Bone density is often a concern I field questions about in my clinic. It often starts with, “I take calcium from my doctor and get plenty of dairy yet my bone scans come back that I’m at risk for osteoporosis. Should I take MORE calcium?”
If everyone is doing it and it’s not working, should you continue to do MORE of what everyone is doing? Ditch the calcium-builds-bone-density manta. It was invented by the dairy lobby to get you to drink more milk. It’s not working. Instead, look to your hormones and other aspects of lifestyle and we’ll discuss why dairy doesn’t do a body good.
Insulin
If there’s one hormone that can set you up for success or failure, it’s insulin. What does insulin have to do with bone density? Let’s discuss a bit.
Bone strength is built and maintained be a process called osteogenesis. There are 2 main cells in the bones that regulate the strength. Don’t confuse bone density with bone strength. You don’t confuse dense people with smart people, right?
In bones, you have 2 types of cells. Cells that build bones and cells that take away bones. Your skeleton is constantly remodeling and looks more like a thick loofa sponge than a steel rod. Your bones are porous and this is necessary so blood vessels can weave inside and provide nutrients to the bone.
The drugs that are used to treat bone density issues interfere with the cells that take bone away. What this leaves is a bone with cells that keep building, but very limited bone remodeling. The bone gets ‘thicker and thicker’ but this doesn’t mean it’s stronger. If the bone thickens and doesn’t allow for those tiny channels to allow blood supply through the bone, you’re essentially killing the bone off long term. Do you think the only people that brake their hip are the ones that don’t take osteoporosis drugs?