Enhancing Bone Health at Every Age
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Summary
Bone health is often dismissed as something only “old people” or postmenopausal women should worry about, but evidence clearly indicates that poor bone health is extremely common—even among young, healthy people, including men. It is also highly preventable and reversible through various lifestyle and other modifiable factors.
In this episode, I explain what bone health actually means; bone loss conditions like osteoporosis and osteopenia; how the bone remodeling process works; why poor bone health is increasing at a surprising rate; and, most importantly, exactly what to do to prevent or reverse bone loss.
I discuss the three I’s—investigate, interpret, and intervene—to help assess your bone health. I explain how high-intensity impact training, nutrition, and certain supplements can improve bone health. Finally, I explore emerging treatments, such as stem cells, peptides, and light therapy, and their potential for improving bone healing.
Articles
- Bone Mineral Density and Its Determinants: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies (Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal)
- Environmental Toxins Are a Major Cause of Bone Loss (Integrative Medicine)
- Sleep disruptions and bone health: what do we know so far? (Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity)
- Short Sleep Is Associated With Low Bone Mineral Density and Osteoporosis in the Women's Health Initiative (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research)
- Dietary protein intake and bone health (Journal of Frailty, Sarcopenia and Falls)
- Calcium intake and bone mineral density: systematic review and meta-analysis (British Medical Journal)
- Exercise for preventing and treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews)
- Exercise training and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies with emphasis on potential moderators (Osteoporosis International)
- Designing exercise regimens to increase bone strength (Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews)
- Dietary Protein Intake above the Current RDA and Bone Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Journal of the American College of Nutrition)
- Dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis from the National Osteoporosis Foundation (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
- Benefits and safety of dietary protein for bone health-an expert consensus paper endorsed by the European Society for Clinical and Economical Aspects of Osteopororosis, Osteoarthritis, and Musculoskeletal Diseases and by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (Osteoporosis International)
- High Versus low Dietary Protein Intake and Bone Health in Older Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal)
- From gut to bone: deciphering the impact of gut microbiota on osteoporosis pathogenesis and management (Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology)
- Impact of Dietary Protein on Osteoporosis Development (Nutrients)
- Dietary protein and bone health across the life-course: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis over 40 years (Osteoporosis International)
- The National Osteoporosis Foundation's position statement on peak bone mass development and lifestyle factors: a systematic review and implementation recommendations (Osteoporosis International)
- High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research)
- The Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Bone Density in Osteoporotic Patients (BioMed Research International)
- Swimming and cycling do not cause positive effects on bone mineral density: a systematic review (Revista Brasileira de Reumatologia English Edition)
- A Vitamin D, Calcium and Leucine-Enriched Whey Protein Nutritional Supplement Improves Measures of Bone Health in Sarcopenic Non-Malnourished Older Adults: The PROVIDE Study (Calcified Tissue International)
- A 2-yr Randomized Controlled Trial on Creatine Supplementation during Exercise for Postmenopausal Bone Health (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
- Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Muscle, Bone and Brain- Hope or Hype for Older Adults? (Current Osteoporosis Reports)
- Modulation of the Inflammatory Response and Bone Healing (Frontiers in Endocrinology)
- Bone-Forming Peptide-4 Induces Osteogenic Differentiation and VEGF Expression on Multipotent Bone Marrow Stromal Cells (Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology)
- Heat-stimuli-enhanced osteogenesis using clinically available biomaterials (PLOS One)
- Warmth Prevents Bone Loss Through the Gut Microbiota (Cell Metabolism)
- The Brain-Gut-Bone Axis in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Insights, Challenges, and Future Prospects (Advanced Science)
- Microbiota-bone axis in ageing-related bone diseases (Frontiers in Endocrinology)
- Focus on bone healing: new strategies for improvement of bone healing (European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery)
Other Resources
- Microplastics & Your Health (Huberman Lab)
- Dr. Shanna Swan: How to Safeguard Your Hormone Health & Fertility (Huberman Lab)
- How to Improve Oral Health & Its Critical Role in Brain-Body Health (Huberman Lab)
- FRAX: Fracture Risk Assessment Tool
- Collagen Peptides (Momentous)
- Creatine Supplementation: New Insights and Perspectives on Bone and Brain Health (GSSI)