It’s always the first step in my bone health program.

You see, you can’t just pop a pill and keep poisoning your bones with bad food. But I do think that supplements can play an important role in boosting the nutrients that your bones need.

Maybe you don’t digest your food very well so you aren’t getting the nutrients your bones need. Or maybe you’re trying to eat right, but you’re not hitting your goals at every meal. I get that…

Now, I’m no expert on supplements. But I thought I’d share with you today the four supplements that I take to make sure my bones are getting the most important vitamins and minerals they need.

And before I get started, I’ll mention the one “bone” supplement that I DON’T take.

It’s calcium.

You see, instead of giving you harder bones, calcium supplements could give you hardened arteries…

A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that calcium supplements may significantly raise your risk of plaque buildup in the arteries and even heart damage. People in the study who took the most calcium as a supplement had a 22 percent increase in their risk of coronary artery calcification.[i]

But people who got their calcium through food had no increased risk of heart disease.

That’s why I don’t take calcium supplements any more. Instead I get my calcium the way nature intended – from my food.

But there are other bone nutrients that are so important I take a daily supplement.

Here are my top 4 bone supplements:

1. Vitamin D

The lower your vitamin D levels, the more likely you are to break a bone…

A recent study found 77 percent of patients with traumatic bone fractures have low levels of vitamin D.[ii] A traumatic fracture is a broken bone from a fall from a height, a car accident, playing sports, or something falling on you.

Another study also linked non-traumatic fractures with low vitamin D levels. Women with blood levels of 20 ng/ml or above of vitamin D were 46 percent less likely to have a non-traumatic fracture. And every 10 ng/ml increase in vitamin D levels cut fracture risk by 28 percent.[iii]

Your skin produces vitamin D when it’s exposed to the sun’s rays. But most of us don’t spend enough time in the sun. One study of 1,600 people found 89 percent were low in vitamin D.[iv]

I usually take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day.

2. Magnesium

Studies prove a significant link between bone density and magnesium.[v]

Without magnesium, bone nutrients like calcium and vitamin D can’t do their jobs. Your body needs magnesium to convert vitamin D into its active form. If vitamin D is not activated it can’t turn on your body’s calcium absorption.[vi]

You also need magnesium to stimulate the hormone calcitonin. That helps draw calcium out of the blood and soft tissues and put it back into the bones.

The magnesium content of your bones decreases as you age.[vii] In addition, sugar and alcohol cause you to lose magnesium through your urine.

That’s why I take 2 400mg (800mg daily) of magnesium every evening. There are many different forms. I take magnesium dioxide. It also helps with constipation. Magnesium glycinate is a better choice if you don’t want the laxative effect.

3. Vitamin K2 

Your bones need vitamin K2 to corral calcium. K2 hooks onto osteocalcin, a protein that helps anchor calcium in the bones. It drags osteocalcin to the bone so calcium can stick there and do its work.

Without K2, osteocalcin hangs out in the blood stream. It doesn’t get to the bones. The bones become porous. And calcium collects in the arteries or organs and hardens there.

Vitamin K2 also joins with vitamin D3 to increase production of osteocalcin in the cells that build bones (osteoblasts). It also inhibits production of cells that break down bone (osteoclasts).

Don’t get it confused with vitamin K1. That helps your blood clot. Vitamin K2 is different. It comes in several different forms called menaquinones (MK). They’re numbered from 4 to 9. The higher the number, the more bioavailable and long-lasting the K2.

I take this K2 in a Metagenics product called Coratin - Red Yeast Rice & Plant Sterol combination. It has  a total of 60 micrograms of MK4 and MK 7.

4. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is needed for a healthy balance of bone-building osteoblasts and bone-destroying osteoclasts. It helps new osteoblasts form to build new bone. It also impedes the destruction of bone by osteoclasts.

When your levels of vitamin C are low, you have trouble building new bone and your bone breakdown speeds up.

I take 1,000 mg of vitamin C every day. Too much can give you an upset stomach and diarrhea. That’s why I take Perque buffered ascorbate powder. It’s easy on my stomach.

Please let me know how I can better serve you and your bones.

There is a wonderful alkalizing salad dressing video gift for you on the other side for your time.

Have your bones click —-> HERE

If you found this article helpful, please share my blog (using the share buttons on the bottom) with anyone you know who has bones.

From my bones to yours,

Irma

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[i] John J.B. Anderson, Bridget Kruszka, Joseph A.C. Delaney, et al. “Calcium Intake From Diet and Supplements and the Risk of Coronary Artery Calcification and its Progression Among Older Adults: 10-Year Follow-up of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).” Journal of the American Heart Association, 2016; 5 (10): e003815 DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.116.003815

[ii] Brett Crist, MD et al. "Incidence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Orthopaedic Trauma Patients," presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' annual meeting.

[iii] Cauley J., et al. “Serum 25 Hydroxyvitamin D, Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk Across the Menopause.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2015 May;100(5):2046-54..

[iv] Schilling S. "Epidemic vitamin d deficiency among patients in an elderly care rehabilitation facility." Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012 Jan;109(3):33-8.

[v] Ryder KM et al, “Magnesium intake from food and supplements is associated with bone mineral density in healthy older white subjects.” J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Nov;53(11):1875-80.

[vi] Saggese, G. Bertelloni, S. Baroncelli, G. I. et al. “Bone demineralization and impaired mineral metabolism in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. A possible role of magnesium deficiency.” Helv Paediatr Acta. 1989 Jun; 43 (5-6): 405-14.

[vii] Jahnen-Dechent W., Ketteler M. “Magnesium basics.” Clin. Kidney J. 2012;5:i3–i14. doi: 10.1093/ndtplus/sfr163.

The post Top 4 Bone-Building Supplements appeared first on Food For Healthy Bones.

That’s according to Dr. Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD.  In his recent book Death By Calcium he turns everything you thought you knew about bone health upside down.  Starting with calcium.

In fact, Dr. Levy makes the case that calcium supplements and dairy are toxic to your body.

Most of us get way too much calcium.  And the excess accumulates in cells, tissues and organs.  It calcifies and hardens wherever it lands whether it’s your arteries, heart or brain.

As a result, he says “you are 30% more likely to have a heart attack and up to 20% more likely to have a stroke if you take an extra 500 mg of calcium per day.”

It’s even worse if you’re getting 1,400 mg per day – which many women do.  That can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease by 40%.

And it’s not just heart disease.  That extra calcium can also concentrate in cells and cause oxidation leading to cancer.  That’s why women with the highest bone mass were found in one study to have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

How Much Calcium Is Too Much?

We simply don’t need as much calcium as most of us are getting whether it’s in dairy or supplements.  According to Thomas Levy, MD, JD we only need to take in enough calcium to replace what we lose every day.  That’s about 170 mg for most healthy people.  But you have to add about 30% to that number.  That’s because your digestive system only absorbs about 70% of the calcium you take in. [i]

Bottom line?  If you’re over 36 years old, you only need 200 to 300 mg of calcium per day.  Not the 1,300 mg the government recommends.[ii]

It’s not a lot.  Eating just a cup of low-fat yogurt (400 mg) would put you over the limit.

You can easily get all the calcium you need every day from your food even if you don’t eat any dairy.  Here are some of my favorite non-dairy foods and their calcium content.

If Not Calcium, What Do Your Bones Need?

Dr. Levy recommends an extensive 6-part protocol to prevent and even reverse osteoporosis.

He advocates detoxifying the whole body to eliminate toxins and chronic infections.  He particularly advises getting rid of your dental amalgams containing mercury and nickel.

And as for bone-healthy supplements?  Dr. Levy recommends taking vitamin D and vitamin K2.  Both of these direct calcium into your bones and away from your heart and other organs.

But the most important vitamin Dr. Levy recommends for bone health was a surprise to me.  It’s vitamin C.

He calls vitamin C the “foundation and cornerstone of strong bones.”

And he says osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency.  Instead, it’s “scurvy of the bones.”  Here’s what he means.

Vitamin C is needed to maintain a health balance of bone-building osteoblasts and bone-destroying osteoclasts.  It helps new osteoblasts form to build new bone.  It also impedes the destruction of bone by osteoclasts.

When your levels of vitamin C are low, you have trouble building new bone and your bone breakdown speeds up.

How much vitamin C should you be taking for your bones?  If you’re taking ascorbic acid Dr. Levy recommends 6,000 to 15,000 mg per day in divided doses.  That assumes you can tolerate that much and don’t develop diarrhea.

You can also try 2,000 mg per day of the liposomal form of vitamin C.  That’s a special gel form that your body absorbs more easily.  And it won’t give you any GI distress.

I found Dr. Levy’s book fascinating.  He makes a strong case for his healthy bone protocol.  And his book is well documented with hundreds of studies.

If you’re worried about your bones this is a great read and a wonderful reference book.  Click HERE To get your copy of Death By Calcium.

This review is part of my book club series.  We were a group of 7 women who gathered by phone from Seattle to New Jersey to discuss what we learned in Death By Calcium.

My question for you.

When it comes to choosing the right foods to optimize your bone health, what is the single biggest challenge, frustration or problem you’ve been struggling with?

Please let me know so I can write content that meets your needs.

Plus I have wonderful alkaline salad dressing waiting for you on the other side to thank you for your time 🙂.

Click here to share your challenges ----> HERE

From my bones to yours,

Irma Jennings, INHC

Holistic Bone Coach

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[i] Death by Calcium page 195

[ii] Death by Calcium page 196 - Chart "Average Calcium Needs by Age"

The post Death By Calcium - Stepping Away from Calcium Supplements appeared first on Food For Healthy Bones.