THE MISSING LINK TO BONE HEALTH

A Washington Post article came out recently that reported that Vitamin D and Calcium supplements don’t reduce risk for bone fracture. They were citing a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which analyzed 33 clinical trials involving the impact of Vitamin D and Calcium supplements on reducing bone fractures for people over the age of 50.

As is often the case, a very specific study that isolates one aspect of a much bigger issue can cause alarm if you don’t have an understanding of the big picture. This can result in people throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I’ve been wondering how many people have thrown out their Vitamin D and Calcium supplements since the news about the study broke?

So, let’s take a closer look at what happened here.

As Marion Nestle, who is cited in the article, says, “Bone preservation throughout life requires eating healthfully, engaging in weight-bearing activity, avoiding excessive alcohol, and not smoking — good advice for everyone.” The first thing to remember is that you can’t solve bad eating and lifestyle habits by throwing supplements at it. We’re a society of magic pill seekers, and unfortunately there’s no such thing.

Secondly, let’s address a major misunderstanding about how calcium and bone health works. Our body breaks down and rebuilds bone mass on a regular basis, and calcium is a major component of bone mineralization. Even later in life, when we don’t build as much bone, calcium helps to prevent bone loss. While calcium is undeniably crucial for bone strength, it’s not the only mineral needed. You can’t reduce risk for fracture with calcium alone.

 

The Missing Link:

Magnesium is one of the most important missing puzzle pieces in bone health. Not only does magnesium allow calcium to be properly absorbed into your bones, it’s also responsible for drawing soft tissue into the bones. Think about it, if you have a strong bone without any ‘give’ to it, that actually increases your risk for fracture. The bone becomes strong only in a ‘brittle’ way. If you’re deficient in magnesium and keep throwing calcium at the problem, you’re exacerbating the situation. Too much calcium alone therefore can actually increase risk for osteoporosis. In fact, the World Health Organization has cited that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis (by looking at the outcome of fracture), were the countries where people ate the most dairy.

But this does not mean in any way that calcium isn’t crucial for the bones, because it is. It only means that it can’t carry the burden alone. In countries like the US, where we eat a lot of dairy, we’re also sorely lacking in green vegetables. And the best source of magnesium is green vegetables, particularly leafy greens and broccoli. And also dark chocolate, which I personally take to heart:) Dark chocolate not withstanding, it’s estimated that some 75% of Americans are deficient in magnesium. Yikes. Side-note: a serving of leafy greens not only contains magnesium, but the same amount of calcium as a glass of milk.

Vitamin K is another crucial asset to bone mineralization, as are many other minerals, such as zinc, boron and potassium. Vitamin K is also found largely in… leafy greens.

So now let’s take a look at Vitamin D, which is actually a hormone created by your body when sunlight hits your skin. Vitamin D is also an essential part of the bone health formula; it allows the proper absorption of calcium, as well as the proper absorption of all vitamins and minerals, which is why you don’t want to be deficient in Vitamin D. However your body can’t produce Vitamin D without getting enough magnesium, amongst other minerals such as boron, which aid in the metabolism of Vitamin D; as you can see, there’s a synergistic relationship between the minerals and vitamins needed for your health, and most of them are found in leafy green vegetables. If you’re deficient in Vitamin D, either get more direct sunlight and eat your greens, or you’ll likely need to supplement.

As further evidence of a winning formula for bone health, look at the animals in the world with the strongest bones, like elephants and giraffes; they spend their days out in the sun, eating leafy greens, and getting exercise.

Calcium and D supplements alone, as the study suggests, may not reduce risk for bone fracture, but that doesn’t mean they should be disregarded; Calcium and D are two important pieces of a complex puzzle. However, without addressing the lack of an array of other minerals and nutrients, particularly magnesium and Vitamin K, they are a bust. And that’s not to mention the need for weight bearing exercise, whether or not you drink or smoke, the loss of estrogen as women age, and whether you eat too much animal protein (which is also cited by the WHO as increasing risk for bone fracture).

So, the solution for all of this? Instead of isolating vitamins, think holistically about your body, what you eat, and how you live. And most importantly, EAT MORE GREENS. To quote one of my clients, ‘Greens is the new black.’ I couldn’t agree more.