No matter what age you are, it pays to have healthy bones.  Our bones are living and growing throughout our lives and are constantly being renewed with new bone tissue.  When we exercise and eat right, bones are built up as more tissue is produced than is lost.  Bone loss occurs when more bone tissue is lost than is replaced.   Hormones and stress also play a part in the production of bone tissue, but today I want to focus on the nutrients that play a huge part in healthy bones.

We have been hearing for most of our lives that calcium is necessary for building strong bones.  And yes, calcium is a hugely important mineral for a healthy body.  It is needed for strength and structure of teeth and bones, blood clotting, nerve function, muscle contraction and relaxation, enzyme regulation, and membrane permeability.

Healthy Green Salad with Chopped Vegetables, Beans, and Nuts

But taking one single nutrient like calcium  is not going to keep your bones strong and healthy throughout your life.  You need to take a closer look at your overall diet- consuming a large range of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, seeds and nuts which will support your body’s acid-alkaline balance.  Eating excess animal protein, refined grains, excess sugar, sodas, and preservatives can cause the pH in our blood and tissues to become slightly more acidic than is optimal.  When this happens, calcium is released by our bones to adjust the pH balance, resulting in gradual bone loss.  If the bone cells do not have certain key nutrients to produce more tissue, your bones become brittle and fracture more easily.

Very few diets today provide the perfect balance of nutrients for healthy bones.  Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, author of Better Bones, Better Body  , recommends that both children and adults add a high quality multivitamin to fill any nutritional gaps. For those who are at increased risk for osteoporosis, an additional supplement formulated for bone-building is helpful.

What Nutrients are Important for Healthy Bones?

Calcium:  Getting the proper amount of calcium is still important although the bioavailability of calcium increases greatly when combined with other key nutrients.  Deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, boron and vit D can contribute to the development of osteoporosis.  Getting the proper amount of calcium when we’re young as well as maintaining it in our older years is vital. Adolescents who make even a 5 percent gain in bone mass in their teens may reduce the risk of osteoporosis by 40 percent.

Magnesium:  50% of our body’s total magnesium levels are in our bones. Studies suggest that magnesium improves bone mineral density, and not getting enough may interfere with our ability to process calcium.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption in the small intestine. Without enough vitamin D, less than 10% of ingested calcium may be absorbed.  Unfortunately the majority of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, and most doctors today are recommending at least 1000-2000 IU daily of supplemental vit D3.

Boron:  Adequate boron intake is essential to preserving the body’s stores of bone-building calcium and magnesium. Boron  helps support optimal calcium absorption, and studies have shown it alleviates the detrimental effects of vitamin D deficiency on calcium metabolism.

Silicon: Silicon increases the production of bone collagen and strengthens the connective tissue matrix by cross-linking collagen strands, increasing the flexibility and strength of  the bone . Dietary silicon also appears to increase the rate of mineralization, particularly when calcium intake is low.

Vitamin K: Vit K  is important for both bone formation and bone healing.  It influences the level of osteocalcin in the bone-forming cells and thus helps bind calcium to the bone matrix. Instances of fractures are reduced with optimal levels of vit K supplementation.

How Can I Be Sure to Include These Important Bone-Building Nutrients in My Diet?

Personally, I do my very best to include vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds in my meals everyday.  But even the most conscientious of us fail to take in optimal amounts of necessary nutrients every day.  In order to fill in the gaps, I take a multivitamin/mineral supplement that uses pharmaceutical grade manufacturing practices and has multiple third-party verification of purity and potency. I then add a specific bone-building supplement, Active Calcium, that contains all the appropriate nutrients for  bone health.*

Through exercise, eating right, and taking my supplements, I am confident that I am doing my best to avoid the debilitating effects of osteoporosis.

Are you?  What nutrients does your Calcium supplement contain?  Click on the bottle of Active Calcium and compare.

Live Well!

Robin

References used:

Meacham SL, Taper LJ, Volpe SL. Effect of boron supplementation on blood and urinary calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, and urinary boron in athletic and sedentarty women.  1995. Am J Clin Nutr 61 (2): 341-5.