Calcium Supplementation For Bone Health – & Why To Avoid It
- Dec 10, 2024
- 6 min read
Written by Amber Walker, Owner of Origin Wellness
Amber Walker is a Doctor of Physical Therapy-turned author with a passion to empower others to heal from chronic illness. As the owner of Origin Wellness, Amber utilizes an approach based on a blend of functional/natural medicine, nervous system tools, nutrition, movement, and emotional healing to help patients move from surviving to thriving.
Did you know that calcium supplementation is causing more harm than good? Contrary to popular belief, high-quality research does not support calcium supplementation to prevent bone fractures. Experts are concerned that calcium supplementation contributes to deposits in artery walls that can lead to blood vessel narrowing, blood clots, kidney stones, and colon polyps.
What about cows’ milk?
This leads experts to question cows' milk and dairy consumption which has become so prevalent in many Westernized cultures. Why would humans feed their young the milk of another animal? And then add hormones, antibiotics, steroids, grains, and other factors to the mix?
Calcium is often added to multivitamins and supplements and is fortified in certain foods. Marketing campaigns have been spreading misinformation about bone health for decades. Many of these ‘studies’ are funded by the dairy industry, creating an obvious conflict of interest.
Milk and calcium do not build strong bones or prevent osteoporosis. Those who consume calcium may be at a greater risk of fractures.
Check out this article by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine entitled “White Lies: Five Milk Myths Debunked.”
So, if calcium is not the issue, what is?
Functional practitioners may say, “Eat more calcium-rich foods instead of taking calcium supplements.” But to me, this is not getting to the root issue either.
Just as cholesterol is not the problem with heart disease, calcium is not the issue with osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Check out a short video about calcium supplementation with functional medicine practitioner Chris Kresser as an example of this approach to focus on food intake of calcium.
My take on this: While it’s not a bad thing to have nutrient-dense foods that may cover the bases for vitamins and minerals, the upstream issue with poor bone health (and so many other inflammatory conditions) is a high toxic burden. Simply adding calcium-rich foods to the diet is not going to combat this epidemic of toxicity we are facing.
What toxins get stored in the bones?
Radioactive elements, such as uranium, tend to get stored in our bones and can weaken our bones. We are exposed to these elements through drinking water, food, and lung inhalation.
Exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel, mercury, chromium, lead, aluminum, titanium, iron, and arsenic alters bone dynamics and creates an imbalance in bone remodeling.
Mycotoxins (from mold exposure) impact metabolic pathways and research connects bone loss and osteoblast dysfunction to mycotoxins.
Chemicals such as pesticides, phthalates, and bisphenols disrupt bone metabolism and have a dose-dependent correlation with fracture risk and osteoporosis.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If we only focus on calcium, we miss the opportunity to address the upstream issues.
One mainstream “solution”: Cut it out
Primary Hyperparathyroidism (Primary HPT) is a condition where small benign tumors called adenomas develop on the parathyroid glands behind the thyroid (not to be confused with the thyroid itself—the parathyroid glands have a different function). When this occurs, patients have HIGH serum calcium (which means there is low calcium in the bones) and, as a result, they tend to have frequent bone fractures, inflammatory issues, and more propensity toward developing kidney stones.
What is the solution for this? Instead of figuring out why the imbalance is there in the first place, the main treatment for Primary HPT is surgery that removes the tumors and gland(s). However, the upstream issue is likely in part that elevated toxic burden creates imbalances in our pathways (and hormones like parathyroid hormone) which can lead to weaker bones. Instead of jumping to surgery, a more fruitful approach may be to work on detoxification and drainage pathways to help the body clear toxins.
Beware of bisphosphonates
Aside from spot-treating the issue with surgery, I also have major concerns about bisphosphonates and other osteoporosis meds. Bisphosphonates increase the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw, esophageal cancer, atypical femoral fractures, atrial fibrillation, kidney impairments, upper gastrointestinal issues, and a whole host of other serious issues. They are a downstream approach. There is no magic wand or safe and simple pharmacological Band-Aid approach to prevent further bone loss.
What promotes bone health the most?
Support detoxification and drainage pathways and address toxins (and the parasites that harbor them).
Prioritize clean drinking water. Read this article on why distillation is the only water purification type that reduces radiation toxicity. Radiation tends to have a large impact on bone health.
Focus on clean, natural nutrients (plus gut health, and absorption of those nutrients). Most people subject their bodies to substantial amounts of toxins through their dietary and beverage choices. For starters, avoid processed foods, chemicals, and sugar.
Ground the system and include other strategies to reduce the impacts of electromagnetic frequencies around you.
Integrate limbic and nervous system support to help give the body cues of safety, facilitating greater healing and detoxification.
Optimize your circadian biology. Consider light therapy and saunas. Research on red light therapy and bone health is very encouraging!
Move your body daily. Include weight-bearing exercises to strengthen muscles and bones. Walking and weight training have tremendous support in the literature. Dancing, aerobic exercise, stair climbing, and gardening are also recommended.
Address emotional healing to release stagnation and improve energy through the fascia and extracellular matrix (and subsequent bone health).
Clinically, I’ve observed people’s bone mineral density imaging scans improve after working on helping the body clear toxins, which counters the narrative that our bones go into a negative, irreversible downward spiral as we age. Be critical about what you are putting into your body, and always look upstream to find the root issue. It’s possible to heal from the inside out with the right approach!
Read more from Amber Walker
Amber Walker, Owner of Origin Wellness
Amber Walker is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, author and the owner of Origin Wellness. She is passionate about a root issues approach to healing from chronic illness and has advanced training in functional medicine, nutrition, nervous system healing, Mind Body Spirit Release™ (MBSR™) and CranioBiotic Technique. With over 16 years of experience working with clients all over the world, Amber specializes in conditions such as mast cell activation syndrome, mold biotoxin illness, long Covid, POTS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, and chronic mysterious ailments. When not on a surfboard, she enjoys hosting telehealth groups, 1-on-1 care, and retreats in Mexico. Her mission: Help you go from surviving to thriving.
References:
Rodríguez, J., & Mandalunis, P. M. (2018). A Review of Metal Exposure and Its Effects on Bone Health. Journal of Toxicology, 2018, 4854152.
Pizzorno, J., & Pizzorno, L. (2021). Environmental Toxins Are a Major Cause of Bone Loss. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, 20(1), 10.
Malvandi, A. M., Shahba, S., Mehrzad, J., & Lombardi, G. (2022). Metabolic Disruption by Naturally Occurring Mycotoxins in Circulation: A Focus on Vascular and Bone Homeostasis Dysfunction. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 915681.
Peng, J., Zhao, J., Tang, Q., Wang, J., Song, W., Lu, X., Huang, X., Chen, G., Zheng, W., Zhang, L., Han, Y., Yan, C., Wan, Q., & Chen, L. (2022). Low intensity near-infrared light promotes bone regeneration via circadian clock protein cryptochrome 1. International Journal of Oral Science 2022 14:1, 14(1), 1–11.
Toro, V., Siquier-Coll, J., Bartolomé, I., Pérez-Quintero, M., Raimundo, A., Muñoz, D., & Maynar-Mariño, M. (2021). Effects of Twelve Sessions of High-Temperature Sauna Baths on Body Composition in Healthy Young Men. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9).
Chevalier, C., Kieser, S., Çolakoğlu, M., Hadadi, N., Brun, J., Rigo, D., Suárez-Zamorano, N., Spiljar, M., Fabbiano, S., Busse, B., Ivanišević, J., Macpherson, A., Bonnet, N., & Trajkovski, M. (2020). Warmth Prevents Bone Loss Through the Gut Microbiota. Cell Metabolism, 32(4), 575-590.e7.
