The Strontium Debate: Is it good for bone health?

@oopsiedaisy
Well, it is a bit more nuanced than that.

Strontium citrate, like all supplements, the FDA regulates strontium citrate as a dietary supplement, which means it does not undergo the same pre-market safety and efficacy testing as prescription drugs.
To contrast with Canada: In Canada, strontium citrate is regulated as a Natural Health Product (NHP), while in the United States, the FDA monitors it as a dietary supplement.

In Canada, supplements are regulated more strictly than in the U.S., but they are not regulated exactly like prescription drugs. While the U.S. FDA treats supplements as a sub-category of food, Health Canada treats them as Natural Health Products (NHPs), a special category of non-prescription drugs.
This is pertinent for several reasons, one being that many of us get our strontium citrate from AOR , regulated in Canada.

No, Bone Lady is the owner. She is also a frequent poster on Inspire.
She has a fabulous blog which also posts interviews with scientists and doctors. She posted an interview with Dr. Hans the developer of TBS which is now used in many articles and in AI information.
https://strontiumforbones.blogspot.com/2022/09/tbs-strontium-and-prof-didier-hans.html

@liz2025
The concerns with kidneys and strontium exists with most osteoporosis drug, and many supplements plus some foods.
The problem exists with the kidney and not the strontium.
Basically, if the kidneys are too ill/weak to clear the strontium then it might build up in your system. The same goes for many osteoporosis drugs and many supplements and even some foods.

Said another way: The primary concern with strontium and many osteoporosis medications is not that they cause kidney damage, but that they require healthy kidneys to be effectively cleared from the body.
In summary, the "problem" is often the pre-existing state of the kidneys which determines whether these substances can be used safely.

@kathleen1314 The FDA has the authority only to remove products from the market that are mislabeled or unsafe. I suppose that could be considered regulation but it does not mean that every supplement brought to the market has been reviewed by the FDA to even confirm that the list of ingredients it contains is accurate.

Thanks for clarifying who is the owner of the blog is. I have visited the Inspire forum in the past and have seen posts by "bonelady" there. The link you reference above simply states that he answered one of her questions via email, i.e., it was not actually an interview. The question was about whether a TBS would be as affected as a DEXA scan by ingesting strontium. His opinion was that it was not. Unfortunately, no link to any study that references this.

I assume that you are trying to do the right thing here and I believe you are earnest in your efforts to educate people on strontium. I find it difficult to stay on track with your posts and replies as they tend to be very lengthy and written as to support your thesis rather than hold a discussion. To that end, I will no longer be participating in dialog with you and wish you the best.

@kathleen1314 "Strontium Citrate is a supplement which is regulated by the FDA as a dietary supplement". Strontium Citrate is not regulated by the FDA or any other supplements. Sorry, edited this as I now see that someone else has pointed this out.

Yes I get that. However, I have healthy kidneys and no other health issues so the change was a complete surprise. I will take a break from the strontium and retest for clarity.
Fascinating as to how individual bodies respond to food, supplements and medication. Thank you for your reply, great points for consideration.

Does anyone have any information regarding strontium, found in some
supplements which claim to be effective for osteoporosis. I am only
familiar with strontium in terms of radioactivity (strontium 90). I have no idea if it is helpful in terms of building or maintaining bones
Thanks for any information

m40, connect has an extremely intelligent contributor https://connect.mayoclinic.org/member/00-83e8c8c7c5686c0b202728/activity/comments/. kathleen1314 has experience, and she has done the research.

@gently I googled strontium citrate and found it to be higher than calcium. It has not been FDA approved and it can cause a false positive DEXA.

frog100, important point but, strontium citrate is twice as heavy as calcium, and has it an electron that gives it more mass, which gives it reflection greater than calcium on x-ray. Bone mineral density is higher because of the higher mass. But mass has a role to play in strength along with density and structure. There is an algorithm to recalculate the density in order to use the charts generated by our experts using from presence in our bones.
I haven't used strontium citrate, but I find the research and the success found by Kathleen compelling.
I was deep into the drugs before I even heard of strontium use for osteoporosis.

Many point out the that the DEXA scans are skewed due to the Strontium Citrate.
But the question that might be better to ask, has the person who uses Strontium Citrate have they fractured while using?
So while the DEXA scan is misleading, I think knowing if it actually protects from fractures is more important in weighing the pros and cons of using.