A Complete Guide to Optimal Bone Health

Most people don’t think about bone health until something happens, like a broken bone or a test showing bone density issues. However, bones perform many beneficial jobs, not just holding us up. So, let’s give them the nourishment they deserve.

Many people are unaware of just how many vital functions our bones perform. These are just a few of them;

1. Bone marrow makes red and white blood cells, as well as platelets.

2. They store minerals and fatty acids.

3. Bones help to maintain a steady blood pH.

4. Bones release hormones acting on the kidneys, influencing blood sugar regulation and fat deposition.

5. Bones maintain calcium balance.

Bones are composed of two main parts. The first is the compact (cortical) bone, the hard outer layer that is dense and durable. It makes up about eighty percent of adult bone mass. The second part is the cancellous (trabecular or spongy) bone. It consists of a network of trabeculae or rod-like structures. It is lighter, less dense, and more flexible than compact bone.

Your bones have some pretty incredible things in them.

• Osteoblasts and osteocytes are responsible for creating bone

• Osteoclasts, bone-resorbing cells

• Osteoid is a mix of collagen and other proteins

• Inorganic mineral salts within the matrix

• Nerves and blood vessels

• Bone Marrow

• Cartilage

• Membranes, including the endosteum periosteum

Osteopenia and osteoporosis are the most commonly known health conditions that affect bones. Osteopenia is when your bones are weaker than average but not so far gone that they break easily. Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens the bones to the point where they fracture or break easily.

As osteoporosis gets worse, bones get thinner and more porous.

So, what are some factors that contribute to these conditions? While there are others, these are the main factors:

Improving as many of those as possible will help not only your bones but your overall health as well!

First up on your nourishing bones journey is exercise. Weight-bearing exercises are a great way to support healthy bone density. Osteoporosis Canada has some excellent guides to exercising for healthy bones; click the button below to download them.

If you’re worried about your bone health, don’t skimp on the proper bone-building exercises.

A strong bone is a happy bone!

Hormones (such as estrogen) play a big role in bone health, especially for postmenopausal women. Check out our blog to learn more.

Your bones need a variety of nutrients to be at their best.

First up is vitamin D. It helps the body to absorb calcium and phosphorus (which is incredibly important for bone health but rarely talked about.). Children who do not get enough vitamin D can develop a painful condition called rickets.

The best source of vitamin D3 is the sun. Your body produces vitamin D3 from sunlight. UVB radiation from the sun triggers the formation of d3 from a compound in the skin called 7-dehydrocholesterol. Remember that your body will not produce as much in northern elevations or if you are wearing sunscreen. If you want to manage your sun time to help your body get enough vitamin D without sunburn, there are some great phone apps.

While it is not known what the exact blood levels of vitamin D should be (I am going to be referring to nanograms to milliliters here), it is generally accepted that 30-60 is a good range. Your doctor can test your vitamin D levels and help you determine what a good number is for you. There is also an at-home test you can do. You can get too much vitamin D, leading to health issues such as hypercalcemia and kidney calcium stones. So don’t overdo it.

There are few foods rich in vitamin D; it is one of the hardest nutrients to obtain from your diet.

Vitamin K comes in multiple forms. There are three main ones. K1 is found in plant foods, such as leafy green vegetables. K2 (MK-7) is found in fermented foods such as tempeh and natto. K2 (MK-4) is found in animal products such as grass-fed butter and ghee, wild-caught fish eggs, organ meats, bone marrow, grass-fed raw hard cheeses, and egg yolks.

If you are taking blood-thinning medication, talk to your doctor before increasing the amount of vitamin K in your diet.

Certain medications, such as cholesterol (statins and bile acid sequestrants) and lubricant laxatives, can lower vitamin K levels, so if you are taking them, make sure to eat extra vitamin K-rich foods.

• Good mineral water, such as Gerolsteiner.

• Plantains

• Cooked greens like chard and kale.

• Bananas

• Sweet Potatoes

• Low Heavy Metal Cacao

  • Ensure your cacao is low in heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc.), as many are very high in heavy metals.

• Avocados

• Dried Figs

• Guava

• Kiwis

• Raspberries

• Melons

• Grass-fed Yogurt

• Sprouted Chia Seeds

• Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds

• Good mineral water, such as Gerolsteiner.

• Cucumbers and pickles with the skin (the skin is where all the silica is)

• Bananas

• Green beans

• Organ Meats

• Mussels

• Sweet Potatoes

• Horsetail

• Nettles

• Prunes

• Avocados

• Peaches

• Grapes

• Apples

• Pears

• Raisins

• Shellfish

• Pineapple

• Squash

• Sweet potatoes

• Bananas

Copper is another essential mineral for bone health. It helps with the formation of collagen, an important part of the structure of a bone. Foods rich in copper include:

• Grass-fed beef liver

• Shellfish

• Shiitake Mushrooms

• Cacao

Zinc supplements can be very hard on the stomach. If you need a zinc supplement, a true whole-food one can make taking zinc a breeze, with no more nausea and upset stomach.

If you are going to take a vitamin C supplement, make sure it’s a truly whole food one. To learn more about vitamin C, and meet the vitamin C gang, check out our blog article, All about vitamin C.

Phosphorus is essential for healthy bones, yet it rarely gets talked about, which is terrible because of its importance.

• Grass-fed dairy

• Meat

• Organ Meats

• Seafood

• Bone Marrow

Some foods, such as nuts, contain phosphorus; however, the bioavailability is very poor because of nutrient inhibitors, such as high levels of phytic acid. Sprout nuts to improve the bioavailability of the phosphorus in them.

Finally, we arrive at calcium – the big name in bone health. We could probably write a whole article just about it.

Calcium keeps your bones dense and strong, but it can only do that if you get enough of all the other nutritional pieces mentioned above. Rather than get too deep into the science here, we will give you the basics. We did not want to add another ten pages to this article.

You often see articles about calcium, heart attacks, or cardiovascular issues. Without getting too into the weeds about it, this risk comes entirely from crappy calcium supplements (carbonate, citrate, etc., and foods fortified with calcium (beverages like almond, oat, and nut milks, orange juice fortified with calcium, etc.). When you ingest lots of calcium made from chalk, ground-up rocks, etc., it creates a rapid spike in blood calcium, which triggers the body to get rid of it quickly because blood calcium is carefully regulated. Then, this calcium gets deposited into arteries, soft tissues, and other places where it does not belong. So, to avoid the vast majority of calcium’s dangerous side, you just need to not eat foods with ground-up rocks added or take certain calcium supplements containing forms of calcium that cause a rapid spike in blood levels, such as carbonate and citrate. These are not good sources of calcium. Just say no to foods and supplements filled with ground-up rocks and chalk.

Foods rich in bioavailable calcium include:

• Grass-fed dairy products

• Canned wild salmon with the bones

• Whole canned wild sardines with the bones

• Dried Figs

• Cooked leafy greens such as kale, collards, and mustard greens

There are some great supplements for bone health. However, it’s important to take them daily at the full dosage because it can take a year to start seeing the full benefits for bone health. Taking too low of a dosage, taking them inconsistently, or taking them for too short a time will not get you the results you are looking for. As always, talk to your doctor before starting any supplements.

Since many people do not get enough vitamin D from food or the sun, vitamin D supplements are often needed to reach optimal levels. Our favorite vitamin D supplement is Rosita cod liver oil. It differs significantly from heavily refined cod liver oils with synthetic vitamin D added because the natural vitamins are stripped out during the refining process. Besides the sun and vitamin D-rich foods, this is the best way to get your vitamin D. It is the perfect way to ensure your body is getting this vital nutrient in its most bioavailable form. In addition, Rosita cod liver oil supplies vitamin A (retinol) and omega-three fatty acids in their natural forms, which have a synergistic effect with vitamin D that you will not get from traditional vitamin D supplements. Remember, in nature, no nutrient exists on its own. We should strive to get our nutrition the best way, from nutrient-rich whole foods.

Since most people do not get enough magnesium in their diet, magnesium supplements are often needed. While there are many types of magnesium supplements, a genuinely whole-food magnesium supplement is best.

With vitamin K being so important to bone health, many people choose to supplement with it. When choosing a good vitamin K supplement, it’s important to focus on those that push the most to the tissues and bones instead of the mistaken focus on blood levels. Lots of forms of nutrients can increase blood levels, but that does not mean that they have the most beneficial effects. MK-4 concentrates in tissues and organs, so it does not show up as much in blood tests as it is quickly moved and utilized by the body. Research claiming that MK-7 is superior because of higher blood levels is focused on the wrong thing. Instead, the focus should be on health outcomes. Multiple human clinical trials, at 45 milligrams per day, have shown support for healthy bones. Our recommendation is to choose the type of vitamin K2 with proven health benefits, and that is MK-4. This is our recommended supplement for it. Three capsules per day provide the full dosage. It is best taken one pill three times daily with meals.

Seleno Health Concentrated Red Maca is our next bone-health supplement. It helps to support healthy hormones, as well as bone health. One compound in maca is of particular importance, N‐(3‐methoxybenzyl)‐(9Z,12Z,15Z)‐octadecatrienamide (MBOC). It supports the health of the Wnt/B-catenin pathway. This molecular pathway plays a significant role in bone health.

Last, but certainly not least, is calcium. When choosing a good calcium supplement, it’s crucial to choose one that meets the following criteria.

• 100% whole food

• Contains foods are traceable to their farms to ensure they are ethically produced and manufactured.

• Manufactured and produced in a way that preserves all of the important proteins and cofactors found in the foods. Even if you have the best food source in the world, lousy processing and manufacturing methods will destroy any benefits.

• Contains the calcium naturally bonded with phosphorus, as it occurs in the whole food, and has adequate amounts of phosphorus for the calcium to be utilized appropriately.

• Contains adequate amounts of calcium.

• Does not cause a rapid spike in blood calcium.

• Free of ground-up rocks and shells.

• Free of heavy metal contamination.

• Contains the form of calcium that is identical to what makes up our bones.

• Do not contain forms of calcium that require high levels of stomach acid to be absorbed while they lower stomach acid.

• Have research to support its effectiveness in supporting healthy bones.

While it was not easy to find calcium supplements that met those criteria, we did manage to find a few that did. They are 100% whole food from regenerative family farms in the Lake Eyre Region of Australia. You can view them here and here.

We get asked about strontium a lot, and our answer is always, “Just say no!” The small amounts naturally occurring in food are completely safe and very different from the large amounts sold as supplements.

Strontium has been the subject of a great marketing campaign. However, marketing should not be what decides whether something is safe or effective.

This is dangerous because bones perform many vital jobs in the body, and replacing significant amounts of calcium with strontium may affect the ability of bones to function correctly.

Strontium is not your friend.