X
Sign up for my FREE email series - "Intro to the Faith & Health Link"
Learn More Here

Faith and Health Connection

  • Home
  • About
  • Faith & Health
  • Scriptures
  • Church Health
  • Services
  • Store
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Health Coaching
  • Bible Study – Self Paced

Depression, Osteoporosis and Faith – Understanding the Connection

December 1, 2009 By Dale Fletcher 3 Comments

What the Research Says

Osteoporosis is the most widespread degenerative disease in the developed world, afflicting 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 50.

Despite the accumulating evidence for a connection between depression and decreased bone density, official authorities, such as the US National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization, have not yet acknowledged depression as a risk factor for osteoporosis, due to the lack of studies in large samples.

A study of several research efforts including thousands of people by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers has shown a clear connection between depression and a loss of bone mass, leading to osteoporosis and fractures. The results, say the researchers, show clearly that depressed individuals have a substantially lower bone density than non-depressed people and that depression is associated with a markedly elevated activity of cells that breakdown bone (osteoclasts).

What the Bible Says

God inspired writers of the Bible to share his truth and principles about the connection between our emotional and spiritual health and our physical health.  Take a look at the following verses related to this topic:

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones .”  Proverbs 14:30

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7-8

“My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” Psalm 31:10

What You Can Do

Seek to have a cheerful heart.

If you’re carrying bitterness towards someone, forgive them.

Have a reverential fear of God and his principles, and turn away from evil and sin.

If you’re jealous towards someone, ask God to take that nature away from you.  Be content with what you have and trust God to provide for your most basic and deepest needs.

If you are a believer in Christ, turn to God in a more dependant and surrendered way and allow his  Spirit to have more influence and control of your thought life and attitude.  Ask him to change you… to transform you from the inside out. (Romans 12:2)

As we walk with God in a personal way, following his commandments and principles out of love, we are able to become more and more like his Son, Jesus.  This transformation brings us greater inner peace, gentleness and joy. This often goes hand in hand with good physical health.

God seems to make it pretty clear in the Bible – the guidebook he has given us to live by.  Perhaps this is the best explanation concerning the link between depression and bone health.

Questions to Reflect On

What has your experience been regarding depression and bone health?  Can you personally see a link between the scriptures listed above and your health?

Related Resources

Article – Forgiveness

Article – His Instruction Manual … Our Guidebook for Healthy Living

Article – Spirituality and Your Health – Understanding the Connection

God’s Promises – Scriptures related to depression from InTouch Ministries


Share with your friends . . . . . .Buffer this page
Buffer
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest

Filed Under: Bible and Health, Spirit Mind Body Health, spirituality and health, the research Tagged With: Bible and Health, Depression, Life, mind body spirit, osteoporosis, the research

FREE Email Series

Want to understand the link between spirituality and your health?

VISIT THIS PAGE to learn about my FREE email series.

---

Receive My New Blog Posts in Your Inbox

Comments

  1. Rick says

    January 9, 2010 at 8:52 PM

    It’s nice to know that we can overcome these issues you wrote about. It’s walking by the spirit and in God’s love that will make you whole. It says in Psalms that He sent his Word and healed them (meaning the children of Israel) and there was not one feeble knee among them.

    Reply
  2. Muryal Braun says

    December 15, 2009 at 1:30 AM

    This is an excellent post. My site deals with the physical things we can do to help reverse osteopenia, but this article is great for making the connection between the physical and the spiritual which is so very important.

    Reply

Join the Conversation Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

connect with us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Translate to A Different Language

Learn & Grow

WorkshopBible StudyIntro Series

Get Blog Post Updates

Receive My New Blog Posts in Your Inbox
Loading

Blog Post Topics

affirmations behavior change Bible and Health Easter eternal life Exercise faith Faith and Health fitness food forgiveness Freedom God Healing Health health care heart Holy Spirit hope Jesus joy Life love mind body spirit obedience obesity peace power prayer relationships running scripture sin spiritual exercises spirituality and health strength stress The Bible the research thinking trust Twitter weight loss wellness wholeness

NEWSLETTER

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the article: "Understanding the Connection Between Spirituality and Health"

PathWay 2 Wholeness

Health-Bible-Study

This life transforming program 'connects the dots' between biblical principles and whole-person health.

About the Ministry

  • Mission, Vision, Beliefs
  • Statement of Faith
  • Dale Fletcher, Executive Director
  • Services
  • Newsletter Options

Become a Christian Life Coach

Life-Coach-training

Become a certified life coach. Read all about Christian Life Coach training at Christian Coach Institute.

Introduction to Faith & Health

Learn how faith and health are linked. Sign up for a FREE series of emails.

Join our online community

Network, share ideas & receive encouragement.

tweets of encouragement

  • Do you have a deep wound in your heart that is influencing your behaviors that impact negatively on your physical h… https://t.co/2D1e2fRAJr
  • https://t.co/rOTrr2khew
@faithandhealth

Copyright © 2023 - Faith and Health Connection