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Q. I have the beginning signs of osteoporosis. I've heard about a dozen ways to get calcium in your diet, and they all seem to conflict. What can I do — along with taking calcium — to fight osteoporosis?

A: There's an old parable about a student who comes to study with a Zen master. The Zen master serves the student tea, but keeps pouring till the cup is filled and overflowing. The student finally points out that the cup is long past full at which point the Zen master says, "Exactly. The cup is like your mind and the tea is like Zen. Until you empty the cup, I cannot fill it with knowledge."

We Americans have had our cup filled with a lot of information about calcium when it comes to osteoporosis, most of it thoughtfully provided by the dairy industry. But calcium is only one tiny part of the osteoporosis equation, and probably not the most important one. And, as an interesting point of reference, the countries with the highest milk consumption have the highest rates of osteoporosis. Something to ponder.

If You Withdraw ... Deposit
So, first, put on hold the idea that osteoporosis is purely a calcium deficiency. Instead of thinking in terms of calcium intake, think in terms of calcium balance. What does that mean? It means calcium operates in your body like your checking account. Important to know what's going in, sure, but equally important to know what's going out. Calcium balance — the number you have left in your "account" at the end of the day — is more important than just how much goes in. You can take in all the calcium in the world, but if you're "spending" more than you're "earning," your balance is going to be negative. And what robs calcium from the body? Sugar. Soda. Processed foods. Start by getting these out of your diet.
Next, realize that calcium alone is pretty useless unless it's accompanied by a supporting cast of minerals and vitamins that help it to get into the bone where you want it to be. (It's not doing you much good if it winds up in the joints, contributing to bone spurs). To make sure calcium is absorbed and utilized properly, it should always be taken with magnesium in anywhere from a 1:1 to a 2:1 ratio.

Second Fiddle Equally Important
Magnesium is the forgotten nutrient in the osteoporosis equation. Equally important is vitamin D, a deserving superstar on the nutritional horizon, whose ability to impact bone health is only equaled by it's potential to fight cancer. Many holistic docs and nutritionists also would add vitamin K and boron into the mix. All these vitamins and minerals work together for strong bones. Two of the very best formulas incorporating the important nutrients for bone health in the right proportions are OsteoSheath and OsteoPrime. The latter is designed by Dr. Jonathan Wright and Dr. Alan Gaby. Both are available through my website. Either of them is superb.

Dr. Jonathan Wright, an icon in the field of complementary medicine, has written extensively about the little known mineral strontium which appears to make calcium much more effective. A 2005 double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a combination of strontium, calcium and vitamin D increased bone density by nine to 15 percent over three years.

Pick Up Some Weights
But probably even more important is something that has nothing to do with vitamins: exercise. Weight-bearing exercise is the single best preventation for osteoporosis that I know of, bar none. Hunter/gatherer societies didn't take calcium supplements, but they traipsed around all day carrying carcasses and stones for their shelter, and guess what? Their bones were strong as diamonds.

If you want to really fight off osteoporosis, lift weights. By all means take a great bone formula, but pick up a pair of dumbbells, too. You'll be doing the number one thing you can do to train your bones — and your muscles — to stay strong and hard, and that will serve you better in the long run than any single supplement.

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