The key is to take a superior form of calcium with added minerals and vitamins

For calcium to actually strengthen bone it must be consumed along with several other nutrients. Phosphorus is particularly important, and magnesium, boron, and vitamins D and K are also needed for bone metabolism. Also, daidzein, a compound found in soy and other legumes, has been shown to stimulate bone formation and mineralization.

• Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in bone building, allowing the body to absorb calcium, and for maintaining the proper balance of calcium and phosphorus. You could take calcium all day long, and if you are not getting the proper amount of vitamin D with your calcium, you will not be able to absorb it properly. Vitamin D can be formed in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. It is also added to milk. However, many people do not produce enough vitamin D or get enough from food. Vitamin D deficiency can be a problem for older people and those who are homebound or bed-ridden.
• Vitamin K has recently been identified as an important nutrient in bone health. According to Sarah Booth, at the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston,vitamin K activates at least three proteins involved in bone health. Several studies have indicated that low vitamin K levels are associated with risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures, and that supplementation with vitamin K increases bone mass and mineralization of the bone matrix.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹
  
  In particular, supplementation with menaquinone-7 (MK7), a long chain vitamin K2 molecule, has been shown to protect against osteoporosis and reduce the risk of bone fractures. Furthermore, when combined with vitamin D, the MK7 form of vitamin K2 has actually been shown to promote bone growth. It does this by increasing the production of osteocalcin in osteoblasts, which allows calcium to anchor to bone and thus build bone. It also inhibits the production of osteoclasts, which break down bone.²⁰
• Boron is important in preventing calcium loss, as it improves calcium absorption and reduces the amount of calcium excreted in the urine.
• Phosphorus is the second most prevalent mineral in bones and makes up more than half the mass of bone mineral. Thus, the diet needs to have sufficient phosphorus in order to have healthy bones. Inadequate levels of phosphorus in the diet may be more widespread than previously thought, especially in the elderly and in people who eat little meat.
  
  Researchers recently completed a detailed study on the co-dependence of calcium and phosphorus on growth and bone development, which they presented at the National Osteoporosis Foundation Fifth International Symposium. The presentation detailed how bone disease can develop when calcium and phosphorus are not balanced and within good levels. When phosphorus is too high, the body takes calcium out of the bones to bind with the phosphorus and remove it from the blood. Bones become brittle as a result.
  
  The balance of calcium and phosphorus can especially impact women over 60, whose diets often contain less than the recommended dietary allowance of 1,000 mg of phosphorus. According to one of the researchers, Dr. Heaney, a scientist at Creighton University’s Osteoporosis Research Center, “For these women, the usual calcium supplement, calcium carbonate, may block most of the absorption of phosphorus. If this happens, the calcium won’t do much good because bone mineral consists of both calcium and phosphorus.”
  
  Another presenter, Dr. Shapiro of Product Safety Laboratories in Dayton, New Hampshire said, “Both calcium and phosphorus are needed to support an increase in bone mass. If the diet is low in phosphorus, calcium supplementation alone will be inadequate, and may aggravate a phosphorus deficiency. A phosphorus-containing calcium source would seem to be preferable to one providing calcium alone.”²¹
  
  So not only is it important that a bone-building supplement contain eggshell calcium that enhances calcium absorption, but it should also contain phosphorus.
• Magnesium is essential for proper calcium absorption and is an important mineral in the bone matrix. It has specific effects on the parathyroid hormone, which helps regulate proper calcium metabolism.
• Daidzein is an isoflavonoid found in soy. Soy has become very popular for promoting women’s health due to its phytoestrogenic activity. Soy contains two phytoestrogen compounds, daidzein and genestein. Genestein has become a very popular supplement and has been promoted for the benefits of soy in a concentrated capsule. However, genestein has recently raised concerns over its potential negative effects on immune function, brain function, and DNA repair. Daidzein doesn’t share these negative effects, and is more effective than genestein at maintaining bone health.

How do hormones affect bone health?

Hormones play an important role in maintaining bone mass. Once women reach menopause and hormone levels decline, bone loss escalates. Rapid bone loss continues for about five years during menopause, and can reach three to four percent of total bone mass. This surge of bone loss eventually tapers off after a few years, and is about equal to the amount of bone loss in men of the same age. But the loss of bone minerals continues throughout the rest of a person’s life—which is one of the reasons there is a lot of excitement about research into daidzein’s ability to help stimulate bone formation and mineralization in the same way that hormones do.

Animal experiments as well as bone-tissue and bone-cell-culture investigations have demonstrated daidzein’s effect on bone metabolism. Also, daidzein has been shown to enhance bone formation, and help prevent and treat osteoporosis in elderly women.^22232425

Progesterone promotes bone health

There’s been a lot of discussion about the controversy of hormone replacement therapy. Yet, natural progesterone has been proven time and time again to be safe and effective for promoting bone health and balancing problems associated with estrogen dominance.

Osteoblasts, the bone-building cells, contain progesterone receptors and this hormone appears to directly encourage bone building. Also, during the reproductive years, progesterone works with estrogen to conserve calcium within the body and limit the withdrawal of calcium from the bones.²⁶

In 1991, when Dr. Jerilynn Prior of British Colombia was studying young women athletes, she inadvertently discovered that many of these seemingly normal and healthy athletes had abnormal menstrual periods and were not ovulating. Why? Because they all suffered from a progesterone deficiency. The hormone deficiency was also linked to excessive bone loss. Progesterone supplementation alleviated the menstrual irregularities and corrected the excessive bone loss.²⁷

For more than 20 years, the late Dr. John Lee had successfully used natural progesterone supplements for reversing excessive bone loss and preventing new fractures in women with osteoporosis. Interestingly, Dr. Lee said that natural progesterone builds bone with or without estrogen therapy. In cases of severe osteoporosis, Dr Lee found that natural progesterone could increase bone density within six months. Many of the women in his study added natural progesterone to their estrogen therapy, but others dropped the estrogen and utilized only natural progesterone. His research clearly shows that natural progesterone replacement leads to new bone formation, actively increasing bone mass and density.²⁸

And don’t forget weight-bearing exercise

Weight-bearing activity—along with supplementation—is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to bone health. First, weight-bearing exercise helps to stimulate bone formation. Second, it strengthens the surrounding muscles that in turn pull or tug on bones. This action keeps bones strong. And third, physical activity improves your strength, balance, and coordination—all of which help reduce your risk of falls and bone injuries.

The benefits of weight-bearing exercise on bone health are site-specific. This means that you strengthen only the bones used directly in the exercise. Therefore, it’s a good idea to participate in a variety of weight-bearing exercises. To maintain the bone-building benefits, exercise should be continued on a regular basis.

What about exercise when I’m older?

Weight-bearing activities at any age benefit bone health. Physical activity strengthens bones in children, teens, men and women, and even adults 90 years of age and older.

So play it safe. Think of your bones as a savings account. There is only as much bone mass in your account as you deposit, so you want to build as much bone in your early years as possible.

And start now! Whether you’re in your teens or 70s, man or woman, now is the time to increase your calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K2 intake and aid your body in building and maintaining healthy bone mass.

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References

Articles of Interest from Smart Publications Health & Wellness Update

• Vitamin K2 is More Important in the Fight Against Osteoporosis than Calcium
• Vitamin K Deficiency Linked to Osteoporosis, Cancer, and Heart Disease
• Think Twice Before Taking Bisphosphonate Drugs for Osteoporosis
• Strontium Restores Healthy Bone and Prevents Fractures
• Prevent Osteoporosis with Egg Shell Calcium, Vitamins D and K2, and Other Nutrients