Osteoporosis affects about 54 million Americans. The disorder accounts for 2 million broken bones each year, and these injuries often inhibit mobility.
Some risk factors for osteoporosis, such as genetics, are unchangeable. However, you can take control of the dietary factors that affect bone health by adding nutritional supplements to your routine.
What Causes Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bone weakness and brittleness, exposing the bones to fractures. The bones weaken to the point that they can easily break over a little fall or slight stress, for example, when you’re lifting something or bending forward.
A gradual loss of bone mass causes the condition, which is why you may not know you have it until you start having unexplained fractures in body parts like the hip, spine, or wrist. Factors that may predispose you to osteoporosis include:
- Your gender (post-menopausal women are at a higher risk due to low estrogen levels)
- Age (loss of bone mass comes naturally with age but may be severe for some people)
- Dietary factors like low calcium intake over a long time
- Long-term use of certain medication and steroids
Consuming nutritional or mineral supplements to boost your bone health may help minimize your risk for osteoporosis or alleviate its symptoms.
- Boron
Boron may indirectly protect you from bone loss or weakness by extending the life of nutrients that promote bone health in your body. For example, the mineral delays the decay of estrogen. A deficiency of this hormone in the body may predispose you to bone loss.
Boron also extends the time it takes for vitamin D to work in your body. Note that vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which, in turn, helps strengthen your bones. Taking boron supplements may help relieve osteoporosis symptoms such as bone fractures.
- Calcium
Calcium plays various vital roles in your body, mainly building healthy bones and teeth. It also helps with muscle contraction and the transmission of signals throughout your central nervous system. While your body uses and stores calcium in your bones, it can’t make its own.
When you don’t regularly consume enough of this nutrient, your body may start drawing what it needs from its natural calcium reserves, which can cause bone loss. Taking calcium supplements can prevent this from happening, minimizing your risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures caused by the condition.
- Collagen
Studies suggest that taking collagen supplements may improve bone mineral density (BMD), averting bone loss that could aggravate osteoporosis.
Collagen, a type of protein, collagen makes up most of your bone mass and is partly responsible for strengthening your bones. Collagen levels and bone mass decline in your body with age. So, if you’re not getting enough collagen from whole foods like fish or chicken, appropriate supplementation might help prevent an unhealthy deficiency in your body.
- Magnesium
Magnesium is another supplement that can promote bone health and minimize certain risk factors for osteoporosis. More magnesium intake can raise your BMD, which can help keep your bones healthy and less vulnerable to loss or fractures.
- Potassium
Similar to magnesium, taking potassium supplements is all about boosting your BMD, which is a measure of bone strength and health. The mineral has multiple roles in your body, such as muscle contraction and cardiac functions. Potassium supplementation can help keep healthy calcium levels in your bones, assisting with osteoporosis management.
- Vitamin D
While vitamin D isn’t an osteoporosis cure, taking it can accelerate your body’s calcium absorption, strengthening your bones.
Your doctor or endocrinologist may recommend you take both vitamin C and calcium supplements if you have osteoporosis. In that case, the nutritional remedies could help prevent osteoporosis-related problems like bone fractures and loss of spinal strength.
- Vitamin K2
When it comes to osteoporosis and bone loss management, vitamin K2 supplements play a similar role to vitamin D—supporting calcium’s role in preserving bone strength and structure.
Clinical studies suggest the mineral can help maintain a healthy BMD, minimizing the risk of bone or spinal fractures in patients with age-induced osteoporosis. It can also improve bone health and strength in people with osteoporosis caused by liver dysfunction.
Mineral Supplements for Osteoporosis Treatment
People with or without osteoporosis can benefit from taking sufficient amounts of each essential mineral and nutrient to stay healthy. But when you have the disease, you may need to take supplements such as calcium, vitamin D, and collagen to strengthen your bones. Stronger bones are less susceptible to fractures and degeneration associated with osteoporosis.