A Holistic Strategy for Bone Density and Vitality

A Holistic Strategy for Bone Density and Vitality

Receiving an osteopenia diagnosis, or simply wanting to avoid one, can feel overwhelming.

However, research suggests that bone loss is not just manageable, but potentially reversible through the right combination of nutrients, hydration, and physical stimulus.

If you are looking to strengthen your skeletal "scaffolding," here is a professional, no-nonsense guide to the essential techniques and remedies for bone restoration.

1.  Types of Bone:

Let’s start off by a brief understanding about what we are talking about here.  Bone is living tissue that makes up the body's skeleton. It is permanently remodelling, breaking down and being replaced.  As we age the speed of turnover declines from a full remodel in 2-5 years as a child to probably 10+ years as an adult. 

Osteoporosis occurs when the speed of breakdown is faster than the bone formation resulting in the bones being less dense and more fragile and thus easier to break.  We must provide the right nutrients for this to work well, and as we age it’s likely some of the systems (like digestion) may not be working quite thus impairing absorption of necessary nutrients.  It is thus up to the individual to be extra-vigilant in consuming the essential ingredients. 

There are 3 types of bone tissue:

1.    Outer Layer: Compact tissue / Cortical Bone. This is the harder, outer tissue of bones.  These remodel the most slowly.  But even if it is slow – 10-20 years – it is still happening.

2.    Internal Structure: Spongy Bone / Cancellous tissue. This sponge-like tissue inside bones is designed to have maximum strength with minimum weight. Turnover of cells here is ten times faster than in the hard outer layer.  It is a mineral storage and exchange reservoir, releasing minerals into the blood when blood levels are low and depositing mineral when minerals in the blood are high, which strengthens the matrix.

It also houses red bone marrow, responsible for creating blood cells.  Lymphatic vessels exist there too, (only discovered in 2020) playing a critical role in bone repair and the immune response.

3.     Subchondral tissue. This is the smooth tissue at the ends of bones, which is covered with another type of tissue called cartilage. Cartilage is a specialized, rubbery connective tissue.

2. The Nutrient Matrix: More Than Just Calcium

While calcium is the primary building block of spongy bone (a little over half), it cannot work in isolation. For the body to actually use calcium, it requires a complex team of minerals and vitamins – co-factors:

• The "Support Squad": To maintain good bone density, your body needs 13 essential minerals, including Magnesium (which people with high bone density have in abundance but the majority of adults are probably in deficit), Potassium (to maintain an alkaline pH and prevent calcium loss in urine), and vital trace minerals like Boron, Silicon, and Zinc.

• The Absorption Duo (Vitamins D3 & K2): Vitamin D3 is vital for absorbing calcium from your gut; without it, the calcium you eat is wasted.  Once absorbed, Vitamin K2 acts as a "traffic warden," directing that calcium into your bones and away from your arteries and soft tissues where it could cause harm.

• The "Toughener" Strontium: this is often described as similar to adding carbon to turn iron into steel, significantly toughening the bone’s organic structure and aiding collagen production.

• The Fibre Structures:  Collagen (certain protein amino acids) acts as a scaffold for the matrix, and comprises about 85-90% of the spongy bone, BUT it must have the co-factors above, the Support Squad, to be able to create the structures.  

3. Hydration: The Hidden Key to Bone Remodelling.

Hydration is often the most overlooked factor in bone health. Water is essential for bone remodelling - the constant process of breaking down old bone and replacing it with new, healthy tissue.

• Drink enough plain water: Aim for around two litres of water daily to ensure your body can effectively distribute calcium. A glass when waking, a glass at each meal, and a glass between meals should do it.

• Monitor and Adjust: Your urine should be pale yellow; dark amber is a clear signal of dehydration.

• Exercise Hydration: Drink a glass of water before your workout, sip throughout, and drink some more afterward to replenish what you lost through sweat.

4. Dietary Shifts for Mineral Absorption

What you eat - and don't eat - determines how well your bones can renew themselves.

• Cut the Sugars: This is probably the most important step you can take and in your control.  Our now Standard Western diet is so aweful for bone health, being high in sugars and refined carbohydrates.  These are major risk factors for osteoporosis.  These foods induce chronic inflammation that disrupts bone remodelling as well as pulling minerals from the spongy bone (see above) which are then excreted.

• Cut unnecessary drugs: long term use of steroids interferes with mineral absorption as do PPIs and various other medicines.  Please discuss with your doctor.

• The Ketogenic Approach: Some experts recommend a ketogenic diet to slow bone loss and improve mineral absorption by addressing digestive issues in the "upper fermenting gut".

• Whole Food Sources: Focus on leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and beans to get your magnesium and potassium naturally.

5. Physical Stimulus: The Power of Gravity

Bones are living tissue that respond to stress. To build density, you must apply physical pressure to trigger the "piezoelectric effect," which stimulates bone-forming cells.

• Beyond Walking: While walking is beneficial, "bouncing" activities—such as skipping or using a rebounder (a small trampoline)—provide the gravitational force needed to really stimulate growth.

• Weight-Bearing Exercise: Regular strength training, jogging, or dancing puts healthy stress on the bones, encouraging them to produce new tissue.

The Bottom Line

Maintaining or improving your bone health requires effort. 

The start of it is ensuring you’re combining high-quality nutrition from food and supplementing when necessary with intentional hydration and adding in high-impact movement, you fuel your body with the ingredients it must have to build a stronger, more resilient frame.