When it comes to bone health, the worst advice a woman can get is to take one of Big Pharma’s “bone-building” drugs.
Yet mainstream doctors continue to prescribe osteoporosis drugs like Fosamax and Boniva that are dangerous… even when there are safer alternatives.
So why don’t these Big Pharma “solutions” work?
Your skeleton constantly changes. In a process called remodeling, old bone breaks down so that new bone can take its place. This allows your bones to grow when you’re a child. In adults, it repairs damage and prevents bones from becoming brittle.
This process is a result of two bone-making cells.
• Osteoclasts that break down the old bone, and…
• Osteoblasts, which deposit new bone to your skeletal structure
Osteoporosis happens when these cells are out of balance. Either your osteoclasts are removing too much bone tissue or your osteoblasts aren’t making new cells fast enough.
The result is that your bones become weak and brittle.
Bisphosphonates – the Big Pharma drugs designed to stop bone loss – were designed to kill osteoclasts so they cannot remove more bone. In this regard, they do what they’re supposed to and your bones do become denser. But this denseness is made up of old bone and old calcium.
And because osteoblasts won’t make new tissue if the old tissue is still there, your bones become brittle and more prone to fracture.
Your bones end up looking strong in a scan, but in reality, they’re weak and fragile. In an ironic twist, these drugs cause the exact thing they’re supposed to prevent: broken bones.
Researchers recently studied women taking bisphosphonates who had experienced some sort of fracture.
More than 65% had the same rare fracture in the same area at the middle of the thigh bone — a place most people never get a fracture.1
These fractures were spontaneous — and were not the result of any trauma the women underwent.
3 Steps to Better Bone Health
For complete bone protection, I recommend that you take what I call the “big 3” bone boosters:
- Boost bone strength with boron. This mineral boosts your body’s absorption of calcium and helps it stick to your bones. In fact, studies show that boron deficiency accelerates calcium loss through urine.2
But this rare mineral is also the key to the absorption and metabolism of magnesium, another essential micronutrient that regulates how much calcium your bones absorb. Boron keeps your bones from losing magnesium and calcium. Boron supplements can reduce your daily loss of calcium and magnesium by up to 50%.3 Boron also turbocharges the activity of vitamin D4 and directs how much calcium your bones can store. - Supplement with this bone binder. I call vitamin K2 the “glue” that binds bone together.
Without enough K2, your bones have a harder time holding onto their minerals. This leads to osteoporosis.
In a large study, Harvard researchers found that of the more than 72,000 women they followed, those with the lowest intake of vitamin K2 had a 30% higher risk of hip fracture.5 And numerous studies show that high vitamin K2 intake leads to higher bone mineral density and less bone loss with aging.6 - Build stronger bones with vitamin D3. This nutrient directs how much calcium you store in your bones so you can use it when you need it. Too little vitamin D can lead to thin, brittle bones. This increases your risk of a fracture by more than 50%.7
By preventing bone loss, vitamin D: - Reduces risk of breaking a bone in any part of the body by 33%
- Reduces risk of breaking a hip by 69%
- Reduces risk of having constant bone pain — a bone-softening condition called osteomalacia
Your best source of vitamin D is 15 minutes a day of sunshine with 40% skin exposure. This will give you well over 5,000 IU of D3. I also recommend taking a vitamin D3 supplement called cholecalciferol. It’s the same vitamin D3 your body produces. The minimum you’ll need is 2,000 IU. But you may need as much as 5,000 to 8,000 IU. I strongly suggest getting your levels checked by a doctor.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Lenart BA, et al. “Atypical fractures of the femoral diaphysis in postmenopausal women taking alendronate.” N Engl J Med. 2008;358(12):1304-1306.
2. Nielsen FH, et al. “Effect of dietary boron on mineral, estrogen, and testosterone metabolism in post-menopausal women.” FASEB J. 1:394-7, 1987.
3. Price CT, et al. “Essential nutrients for bone heath and a review of their availability in the average North American diet.” Open Orthop J. 2012;6:143-149.
4. Price CT, et al. “Essential nutrients for bone heath and a review of their availability in the average North American diet.” Open Orthop J. 2012;6:143-149.
5. Feskanich D, et al. “Vitamin K intake and hip fractures in women: A prospective study.” Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69(1):74-79.
6. Maresz K. “Proper calcium use: Vitamin K2 as a promoter of bone and cardiovascular health.” Integr Med (Encinitas). 2015;14(1):34-39.
7. Sunyecz JA. “The use of calcium and vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis.” Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2008;4(4):827-836.