Bone Strength

How to Strengthen Bones

Building bone strength is paramount, but it is easy (and common) to allow bones to slowly but surely weaken.  Bone loss can be related to your genes, but is usually from an inadequate diet.  Since your cells need a little bit of calcium (about 1% of your total) and other minerals all the time, there always has to be a certain amount in your bloodstream.  When there isn’t, your body ‘steals’ some from your bones.  You can see how this could lead to bone loss over the years and therefore diminished bone strength.  When you have more than you need in your bloodstream, your body adds to your bones.^1,2

Calcium to Build Bone Strength

As you might expect, calcium, although not the only mineral in bone, is by far the most abundant.  Of course, other minerals are essential as well and that’s where coral calcium comes in.  As the name implies, it is derived from coral mined from coastal ocean areas and happens to contain a multitude of trace minerals that are also helpful for bone strength.³  It also absorbs much better than the form of calcium you tend to find in most supplements.⁴

Magnesium for Calcium Absorption

Consequently, magnesium is also a particularly important mineral for bone strength, representing about 15 grams in the bones (about 1/2 lb) while about the same amount circulates throughout the body.  In fact, it participates in more than 300 enzymatic systems.  A particularly important one is the formation of DNA .^3,5  This mineral is also helpful in the absorption of calcium.⁶  After all, what good is it to take calcium if it doesn’tabsorb very well?

Vitamin D and Bone Strength

While it may be true that vitamin D is called a vitamin, it is actually more like an enzyme. When the radiation from sunlight makes contact with the skin, it forces a chemical in the skin to change into a useful form of vitamin D.  Nevertheless, many folks are deficient in this nutrient, a huge contributor to the absorption of calcium.  While it is vital for the perpetuation of a strong bone structure, it also reduces the risks of a whole slew of diseases including cancer, multiple schlerosis, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and type 1 diabetes.^7,8  

It is especially important to consume vitamin D3 for bone strength. There are in fact three forms of vitamin D.  D1, D2 and D3.  Only D3 is naturally occurring and while D1 and 2 are created in the lab and are certainly a source of vitamin D, they are not nearly as effective at increasing bone strength as D3.

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