{"id":10278,"date":"2025-09-09T15:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/?p=10278"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:37:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:37:20","slug":"dr-vliets-health-tip-beyond-calcium-critical-factors-for-strong-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/es\/2025\/09\/dr-vliets-health-tip-beyond-calcium-critical-factors-for-strong-bones\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Vliet\u2019s Health Tip: Beyond Calcium: Critical Factors for Strong Bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 by Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD and Kathy Kresnik<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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What are the most important vitamins and minerals for bone health? I frequently get asked this question and my response might surprise you. It is NOT calcium supplements!\u00a0 In fact, excess calcium supplementation can increase the risk of macular degeneration, and for women low in the premenopausal primary estrogen\u2014estradiol E2), taking a lot of calcium also increases the risk of kidney stones, breast microcalcifications, and coronary artery calcium deposits!<\/p>\n

Estradiol is needed for proper gastric pH for calcium to be absorbed from the stomach and then deposited into bones.\u00a0 When estradiol is too low, calcium can\u2019t be used to build bone so calcium deposits build up in soft tissues like breast, eyes, kidneys, and arteries.\u00a0 I describe this in more detail in my book, Screaming to Be Heard: Hormone Connections Women Suspect and Doctors Still Ignore<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong> Men and women reach peak bone density in their mid-3os, and from then on, there is a gradual (or more rapid) decline in bone depending on many aspects of our health\u2014hormone balance, diet, other medicines, stress, etc.\u00a0 So what minerals and other factors ARE overlooked and needed for strong bones?\u00a0 I\u2019ll discuss that in today\u2019s health tip.<\/p>\n

But first, what are the most important objective measures to check?
\nAs part of my laboratory analysis for all my patients, I check additional vitamin and mineral levels most doctors ignore\u2014N-telopeptide (NTx), 25 OH vitamin D, magnesium (serum and red blood cell), zinc, selenium, and other critical minerals, not just calcium included on a comprehensive metabolic panel.\u00a0 I also always include the gold standard serum tests of estradiol, testosterone, DHEA-S and unconjugated DHEA \u2013the critical hormones for building strong, healthy bone.\u00a0 Older men and women get a baseline DEXA bone density (BMD test of hip and spine bone density, to give a reliable marker of debilitating fracture risk.\u00a0\u00a0 This comprehensive analysis of my patients then gives me a clear picture of bone health and future fracture risk, so that we can work together to develop a robust plan to help them rebuild strong healthy bone.<\/p>\n

Most of the patients I see have been found to heave unrecognized deficiencies in vitamin D stores, zinc, magnesium and other minerals, even though more than 90%of my patients have normal serum calcium levels. This is not so unusual, since parathyroid hormone regulates blood calcium levels within a narrow range at almost any cost, which includes robbing calcium from our skeleton when intake is not adequate or when absorption is impaired by low gastric pH, taking anti-acid meds, or proton-pump inhibitors and other medications that interfere with calcium absorption.<\/p>\n

Balanced serum calcium is crucial to so many critical functions in the body\u2014muscle contraction, including the heart muscle, nerve signal transmission, blood clotting, blood vessel constriction and relaxation, and normal enzyme function\u2014that parathyroid hormone is the master regulator to maintain calcium homeostasis, including as I said above, stealing calcium from our bones to keep calcium in the bloodstream within the critical range.\u00a0 This loss of calcium from the bones can lead to decreased bone density,\u00a0 increased bone fragility, and increased risk for osteoporosis.<\/p>\n

It may surprise you that I generally do not recommend calcium supplementation as the primary mineral for reducing risk of osteoporosis, or the main source of calcium intake.\u00a0 The best option is to get adequate calcium (600-800 mg a day) from food sources: <\/em>dairy products (especially full fat yogurt, Kefir, or cottage cheese), canned salmon with bones, and to a lesser extent nuts and seeds.\u00a0 For those sensitive to lactose (milk sugar), the fermented dairy products like yogurt and Kefir don\u2019t seem to be a problem.\u00a0 I generally don\u2019t recommend calcium from plant sources is not as well absorbed due to phytates and fiber blocking absorption. Calcium in foods is absorbed more efficiently because it is consumed with other nutrients like protein and other minerals which aid calcium uptake. It also helps spread your calcium doses throughout the day with each meal to align better with your body’s absorption capacity rather than one large supplemental dose.<\/p>\n

Calcium supplements have also been associated with higher risks of cardiovascular plaque and gastrointestinal issues like constipation, bloating, and gas. Excessive calcium supplementation can also disrupt mineral balance by interfering with the absorption of other minerals like iron, zinc and magnesium.\u00a0 This problem typically doesn\u2019t occur with calcium from food sources, since calcium is present in balanced amounts and does not impede the other minerals absorption.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that calcium from food provides steady absorption throughout the day and avoids the sudden high blood calcium spikes seen with supplementation.<\/p>\n

There are a number of overlooked vitamins and minerals that are crucial for strong bones and affect calcium from your diet being absorbed and deposited into bones where you need it!\u00a0\u00a0 Here are the critical ones I have in my recommended <\/strong>Bone Health Formula<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n