Thread: Osteopenia/osteoporosis diet?

So my mom has osteopenia. It started after she hit menopause

She has a script her doctor gives her that helped regulate her hormones post menopause. This helped stop the bone loss

Her first dexa a few years ago wasn’t that great

Then it got better

And now it’s just ok

She wants to introduce more dairy into her diet. And I’ve been doing some research and had some questions.

It seems like there are certain things that prevent the absorption of calcium. Like coffee, tea, caffeine, soda, alcohol. All those are kinda of ya that’s obvious. But I was also reading things like

“ Beans (Legumes)

While beans contain calcium, magnesium, fiber and other nutrients, they are also high in substances called phytates. Phytates interfere with your body’s ability to absorb the calcium that is contained in beans. You can reduce the phytate level by soaking beans in water for several hours and then cooking them in fresh water.

Meat and Other High Protein Foods

It’s important to get enough, but not too much protein for bone health and overall health. Many older adults do not get enough protein in their diets and this may be harmful to bones. However, special high protein diets that contain multiple servings of meat and protein with each meal can also cause the body to lose calcium. You can make up for this loss by getting enough calcium for your body’s needs. For example dairy products, although high in protein, also contain calcium that is important for healthy bones.

Salty Foods

Eating foods that have a lot of salt (sodium) causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone loss. Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day. To learn if a food is high in sodium, look at the Nutrition Facts label. if it lists 20% or more for the % Daily Value, it is high in sodium. Aim to get no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

Spinach and Other Foods with Oxalates

Your body doesn’t absorb calcium well from foods that are high in oxalates (oxalic acid) such as spinach. Other foods with oxalates are rhubarb, beet greens and certain beans. These foods contain other healthy nutrients, but they just shouldn’t be counted as sources of calcium.

Wheat Bran

Like beans, wheat bran contains high levels of phytates which can prevent your body from absorbing calcium. However, unlike beans 100% wheat bran is the only food that appears to reduce the absorption of calcium in other foods eaten at the same time. For example, when you have milk and 100% wheat bran cereal together, your body can absorb some, but not all, of the calcium from the milk. The wheat bran in other foods like breads is much less concentrated and not likely to have a noticeable impact on calcium absorption. If you take calcium supplements, you may want to take them two or more hours before or after eating 100% wheat bran.”

So should she avoid these foods? Also, gut health is brought up and how having probiotics can be important. Her diet is also on the higher fat /protein side.

Would a protein shake be a good idea? She takes 1000mgs of calcium with vitamin d and magnesium as well as a multi. I’ve read vitamin k might also be a good thing to add? Also should she watch her potassium levels?

She’s 135 lbs 5’7 and 63 years old and works out with weights and hiking


https://www.betternutrition.com/supp...-osteoporosis/


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4454800/

https://www.nof.org/patients/treatment/nutrition/

And her current diet is ~2200 calories, at least 100 grams of protein. I think she gets more, and averages 70-80 grams of fat.

Eggs in the morning and cottage cheese

Salad at lunch with dressing olive oil and vinegar, nuts, crackers and chicken

Dinner would be like veggies in coconut oil with salmon

Then snacks
Chewy bar/protein bar, chocolate, nuts, fruit, cheese sticks, crackers would be the snacks

She does drink about 2-3 cups of coffee a day with a lot of creamer

She needs to remain physically active with low impact exercise. 3-4x/week. That’s the best way to slow osteoporosis.

1200 mg daily calcium
800 IU daily vitamin D

Well rounded diet; eat healthy.
Don’t worry too much about all that chit you were going on about. More trouble than it’s worth.

DXA scan once every 2 to 3 years.

Her family physician will stay on top of monitoring her blood serum levels.

At some point he may start her on bisphosphonate medication.


Good on you for looking out for her.

Pretty good article on calcium here:
http://worldshealthiestfoods.com/gen...trient&dbid=45

I thought I remembered something about phosphorus helping with calcium absorption but I can’t seem to find it.