Look for me on:
Cultured Foods For Your Bones
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. This results in the bones becoming weak and may break. Osteoporosis means “porous bone.”
The inside of a bone looks something like a honeycomb. When someone has osteoporosis, the bone, which forms the “walls” of the honeycomb, gets smaller, and the spaces between the bone grow larger, and the outer shell of the bone also gets thinner.
Many say that this condition is caused by a lifelong lack of calcium. Low calcium intake can contribute to diminished bone density, early bone loss, and an increased risk of fractures. There are other contributing factors such as low vitamin and mineral levels, hormones, poor digestion, and the inability to detoxify frequently and effectively, and a lack of certain nutrients.
Let's take a look at some of the biggest contributors to increasing bone health. I don't care what ailment is bothering you - your body is always listening to your thoughts, feeling your stress, and creating a pharmaceutical array of chemicals in your body. I cannot overemphasize how much how you think and feel about wellness affects your state of being. You can feel hopeful or you can feel despair, and both of these will help or hurt you. I've lived a long time. I can't believe I am saying that, but it is true. Turn your thoughts to hopefulness and watch what happens. This website is a result of my despair that made me train my mind to seek wellness even when my body was falling apart. I do not have osteoporosis, but 21 years ago I was in the pit of despair with other elements of my health. All of that changed, and now I expect the wellness that has shown itself to me for over two decades. Wellness should be the norm, and you should expect it. Your body is miraculous and maybe you have forgotten that. Your heart pumps 1.5 gallons of blood every 60 seconds. It produces millions of blood cells. Those cells are made inside the bone marrow and are tasked with carrying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the body. Your two kidneys filter your blood 24/7 - about 180 liters a day. Each cell in the human body can endure tens of thousands of DNA lesions every day. This kind of stress can alter a cell’s DNA and program it to destroy body tissue, resulting in cancer. Luckily, the first line of defense against this disease is actually your own body. Enzymes are constantly checking DNA strands for signs of cancer and taking out and replacing damaged parts. So this is just a few of the things that your body does for you along with repairing bones, but it needs your help too. It helps to look at all your choices that can help you make better choices to strengthen your bones and help your body be the magnificent body it can be.
Six Ways You can Help Bone Density
Vitamin K2 in Cultured Foods
Vitamin K2 is called menaquinone (MK) and is predominantly of microbial origin. The K2 is produced by gut bacteria in your large intestine, and many researchers suspect that broad-spectrum antibiotics contribute to a K2 deficiency. Vitamin K2 helps form strong bones and helps the skin stay healthy with the prevention of wrinkles, sagging skin, and varicose veins.
Cultured foods such as sauerkraut, cheese, and natto contain substantial amounts of vitamin K2, and the body easily absorbs what it needs thanks to the microbes in these foods. Vitamin K is also found in butter from cows who have grazed on grasses—especially wheatgrass and alfalfa - in a lush green state of growth. Commercial butter is not a significantly high source of vitamin K2.
L Reuteri Yogurt
I've had so many reports of people increasing muscle mass when consumng L. reuteri yogurt including myself. The special fermentation process for this yogurt, along with the right strain of bacteria, creates high doses of L. reuteri. This increases testosterone levels and helps to build muscle quite rapidly; and in turn, the extra muscle will help with increasing bone density. [1,2,3,4]
L. reuteri has also been found to reduce age-related bone loss in women 75 to 80 years of age with low bone density.[5,6]
I think this is one of the most important foods you can add to your diet if you are struggling with bone loss.
Magnesium
Many studies have been carried out since 2009 on magnesium and its relationship with the bone. It has been shown over and over again that lower levels of magnesium are related to the presence of osteoporosis, and that about 30–40% of the subjects analyzed (mainly menopausal women) have hypomagnesemia. This is an electrolyte disturbance caused by a low serum magnesium level. [7]
I know of no better way to get more magnesium than to get it topically through the skin with high-grade magnesium. It takes in what it needs and no more, and it is highly effective. I wrote an article about this and can't stress enough how much we all seem to need more magnesium - and the bones need it too!
Poor Digestion
Nothing will help you to digest the nutrients from your foods more than cultured foods. All of these foods are predigested and help to digest all the nutrients from food you eat with them.
Sauerkraut and kimchi contain beneficial nutrients for the bone such as dietary fiber, vitamin K2, vitamin B, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. These vitamins and minerals are essential for building bone mineral density.
Kefir, yogurt, and fermented cheeses are loaded with calcium and magnesium, along with large amounts of vitamins B and C, and assit with superior absorption due to the enzymes and probiotics contained within them. Each food is unique and will benefit the body and the bones as they help to digest your foods, detox you from harmful substances, and load your gut with beneficial microbes. More and more studies are showing beneficial microbes are important for new bone health. [8]
Trilogy — 3 foods that will change your life
Detoxing and Keeping Balance
If you can support your body’s natural detox capacities, it will greatly help your bones, too. When your liver, which is one of your biggest detoxifiers, is stressed, this can lead to decreased bone formation, increased bone resorption, increased risk of fracture, and an inability to flush those toxic invaders from your body. Kombucha, which can be made with green tea, is rich in catechins (antioxidants) which increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel and will improve bone mineral density and strength.[9] It would be of great help to not only your liver but your whole body.
Kefir boosts the immune system, but it is also a very powerful detoxifier. With more than fifty good strains of microbes, it will colonize the body, remove pathogens, and re-establish the proper balance of strains of microbes throughout the body. Kefir also helps with liver function by assisting the liver in detoxification. [10]
How to Detox with Cultured Foods
Weight Bearing Exercises
Many people are leading a sedentary lifestyle which can be another cause of osteoporosis, particularly if you are not doing any weight-bearing exercise.
It is really important, especially as you get older, to be doing regular weight-bearing exercise, resistance training, and some kind of exercise that gets your body moving! I have always been a firm believer in exercise, and since my late thirties I've added weight training to my life. It has made a huge difference - it keeps me young, and helps to keep making hormones that can diminish with age. If your body is constantly building muscle while working out, then it tells your body to keep making those hormones that build muscle and keep your bones strong. Muscle contractions are the strongest mechanical forces on your bones. And these muscle contractions condition your bone density, strength, and microarchitecture of the internal structure of your bones. [11]
One thing that has really supported this is L. reuteri yogurt. it creates oxytocin that signals all kinds of body and bone-building hormones. I have had so many emails about this and I have seen it firsthand. I am stronger than ever, and I am completely in love with this cultured food that helps keep me strong!
Listen To My Podcast
Let's take a look at some of the biggest contributors to increasing bone health and cultured food is one of them. Tune in to learn more about how to strengthen your body and bones.
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29926979/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24915299/
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068596
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23342023/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27825953/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4530313/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8313472/
- https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2021/3582989/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22749181/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15848295/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23575205/
Are you on the list?
Sign up today and I'll send you my free Getting Started Guide!
Each week I'll send you updates, tips, recipes, and more! You might even be a winner of my weekly giveaway! (starter cultures, memberships, and more!)
Come be a part of my cultured food family!
