The Most Common (and Untrue) Myths About Bone Health

When it comes to diet and lifestyle, bone health is usually one of the last things we think about.

When we do think about bone health, what usually comes to mind is “drink milk” and “get in more calcium”.

However, new research shows that simply drinking extra milk isn’t going to ensure healthy bones. In fact, it’s possible that we’ve got it all wrong and bone health is much more complicated than we originally thought.

It’s up to you to decide, but let’s discuss exactly what we know about bone health according to the research.

Below are the top myths about bone health: 

1. Calcium is the Most Important Mineral for Bone Health (MYTH)

Without a doubt, calcium is present within the structure and foundation of our bones. Since calcium is a part of your bone structure, it would make sense that adding more calcium to your diet would increase the calcium content in your bones.

While the logic behind this is reasonable, it may also bring an unhelpful perspective with this emphasis of importance on one single mineral.

If you’ve ever taken chemistry classes, you might remember that calcium is positively charged and that it forms salts easily.This process is similar to calcification, which involves the addition of a calcium compound that makes something harder.

This mineral is super important, especially for animals who rely on hard shells or tough skin for protection. If an animal doesn’t get enough calcium from their diet or environment, their protective and foundational structures could be weakened. We too can suffer from calcium deficiency which may result in brittle bones that are more prone to breaking.

However, we are constantly being told that we need more calcium, which might be an exaggeration.

In fact, it’s much easier to obtain this mineral from your diet than you might think. Vegetables and many other common foods are high in calcium content.

In fact, a cup of raw broccoli can give about ⅓ of your daily value of calcium, but at the same time it only provides about 5-10% of magnesium and much smaller amounts of silica, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and boron.

These trace minerals are often forgotten about but they are just as important as macro minerals, especially when it comes to bone health!

While calcium is still an important mineral, some of it's claims are overblown. Calcium is important for bone health, but so are other minerals, such as the trace minerals.

After all, they are always found in lower amounts than calcium in food. Maybe we should focus on calcium as well as these trace minerals?

We here at Utzy Naturals believe that to be exactly the case for people concerned about their bone health. We offer multi-nutrient supplements with high-quality chelated minerals that increase absorption, as well as vitamin K2 + D3 supplements for bone health.

Not many people realize that vitamin K2 is crucial for healthy bones. Read more about this often overlooked vitamin and how it could strengthen your bones in the same way you might think calcium supplements do.

2. Only the Elderly Have Bone Health Issues (MYTH)

Many elderly people genuinely believe that younger people don’t have to worry about their bone health and the potential effects of long-term degeneration.

However, this may not be the best perspective to have.

Although the health of our bones isn’t volatile like other parts of our body, you still need to start protecting yourself against slow bone degeneration as soon as possible so that you can keep them strong as you age.

When it comes to your bones, ignorance is not bliss. You’ve got to start strengthening and protecting them as soon as you can.

Is it wise to start saving money as you are running out of it? No, we are all told to start saving early so that it’s easier for us in the future. The same concept can be used for our bone health. The sooner you start, the better, and there’s no age too young to be thinking about preserving the integrity of your bones.

It might not be strange at all how we are noticing younger people appearing to have increasing numbers of bone health issues. Perhaps this has something to do with our changing diets and lifestyles.

Don’t forget that the most physically-demanding parts of our bodies are our bones. They are what provide our structural foundation, so we are constantly relying on them to move and support our efforts.

Every move we make affects our bones physically, which may wear them down over time like the tread on a car’s wheels.

We must not wait until it is too late.

“Better safe than sorry” always seems to make a lot of sense when it comes to health. Starting a bone health regimen now, no matter your age, would be a wise investment for your wellbeing in the future.

For some awesome tips about what you need to do to rebuild your bones to be strong and healthy for the decades to come,check out our blog post here.

3. Dairy is Good for Your Bones (MYTH)

There’s evidence all throughout history that proves that money can influence the supposed conclusions that research brings. Just like politicians can be bribed, so can researchers.

The biggest example of this was with Gatorade. This company basically took water and added sugar, salt and food coloring. The company basically bribed researchers to state the conclusion that Gatorade helps improve performance because of its supposed electrolytes.

The same exact type of case happened with the dairy industry, but with more government involved. In the United States during World War 2, dairy production was blowing the roof off of the country.

Then, they started to realize that there was way too much milk and it was all going bad if something wasn’t done with it.

Dairy lobbyists started campaigning the public’s opinion of cow’s milk by saying that it helps to build strong bones because of its high calcium content. The power of money lobbyinginfluenced researchers and doctors to recommend drinking more dairy to the public, basically manipulating people to buy the excess dairy.

But just like I was trying to say with the importance of other minerals and vitamins for bone health, is it really true that dairy is the only food that builds healthy bones?

Many people are lactose intolerant or have an aversion to milk. Is there an even better way to get enough nutrition for health bones?

Yes, just consume a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables filled with nutrients important for bones. Those are the keys to building stronger bones. Drinking milk isn’t necessary.

4. Exercise Isn’t Important for Bone Health (MYTH)

If you’ve ever been worried about your bone health, consider exercise as being a major factor. Just like your muscles, your bones can be strengthened by different types of exercise.

In fact,physical therapists recommend high-impact weight-bearing activities to help strengthen your bones, especially for those at risk of bone degeneration.

Examples of those types of exercises include:

Engaging in these types of exercises, and others like them, will go a long way towards improving your bone density.

Of course, if you have broken a bone recently, you should avoid high-impact exercises to avoid re-injury. In this case, low-impact aerobics like walking would be preferred until you recover.

For more in-depth information about increasing bone density with a proper diet and exercise,please check out our blog post here.

5. You Can’t Get Too Much Calcium

When you’re caught up in the wrong perspective regarding your bone health, you may instinctively think that you need to take calcium supplements.

This might actually impose more risks than benefits because you can consume too much calcium and the wrong type of it.

When too much calcium is present in your bloodstream, this condition is calledHypercalcemia. What might be shocking about the effects of this condition is the fact that it can actually weaken your bones.

How so?

Going back to the point of this article: too much calcium can hinder the nutritional wellbeing of your other mineral requirements.

An overdose of calcium does nothing for your bones, except make it more difficult for them to absorb all of the other nutrients they need to become stronger. On top of that, the rest of your body will suffer the consequences as well.

Too much calcium can be very stressful on your kidneys, making you more thirsty and potentially causing kidney stones. Your kidneys must work much harder to filter your blood when an influx of calcium is present.

Too much calcium can alsoaffect how your brain functions, resulting in confusion, fatigue, and negative mood.

Many people don’t realize that vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 are important to take alongside calcium supplementation to prevent your arteries and glands from calcifying.

These nutrients exist together in nature and isn’t it the purpose of supplements to copy how nature works for our health?

Utzy’s bone health supplements take all of these concepts into account and offer people a more natural approach to safeguarding their bone health.