Aging and healthy bones don’t go together. Your bones get weaker and more brittle as you age. Also, damaged bones do not heal quickly and sometimes not at all.
But you, my OMY friend, have some options to prevent or at least deter this creeping problem, and it’s easier than you think.
However, before we go any further, please read my post on getting started on a supplement program: FOUNDATION TRIAD FOR OMY SUPPLEMENTS.
OK, you should now be up to speed on the supplements I have recommended so far, and if you’ve followed my advice, you’re halfway to your healthy bone triad.
Simple Boneology:
Most of us think of our bones as something we grew up with, and if we ate healthy food and drank lots of milk, we had and still have strong bones. This assumption is partially true. Starting with healthy bones gives us a head start, but we can’t rely on this to carry us through life.
Bones do many things I won’t go into in this post, but one misconception to clear up is that bones are static, and once you’re grown, that’s it. In a way, this is true, we don’t just keep getting taller, and our arms and fingers don’t keep getting longer.
Bone growth is a complex, and ongoing exchange between your pituitary gland and various hormones. When the master gland – your pituitary – says stop, your bones stop growing in size, but they continue growing inside. This internal growth never ceases.
Inside Healthy Bones:
Inside your bones, there are two types of cells. One type breaks down bone tissue, and the other cell type builds it back. In healthy bones, this tearing down and building back goes on for the rest of your life.
This rebuilding is like tearing down old rickety houses and replacing them with new ones. Old worn-out cells get replaced with new ones. Since this goes on in your bones constantly, you generally have healthy bones.
Of course, some diseases are directly related to malfunctions in this process, and modern medicine has some pharmaceutical treatments to correct these problems. As you probably guessed, old age lurks in the background as this happens.
Aging and Healthy Bones:
- Every day, some of your bone material is destroyed.
- Also every day, some of your bone material is replaced.
- In healthy bones, these two actions are kept in balance.
- When the balance tilts to one side, you develop diseased bones.
- Pharmaceutical companies have drugs to ameliorate these problems.
- You can help deter or slow these diseases with diet, exercise, and supplements – the three legged stool of longevity.
- If you are taking one of these pharmaceutical medications, DO NOT stop taking it without your PHCP’s consent.
Reading:
These three articles are refreshers before we get started. I will assume that you have read these and are exercising and eating as suggested. Exercise and a good diet will go a long way to getting healthy bones. Don’t neglect these avenues.
The rest of this post will be about supplements critical to maintaining bone strength.
Big Three Bone Supplements: MAD3-K2
Remember “mad three, kay two.” These stand for Magnesium, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin K2.
These three supplements work in combination to improve your bone health. Each plays a different part, but they complement each other. We’ll do magnesium first:
Magnesium:
Magnesium has many food sources and is involved in more than three hundred metabolic processes. Still, as available and essential as magnesium is, many people remain deficient in this critical element.
I’ve taken magnesium for many years with no adverse effects. I personally take 500 milligrams of magnesium every day. I am not saying you should do this; this is what I do based on my own studies. If you have any concerns, talk with your PHCP and get your blood levels checked before taking a magnesium supplement.
I’ve never heard of a magnesium overdose, if you take too much magnesium, your kidneys will eliminate it in your urine. As for healthy bones, magnesium improves the density and strength of your bones. It is easily absorbed and available in many foods and supplements. Magnesium is cheap, requires no prescription, and it’s simple to take with no gastrointestinal upsets.
See the below article for more information on magnesium.
https://americanbonehealth.org
Vitamin D3:
Vitamin D3 does many things, and generally, it promotes health and supports your immune system. In this post, I will focus only on its role in bone health. There is a lot of controversy around the use of D3, and you will hear it from both sides – good and bad.
I have taken 7,000 IU’s of D3 every day for many years with no side effects. I am not suggesting you do the same because everyone is different – what works for me might not work for you. Study Vitamin D3 and its application, and decide for yourself. [In reasonable amounts, D3 is not toxic – your body makes it when you spend time in the sun.]
D3 is critical for healthy bones. Although the mechanisms are complex, D3 pulls calcium out of your food and makes it available to organs and tissues throughout your body. So, thanks to D3 and healthy foods, calcium (a critical mineral) is floating around in your bloodstream, ready to use.
Vitamin K2:
Once calcium is floating around in your bloodstream, it doesn’t automatically go to your bones or other areas where it’s needed, like your teeth. Sometimes calcium goes where you don’t want it, like in your arteries, reinforcing plaques.
Think of Vitamin K2 as the master calcium director. It makes sure that calcium gets where it’s needed and doesn’t go where it’s not. There is no blood test for vitamin K2 and no correct dosage for healthy bones. There are recommendations, however.
Here is a good source of vitamin K2 and it’s fairly priced Vitamin K.
There are no known side effects with K2, and I have taken it for years. If, however, you are on a blood thinner, check with your PHCP before using it.
For Healthy Bones:
If you followed my advice in the foundational supplement triad, you’re already taking D3 and K2, and you only need to start taking magnesium. You can find magnesium in any drugstore.
The triad I’ve given you in this post is for healthy bones. Of course, there are other minerals involved like boron, strontium, and phosphorous, but these are trace minerals you’ll probably get in a balanced diet.
About calcium: People take calcium supplements, sometimes with added D3. I do not take calcium and wouldn’t recommend it. Lots of calcium floating around in your blood can go places it doesn’t belong, like your arteries. You don’t want that.
I’m not telling you to stop taking calcium, but I am asking you to read some articles on calcium supplementation and make an educated decision about taking it.
Check out my next post before you sign out BALANCE2.
OMY1
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