How to have strong bones through perimenopause and menopause

Women reach peak bone density somewhere around 30.

Let's talk bones (feels approriate for October, am I right?!).  

After we turn 30 we begin to lose bone density, which accelerates at perimenopause and really advances once we hit menopause around 50. 

Menopause dramatically speeds up bone loss. After menopause, your ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen, which helps keep your bones strong. Your estrogen levels may even start to drop during perimenopause (2–8 years before menopause), when your periods start to become irregular.

Over time, too much bone loss can first cause osteopenia (low bone mass) and then osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become weak and are more likely to break.

Osteoporosis affects one in four women over the age of 65. There are more than a million bone fractures a year attributed to osteoporosis. Twenty-five percent of women over 50 will have a vertebral compression fracture. Yikes!

This can change your posture and lead to nerve compression, among other problems. And 80 percent of these vertebral compression fractures are associated with acute pain. Among women who sustain a hip fracture, 50 percent never fully recover, and there's a high mortality rate from hip fracture repair surgery—clots and associated problems.

So it is an understatement to say that bone health is critically important for a healthy life in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal years.

And think about this: now that women are living to 80 and beyond, going through menopause just after 50, we have a substantial amount of life left, and having a fracture can dramatically interfere with that quality of life.

There are a lot of things we can do for bone health.
We must take into consideration your lifestyle, including exercise, stress, and the impact of stress on bone turnover.

Here's how to keep your bones strong…

1. Eat foods that promote bone health.

• Make sure there's vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium in your diet.

• Eat a balanced diet rich in whole grains, leafy green vegetables, fruit, and seaweed products. These are much richer sources of calcium and vitamins than dairy products. If you consume dairy, try to buy organic.

• Eat healthy fats at each meal. Essential fatty acids are closely involved with calcium absorption. Bone building vitamins A, D and K are fat-soluble and a certain amount of fat is needed for proper hormone and immune function.

• Be sure to get a good amount of good quality protein in your diet, but also make sure to emphasize plant based sources (not just meat sources). Studies have shown that you really to protect bones optimally want about 75 grams of protein in the diet every day. Some epidemiologic data shows that there's overall higher bone density in vegetarians.

My favorite calcium rich foods include leafy greens (which you can use to make wraps!), including collard greens, bok choy, and kale. 

2. Get the right amount of vitamins and minerals

• Take a daily medical-grade nutritional supplement rich in the minerals and nutrients that support bone function. It should contain calcium and magnesium as well as vitamins A, D, K and B6, B12, and folate. Remember, calcium is only as good as its rate of absorption, so buy the best quality you can afford.

• Be sure to tuck this somewhere so you can remember… micronutrients such as boron, K2, in addition to calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin D can protect against bone loss!

3. Exercise regularly (the right kind!)
Weight-bearing exercise and weight training reduce and can reverse the risk of osteoporosis and fracture. You can actually get significant bone remineralization according to many studies, particularly in the lumbar spine and the femoral neck.

4.  Don't smoke and limit alcohol
Just 1 or 2 drinks a day and tobacco can increase your risk.

5. Manage stress
Research shows that high levels of cortisol correlate to greater bone mineral density loss, and reduces the activity of bone building cells (called osteoblasts).

6. Gut heatlh
Probiotics and prebiotics can help increase the number of bacteria in the gut that synthesize vitamin K, so make sure that along with vitamin K supplementation you're getting good lacto-fermented foods in the diet, and possibly a pre-probiotic combination.

Note that if you are having gut issues, getting this cleared up is key to being sure you have a healthy microbiome that can optimally synthezise these for you.

Phew! OK, got it? That's a lot, but really it's fairly simple. 

Want some help with it? The 6-Week Vitality Reboot is BAAACCK, baby. We'll cover so much of this in the program. Click here to read all about it.