Bone Health

When you think of bone health what mineral comes to mind?  Most people would say calcium.  Well would you be surprised if I told you that calcium is not the only mineral involved in keeping your bones healthy?  There are 17 other nutrients involved, that's right there are 18 nutrients that make up bones and they all work synergistically together.  So if there are 18 nutrients that make up bones, why do we only hear about one?  I think it has a lot to do with the dairy industry because calcium is abundant in dairy (not very bioavailable, but abundant), it could also be that calcium is what gives bones their strength and rigidity. 

So what are the other 17 nutrients? 

Phosphorus        Manganese           Vitamin A         Essential fatty acids
Magnesium        Copper                  Vitamin B6       Protein
Flouride             Boron                    Vitamin K
Silica                 Vitamin D              Vitamin B12
Zinc                   Vitamin C               Folic Acid

Most of these nutrients can be found in plant foods like dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables and grains.  The only one that would be animal based would be B12 but vegetarians can supplement and if you have healthy gut bacteria some B12 can be made by the body (this is where fermented vegetables can come in handy)

Ok, so those are the nutrients that you need to take in, then you need to be careful not to consume to much of the bone robbing nutrients: 

• Excess animal protein -in the process of metabolizing protein, phosphoric and sulfuric acids are produced which must be buffered with calcium (from your bones) before it can be excreted.  A quick little side note:  if you do eat animal protein make sure that it is grass fed because it is the animals natural diet and the fat ratio is different than grain fed animals.  Also the grain fed to the animals is genetically modified.
  
• Excess phosphorus - can contribute to bone loss.  The recommended ratio of phosphorus to calcium is 1:1; the current consumption is between 1:1 - 4:1 which causes calcium to be pulled from the bones to match phosphorus levels. 
  
• High salt intake - This is particularly troublesome when there is a low intake of potassium of calcium. 
  
• Excess sugar - sugar offers no nutritional value at all.  In fact, in order to be utilized, the body must take nutrients from its own stores and increases excretion of the nutrients (calcium, magnesium, chromium, copper, zinc and sodium). 
  
• Excess dietary fat - The type of fat is as important as the quantity of fat as is the processing of the fat. 
  
• Caffeine - causes a direct loss of calcium, magnesium, sodium and chlorine in the urine.  

Other factors to consider for bone health - smoking hinders bones self repair mechanisms, alcohol inhibits absorption and increases excretion of bone building nutrients, antacids are toxic to the bones, antibiotics kill off healthy bacteria and can result in weakened digestion, heavy metals can accumulate in the system because they are not easily excreted, stress can lead to excretion of bone building nutrients

These are things we need to think about throughout life, not just when we get older and doctors start testing you for osteoporosis. Bone is constantly being broken down and rebuilt, a problem occurs when bone is being broken down faster than it can be rebuilt.  If we are eating the right foods and not too many of the bone robbing nutrients, we can aide our body in this process and ensure healthy bones for life.