reasons, I've been reading and researching a lot
on this. And it's pretty astonishing to me what happens
to our bones. Right. So talking about the natural history
(06:25):
of bone health, we continue to grow and build up
bone really up until.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Age 25, 27.
Speaker 6 (06:32):
Right. Meaning we reach our max bone density before age 30.
And after age 30, and mind you, most people, especially
women at 30, in their 30s, they're still hormonally active.
(06:53):
And we maintain this bone density more or less in
our 30s. But starting in perimenopause, which is early, late 40s,
the typical age of menopause for U.S. women is 52.
But perimenopause starts about 10 years earlier than that. We
(07:14):
lose 3% per year of bone density. Let that sink in.
Natural history of our bone health... is pretty dramatic. And
for most people, they first realize or even ask the
question about bone health when they present with a fracture.
(07:37):
When in fact, we can be proactive and learn more
about the status of our bone health early on so
we can do something about it and prevent this fracture. Wow.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
We're going to take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
You're listening to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM
1180 and streaming on the.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
Welcome back to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM 1180.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Today, we're talking to Dr.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care about protecting bone health.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Petrescu, can we talk about how to keep our bones healthy?
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Yes, absolutely. The key point is to start building a
really good foundation for our bones before age 30. Meaning children,
our listeners, if you have children, if you are at
that age or you have children or grandchildren, please make
(08:44):
sure they stay active. What stimulates bone production is physical activity, jumping,
running around, weight lifting. We have to start setting up
this foundation early on in life. So we meet our
30s when things start to slowly, progressively decline with a
(09:05):
good foundation. So physical activity is important. extremely important, especially
plyometric exercises, jumping and strength training exercise. We have to lift.
We have to lift heavy, progressive overload. The muscle strength
will then stimulate the bone to regenerate and produce more bones.
(09:29):
So then throughout our life, we have to focus on
strength training exercises, especially as we grow older, after age 50,
when There is a natural phenomenon called sarcopenia and osteopenia.
The bones and the muscles start to thin. We have
to balance that out and lay more bone. Physical activity.
(09:50):
Next is nutrition. We have to support our bones in
offering appropriate nutrition, the building blocks to create more bones.
So what are those? Lean protein, 30 grams of protein
with each meal, especially after age 45, 50, we need
to have protein on each plate. Lean protein and fiber,
(10:14):
non-starchy vegetables to support the gut microbiome. Protein is extremely important.
Then calcium. What's the best source of calcium? Green, leafy vegetables. Yes,
we know the classics of dairy and milk and cheese,
but that cheese comes with lots of saturated fat. Saturated
(10:36):
fat is detrimental to bone. It's detrimental to cardiovascular health.
We have to eat greens. Think about the greens, where
are those coming? The cow, the dairy, right? The cow
gets their calcium from the greens, the grass that they eat.
So we can eat also greens to get plenty of calcium.
(10:59):
And magnesium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, phosphorus, extremely important to
help us maintain and build strong bones. If you live
in upstate New York and we don't get much sun
and much sunshine, you have to make sure you check
(11:19):
your vitamin D level and keep your vitamin D at
optimal levels for bone health, which is a 40 to 60.
It's extremely important to check these biomarkers, blood tests, to
make sure you are getting enough nutrition support for your
bone health. And if need to, as a lifestyle medicine physician, Laurie,
(11:43):
you know, I believe food is medicine. We have to
get nutrients from food. However, if you are deficient in
certain microelements, certain minerals, then Please supplement. Make sure you
give your bones enough nutrition support so you can build
more bones. Those are the foundational needs for good, strong,
(12:09):
healthy bones. Make sure you exercise. Make sure you have
a focus on strength training and plyometric exercises.
Speaker 5 (12:18):
I think that's encouraging because healthy eating... isn't just about
maintaining our weight, right? It's also about protecting our bones
for decades to come. Can someone in their 60s, 70s,
or even 80s still improve their bone health? Do you
(12:39):
recommend that they're exercising? Does walking count? And then some
of them, some of us have dietary restrictions, right? What
would that look like You know, for someone who's, you know,
a much older adult, are they strength training?
Speaker 6 (12:59):
Yes, that's a wonderful question, Laurie. And yes, we can
still make improvements at any age. Start early, as early
as you can, but start where you are. As soon
as you know, and from now on, you know, you
have to focus on your bone health, regardless of your age.
(13:21):
This is the highlight of my day when my People
in their 70s, 80s come back with their bone density
scan or their bone assessment, and it's better than last year.
We celebrate. We have the happy dance because you can
make improvements at any age. The trouble is the awareness.
We know how to improve the bone health. Problem is,
(13:45):
we do not pay attention to that until we have
a problem, which is typically first manifestation is a fracture,
which is a problem. In my practice, I do proactive
health care. I do not want to wait for things
that are very well established in medical literature. And we
have very clear pathways to prevent. We need to know.
(14:09):
You need to know your numbers. And from there, to
have a rigorous program of improvement and monitoring, I also
believe we have to track progress. What exactly are you doing?
What's your treatment plan? And monitor, make sure you are
on the right path, make sure you are improving. And
if you're not, we need to change the plan. We
(14:30):
have to advance. There is always something we can do
to optimize bone health. The issue is, as I alluded earlier,
the time of screening, which current guidelines recommend people to
have a bone density scan, a DEXA scan at age 65.
(14:52):
which is terrible. From 30s, 40s to 65, people lose
opportunity to work on optimizing their health. And their first
manifestation is a fracture. We need to be more proactive
than that. Right.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Thank you, Dr.
Speaker 6 (15:08):
Petroski.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
We will be right back.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
You are listening to The So Blooming Show on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Today, day after day, news happens. It's happening again.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Fast.
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Iran is begging every day.
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Let's do a deal.
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Let's talk. They're not ready to make a deal. Keep
up with the events of the day. Save America Act.
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Saudi Arabia. Nuclear deal.
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What's going on? NewsRadio.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Wham!
Speaker 3 (15:31):
1180.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
Joining us today is Dr. Petrescu from Athena Direct Primary Care.
Let's jump right back into this.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Petrescu, can you tell us what everyday habits quietly are
weakening our bones over time?
Speaker 6 (15:50):
That's a great question. It's not only about improving bone health,
but let's learn about what actually can be detrimental to
our bone health. Number one is sedentarism. We have to
keep our body moving. Start where you are and whatever
you can do. We mentioned about strength training, plyometric exercise,
(16:12):
but any movement, weight-bearing exercising, including walking, So keep your
body moving because that's how you stimulate the muscles to
pull on the bone and stimulate the bone to produce
more blood. more of it, right? But other things that
(16:32):
are detrimental and very well established in medical literature is smoking.
If you are smoking, I encourage you, I urge you,
stop smoking. Talk to your doctor, get help. You need
to stop smoking for your bone health and so many
other health benefits. excessive alcohol. It doesn't come very intuitive
(16:56):
to think about it, but there are very good clinical
trials showing three times increased risk of bone loss and
fracture in people who drink excessive alcohol. So please talk
about alcohol consumption to your doctor. There are many medications
(17:17):
that can impact bone health. Number one, the most notorious steroids,
steroid type medication, cortisone, prednisone, and people with autoimmune conditions
that have chronic inflammation. The chronic inflammation itself is a
risk factor for osteoporosis and osteopenia, which is thinning of
(17:43):
the bones. But also the treatment that we use in
certain autoimmune conditions like steroids can weaken the bone. So
if you have a chronic medical condition, chronic liver disease,
chronic kidney disease, you are at increased risk of osteopenia
and osteoporosis and fracture, please talk to your doctor for
(18:06):
early screening. Knowledge is power. If you know your numbers,
you know how aggressive you have to work on improving
that bond density. And not lastly, family history. When you
talk about, it's not a modifiable risk factor if you ask,
(18:28):
but knowing your family history, up to 40 to 50%
increased risk of a fracture for yourself. So please talk
to your family, especially first degree relatives, your mom, your dad.
If they have a history of osteoporosis with fracture, you
are at significantly higher risk than the average population. You
(18:51):
need to talk to your doctor and get screened early, right?
So many things that we can do to optimize health
and avoid in order to improve our health.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Are there signs that people should never ignore that might
indicate a weakening bone or an increased risk for a fracture?
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Actually, in fact, no. So bone does not hurt. When
you lose bone density and you get osteopenia or even osteoporosis,
you have no signs. You don't have any pain whatsoever.
(19:37):
People who have pain, bone pain, it's mostly degenerative changes, arthritis,
bone spurs that cause the pain, but it's not weakening
of the bone itself that will give you pain. any symptoms,
unless extreme rare congenital conditions of bone formation. But in general,
(19:58):
for most, the vast majority of population, you will not
have any symptoms. And the first manifestation of osteoporosis is
a bone fracture. You fall, you break bones, like, oh,
my God, you're 55. You have a hip fracture or
a femur fracture. That's not normal. We check Texas Scan.
Sure enough, you have osteoporosis. That's where, especially because there
(20:22):
are no actual specific clinical signs of thinning of the bones,
weakening of the bones. We have to be aware and
we have to screen early. So how can we know
if there are no symptoms? How can we know we
have weakening of the bones? There is a free online calculator.
(20:43):
Anyone can get there. It's called the FRAX score, F-R-A-X, free,
widely available online. It takes in consideration many risk factors,
not only your age, but also additional past personal history,
(21:03):
medication use, and family history to give you an idea
to begin with, are you at higher risk of osteoporosis
compared to the general population? So the FRAX score is
a very good tool to begin with. And then early screening.
In my practice, I do focus on preventive health. We
(21:30):
have to be proactive and learn about these things early.
So if we wait for the insurance companies, if we
wait for the government, Medicare, Medicaid, to pay for the guidelines,
the USPSDF guidelines, recommends a DEXA scan at 65, but
we need to start getting a baseline bone scan at
(21:54):
age 30 to 40. We need to know where we start.
Maybe you're already starting at a lower baseline. And then
from there to monitor longitudinally if you are at risk
of fracture.
Speaker 5 (22:10):
Oh my goodness, you really are starting early. We're going
to take a quick break. So thanks for staying with us.
You're listening to the Still Blooming Radio Show on WAM 1180.
Welcome back to our final segment of the Still Blooming
Radio Show.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Dr.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
Petrescu, today's conversation has been so informative, and I hope
our listeners are realizing that it's never too late to
start thinking about bone health. As we wrap up, I'd
like to talk about what we can do over the
long term to stay strong and independent.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
We hear a lot about hormones and bone health.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Can you explain how hormones may affect our bone health
throughout our lives?
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Yes, absolutely. As I previously alluded to, especially in midlife
for women, but also later in life for men, changes
in hormones will affect every organ system, but particularly bones.
Now we have, and we have had for a long time,
(23:12):
FDA approval for osteopenia, for estrogen therapy. We know women
in midlife and after menopause lose 3% per year of
their bone density. And proper hormone therapy in paramenopause and
menopause prevents osteoporosis. It's extremely important to talk to your doctor,
(23:35):
regardless of your age. about whether or not you are
a candidate. Hormone therapy is not for everyone. But if
you are a candidate, please talk to your doctor about
options to optimize your hormones. Absolutely. And by that is estrogen, progesterone, testosterone,
all of them are important to keep our bones and
(23:58):
muscles healthy. And know your risk. I think it's important
to be in the to have the knowledge and understanding
where is your poor health and what is it that
you need to do further and how aggressive you need
to work on it so i want to talk a
little bit about ways to screen and monitor for osteoporosis
(24:19):
because again if you wait until you're 65 it's too
late you need to start early and start where wherever
you are whatever age you're at um So the gold
standard screening and diagnostic test is a DEXA scan. Most
of our listeners probably have heard about this test. This
is an X-ray-based test that assesses bone density. And It's
(24:47):
an X-ray base. It's a wonderful tool. It is the
most accurate tool we have currently. However, many of our
listeners may not know there is a new technology available,
which was developed more than 10 years ago in 2015
in Europe, in Italy. It's called Ecolight. So REMS technology,
(25:13):
which REMS, R-E-M-S, stands for radiofrequency ecographic multispectrometry. I know
it's a mouthful here, right? But what it means is
a high-frequency ultrasound. It's no X-ray, no radiation, which is
extremely important. Who wants to be exposed to radiation frequently? Right.
(25:35):
It's a wonderful technology. The research in the last 10
years in Europe has been amazing. Over 100 peer-reviewed studies,
clinical trials that show this technology is incredible in assessing
bone density. And as of 2024, they came to U.S.
It's cleared by FDA in U.S. to be used. There
(25:59):
are very few centers in the U.S. currently using this
technology in New York City and L.A., and I'm extremely
excited to bring this technology to Athena Direct Primary Care
Lifestyle Medicine to make it available in upstate New York
for people to know about their bone health. It's ultrasound.
(26:21):
There is no radiation to that. And additionally, apart from
the T-score, the bone density that the DEXA scan will provide,
this technology, the Echolite, REMS technology, um offers us a
fragility score which tells tell us about the quality of
the bone not only the density of the bone but
(26:44):
the quality of that bone so it's a wonderful tool
to help us assess your baseline wherever you are or
whatever age you are and monitor longitudinally every six months
every year to make sure you who are making improvements
to your bone health and lots of ways to optimize
(27:05):
that as we previously discussed. Nutrition, exercise is a lifestyle
medicine practice. We absolutely discuss about in detail about your
nutrition and physical activity to optimize about your hormone balance.
Make sure everything is aligned to give your bone balance.
(27:26):
The best chance to improve or maintain, if you're starting
with a great bond density to begin with, let's make
sure we maintain that through our lifespan, because we know
as we age, we are going to lose every one
of us. Nobody is as failed, men and women. more
accelerating in women in midlife. But for men as well,
(27:49):
we see bone density going down and then risk of fracture.
And with a tremendous impact on mobility, Again, 50% of
people with a bone fracture will not return back to
their baseline after that hip fracture. And 30% of those
(28:11):
with a hip fracture may die in the first year.
The statistics are clear. We have to take action, and
we have to take action early and monitor and continuously
work on improving bone health before we get the symptoms,
which is a fracture. it's pretty incredible, right? So it's
(28:36):
part of whole body health, right? Bone health is is
part of metabolic health, whole body health. And it's often
overlooked because, again, it causes no symptoms. People now are
more aware about muscle mass and sarcopenia, weakening of the
(28:58):
muscle as we grow older. But as the muscles become weak,
The bones are also become weaker. So we have to
be proactive to take steps and so many wonderful ways
to actually improve bone health. And it's very difficult to
reverse osteoporosis. There are plenty of treatments available, but the
(29:21):
best treatment is prevention.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Oh, thank you, Dr.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
Petruscu.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
We like to end every show with our still blooming
lightning round. So very, very quickly. just answer with the
first thing that comes to mind, coffee or tea?
Speaker 6 (29:38):
Coffee.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Favorite health snack?
Speaker 6 (29:43):
I'm sorry?
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Favorite healthy snack?
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Healthy snack, peanut butter and apple.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
One exercise everyone should try?
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Walk. The most natural thing, every human can walk 10,000
steps every day. Love it.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
We would also like to thank the Greater Rochester Area
Partnership for the Elderly for the incredible work they do
bringing organizations together to support older adults and caregivers.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Throughout our region.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Join us again next Saturday for another inspiring conversation on
the Still Blooming Radio Show. Heard every Saturday on WAM 1180.
Until then, remember, you're not done growing yet. Every season
begins a new bloom. Thank you, Dr.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Petrusco.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
Oh, my goodness. My pleasure.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Thank you. Thank you.
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