1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health
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Is there a supplement that really works?

Posted by debbik @debbik, Nov 14, 2024

I was diagnosed 6 years ago with osteoporosis. I thought I was doing everything possible to build bone density but my latest bone density showed it got worse by 6%. I am taking a supplement called ‘bone-up’ which is supposed to be natural and has StimuCal. I’m wondering if there are better supplements out there that really help? Has anyone seen positive bone density results? If so, I would love to know what you are taking and doing. By the way, I’m 65, and try to be fairly active. Thank you.

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Profile picture for jersie
jersie | @jersie | May 22 4:32pm

This is not advice; Look into Bluebonnet Bone Support. It has calcium, magnesium, D3 and K2. I think you get better absorption from a liquid supplement.

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janeted | @janeted | May 23 1:48pm

Has anyone tried Fosteum Plus? It’s a medical food supplement with Genistein in it. It is a prescription. I’ve been trying it.

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njx58 | @njx58 | May 23 4:31pm
In reply to @janeted "Has anyone tried Fosteum Plus? It’s a medical food supplement with Genistein in it. It is..." + (show)
Profile picture for janeted @janeted

Has anyone tried Fosteum Plus? It’s a medical food supplement with Genistein in it. It is a prescription. I’ve been trying it.

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Fosteum Plus looks like a normal multivitamin supplement. I don't see anything special about it.

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elisny | @elisny | Jul 24 10:05pm

I recently had a bone scan and discovered I had reached the osteopenia/osteoporosis border.

A good friend who had osteoporosis improved drinking 2 cups of almond milk/day. That is in my plan, along with 3 specific exercises: jumping, squats with weight, and farmer carry (walking carrying heavy weights with each had - visualize buckets of water or feed 🙂 . I'm also cutting out cola beverages and any others that contain phosphoric acid, and using vibration 30 minutes 3 times a week against my very low back/pelvis area (look up "Osteoboost" for the science, but you could try a vibration plate and sit on it - or figure out some other method). ** In 6 months, I will ask my doc to order a scan again, and see what the results are. If I remember, I will post something.

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gravity3 | @gravity3 | Jul 25 1:32am
In reply to @elisny "I recently had a bone scan and discovered I had reached the osteopenia/osteoporosis border. A good..." + (show)
Profile picture for elisny @elisny

I recently had a bone scan and discovered I had reached the osteopenia/osteoporosis border.

A good friend who had osteoporosis improved drinking 2 cups of almond milk/day. That is in my plan, along with 3 specific exercises: jumping, squats with weight, and farmer carry (walking carrying heavy weights with each had - visualize buckets of water or feed 🙂 . I'm also cutting out cola beverages and any others that contain phosphoric acid, and using vibration 30 minutes 3 times a week against my very low back/pelvis area (look up "Osteoboost" for the science, but you could try a vibration plate and sit on it - or figure out some other method). ** In 6 months, I will ask my doc to order a scan again, and see what the results are. If I remember, I will post something.

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What are your recent dexa scores?

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njx58 | @njx58 | Jul 25 8:21am
In reply to @elisny "I recently had a bone scan and discovered I had reached the osteopenia/osteoporosis border. A good..." + (show)
Profile picture for elisny @elisny

I recently had a bone scan and discovered I had reached the osteopenia/osteoporosis border.

A good friend who had osteoporosis improved drinking 2 cups of almond milk/day. That is in my plan, along with 3 specific exercises: jumping, squats with weight, and farmer carry (walking carrying heavy weights with each had - visualize buckets of water or feed 🙂 . I'm also cutting out cola beverages and any others that contain phosphoric acid, and using vibration 30 minutes 3 times a week against my very low back/pelvis area (look up "Osteoboost" for the science, but you could try a vibration plate and sit on it - or figure out some other method). ** In 6 months, I will ask my doc to order a scan again, and see what the results are. If I remember, I will post something.

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I don't see what almond milk does, unless it was calcium-fortified, in which case it doesn't have to be almond milk. Personally, I prefer regular milk, since a fortified drink is no different than taking a calcium supplement.

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karenjaninaz | @karenjaninaz | Jul 25 2:01pm
In reply to @awfultruth "@debbik I think there are only a modest number of reports of people building bone with..." + (show)
Profile picture for awfultruth @awfultruth

@debbik I think there are only a modest number of reports of people building bone with nutrition alone. And I believe there are few or no studies showing that this can be done or reliably done for a significant percentage of people. Please note that some of those who have increased DXA scan measurements with "nutrition" are actually taking Strontium Citrate as a "supplement" and that is a whole other topic to wade thru. Whether or not this is a good approach is complicated but it is not using nutrition - it's using a trace mineral in huge amounts as a drug.
Most knowledgeable people seem to think nutrition in general and certainly calcium and vitamin D (and probably vitamin K2) are important but not sufficient to increase bone density. And there is, surprise surprise, disagreement about how to get these nutrients and how much of them to get.

Exercise in the form of heavy resistance training done correctly has been shown in several studies to build bone in the spine and improve some aspects of bone quality in the hips. See Belinda Beck and her LIFTMOR and related studies. Exercise, depending on your situation of course, can generally give more clear cut bone and health improvements than nutrition. That's my opinion but I don't know of any studies trying to investigate that.

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Strontium is used as a prescription bone med in some countries-successfully. Two studies I've seen and followed their protocol showed less fractures.
Commercial fertilizers do not contain natural strontium found in the soil. More likely to get strontium in organic foods I would think.

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njx58 | @njx58 | Jul 25 2:13pm
In reply to @karenjaninaz "Strontium is used as a prescription bone med in some countries-successfully. Two studies I've seen and..." + (show)
Profile picture for karenjaninaz @karenjaninaz

Strontium is used as a prescription bone med in some countries-successfully. Two studies I've seen and followed their protocol showed less fractures.
Commercial fertilizers do not contain natural strontium found in the soil. More likely to get strontium in organic foods I would think.

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Be cautious with strontium. Here's a discussion from this forum:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/strontium-citrate-algaecal-and-fractures/?pg=2

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awfultruth | @awfultruth | Jul 25 3:20pm
In reply to @karenjaninaz "Strontium is used as a prescription bone med in some countries-successfully. Two studies I've seen and..." + (show)
Profile picture for karenjaninaz @karenjaninaz

Strontium is used as a prescription bone med in some countries-successfully. Two studies I've seen and followed their protocol showed less fractures.
Commercial fertilizers do not contain natural strontium found in the soil. More likely to get strontium in organic foods I would think.

Jump to this post

@karenjaninaz Hi there. My post from months ago was mainly talking about whether nutrition was shown to significantly improve bones that have already lost a lot of density. I think nutrition is important for many reasons but I do not think it can be expected to give significant increases in bone density. Maybe there are exceptions such as folks with exceedingly poor nutrition or digestive issues but in general I don't think nutrition will build lost bone or stop rapid bone loss.

As for my mention of strontium, the point I was trying to make is that the way it is being used by those that do recommend it - well, it is in such large "unnatural doses" that it should no longer be looked at as a nutritional approach but rather as a pharmaceutical treatment. If I remember correctly the doses would be 100-300 times the amount one might get from dietary sources.

But, is strontium in those doses a good approach. I don't know and I will refrain from plunging into that one.

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