overwhelmed by so much (often conflicting) info on natural approaches

I did reverse osteopenia without drugs. It takes concentrated effort and attention though. But that was years ago and I have gotten slack in my efforts.
Now I have osteoporosis. I am
working with a functional medicine doctor to manage it without medicine ( I’ve had 3 doctors tell me not to take the drugs, one of them being a orthopedic surgeon). I have a list of amounts of vitamins and minerals to get daily, as many as possible from diet.
What ever route you take, please take K2 in the form of MK7. It’s what keeps calcium from going to your arteries, put simplistically.

Great thread topic. I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and told to take fosomax and calcium by my NP. I am 67 and got Dexa results of 3.1 spine and 1.5 FN. I asked for a referral to an endo before making decisions about drugs, but won’t see that person until March. I found this group and read through everything and was referred to Dr. Keith McCormick by several people. I have read his books and re-reading parts of them as the info is quite dense.

My approach for now is for a nutritional/exercise foundation. I use an app called Cronometer which tracks your food and gives you detailed information about the nutrient profile. I only take calcium if I will not get enough from food on a given day. I strive for 30-40 grams of protein at each meal. I take several other supplements including McCormick’s Osteostim product. I bought a nutribullet so it’s easier to take in more leafy greens.

I’ve always been active, but more on the cardio side so I have added a weightlifting program with a trainer in addition to continuing walk/jog 3-4 miles a day. We are building toward implementing the heavier exercises described in the LIFTMOR study.

Dr. McCormick is not against using medications to “get you out of a hole”, while still continuing a foundation of nutrition/good sleep/exercise, so I am open to considering medication in the future.

I will see what the endo says in March.

This group has been the best source of information so far. I appreciate all of you.

I did not know there was ever a link with breastfeeding but I did find this info which now states:
“ As for breastfeeding, there was a time when researchers believed it was linked to osteoporosis later in life. But according to recent research, that’s no longer the case. “After reviewing a large number of studies, researchers now believe that breastfeeding may actually cause positive changes to bone density over a lifetime,” says Dr. Starr.”https://www.hss.edu/article_pregnancy-bone-density.asp#:~:text=“After%20reviewing%20a%20large%20number,a%20lifetime%2C”%20says%20Dr.

I agree with the opinion that genetics plays a large role.

That article sums up the frustration of either not having studies at all or having the experts do a 180 on contributing factors - no wonder we are overwhelmed and anxious!

Love that you are working with a trainer to do the LIFTMOR exercises. That sounds like the best weight-bearing exercise plan if you are able to work up to it. For those with either more severe t-scores or whose physical condition prevents rigorous weight training and jumping, OsteoStrong gyms offer a safe and super-effective bone-loading exercise. There are a couple hundred or so around the US and more around the world.

Great thread topic. I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and told to take fosomax and calcium by my NP. I am 67 and got Dexa results of 3.1 spine and 1.5 FN. I asked for a referral to an endo before making decisions about drugs, but won’t see that person until March. I found this group and read through everything and was referred to Dr. Keith McCormick by several people. I have read his books and re-reading parts of them as the info is quite dense.

My approach for now is for a nutritional/exercise foundation. I use an app called Cronometer which tracks your food and gives you detailed information about the nutrient profile. I only take calcium if I will not get enough from food on a given day. I strive for 30-40 grams of protein at each meal. I take several other supplements including McCormick’s Osteostim product. I bought a nutribullet so it’s easier to take in more leafy greens.

I’ve always been active, but more on the cardio side so I have added a weightlifting program with a trainer in addition to continuing walk/jog 3-4 miles a day. We are building toward implementing the heavier exercises described in the LIFTMOR study.

Dr. McCormick is not against using medications to “get you out of a hole”, while still continuing a foundation of nutrition/good sleep/exercise, so I am open to considering medication in the future.

I will see what the endo says in March.

This group has been the best source of information so far. I appreciate all of you.

There are people on this forum who warn against OsteoStrong because they have fractured using the OsteoStrong program so please beware and look up OsteoStrong on this forum to find threads discussing people's experience with this program.