In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to take supplements.
Our diets would contain everything we need to stay healthy and independent well into our Golden Years. And our bodies would continue to process the nutrients we take in just as efficiently as they always have.
But nothing is perfect.
The reality is… for many reasons, from food availability to quality… our diets don’t always provide us with everything we need.
Plus, older bodies often don’t absorb or process nutrients as efficiently. So even if you’re eating enough of the essential vitamins and minerals, it’s likely you aren’t always getting enough of everything you need.
But supplements can fill in the gaps. And if you’re anything like me, you already rely on them to help keep you healthy, reduce your prescription drug use, and help you stay out of the hospital.
This is why it’s no real surprise that conventional medicine is always on the attack.
Instead of embracing natural medicine and integrating it into our overall healthcare, the mainstream labels anything natural as quackery. And it gets dismissed without a second look.
Supplements didn’t reduce bone breaks in a study
The truth is, when supplements work, you may be able to dial back on, or even avoid, some meds and treatments. So they can pose a direct threat to conventional medicine’s bottom line.
Case in point. A recent analysis made big headlines claiming supplements won’t protect your bone.
It sounded like the final word on the topic. Case closed.
And there’s no doubt some folks will see those headlines and either quit their supplements or never consider them in the first place.
But don’t toss yours just yet. Because as you’ll see in a moment, this study was practically designed to fail from the start.
(Not sure if you’re at risk for bone problems? Check out my earlier report, Don’t ignore this 1st warning sign of bone issues.)
For the analysis, researchers crunched the data gathered from a large study known as VITAL. In the original study, researchers gave vitamin D and omega-3 supplements or placebos to some 25,000 volunteers.
The participants were then tracked for about five years.
Over that time, there were no differences in fracture risk. And that was despite blood tests showing the D supplements did successfully raise blood levels of the nutrient.
But, the final word? Not a chance, because this study has some GLARING problems.
How the research was fatally flawed
First, many of the folks who took part in it were far too young to suffer the bone loss and bone breaks we often see in more mature seniors. Their ages started as young as 50 for men and 55 for women, and there was a median age of 67.
Second, the D doses were at the barest minimum. They were set at 2,000 IU, or at the bottom end of the 2,000-5,000 IU of D per day often recommended for seniors (some folks need even higher doses).
Third, many of the patients were already taking supplements on their own, even before the study began. Plus, they continued to take their own vitamins, making it impossible to get clean results in many cases.
Fourth, omega-3s aren’t really at the top of the list of supplements for bone health. There is some evidence they may lend some support. But they’re far from the first nutrient, or even the second, you would think of for bone health.
And fifth, there are plenty of other supplements that ARE at the top of the list alongside vitamin D. Yet they were entirely ignored by the new study.
Any one of those flaws would be a major deal-breaker. But that last one may be the worst of all because vitamin D doesn’t work alone for bone health.
You also need sufficient calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K2. All four work in sync to get calcium out of the blood and into bone, supporting the process of bone remodeling.
You can find them each on their own or look for a bone-support blend that contains all four in one. Just be sure to speak to your doctor first, as always. And remember, vitamin K doesn’t mix well with blood thinners like warfarin.
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