What to eat to avoid osteoporosis | Prof. Cyrus Cooper & Tim Spector

I am an 82 year old male, diagnosed with Dexa scan in 2009. Did not take med but alkalized my diet, took Vitamin D and especially K2 MK7 ( it is this K2 MK7 that puts the calcium back into the bones D3 without K2 is pointless ). Over the following 2 years had another test and moved out of range and then two years later was about correct for my age. This is big business for the drug companies !! Diet and weight baring exercise is really important not drugs.

I’m 76, never been on HRT, and had breast cancer surgery 2 years ago. At that time I also had a DXA scan to determine bone density because I was scheduled to begin treatment with anastrozole following the radiation therapy. At that time I had normal, even better than average bone density for my age. A couple of months ago, I had a repeat DXA scan which showed loss of bone density classified as osteopenia. Since my diet has only improved, I was a bit disappointed. I reread how anastrozole works. I also read several studies that showed that plant estrogens do not appear to feed estrogen-dependent cancers, though they do mimic estrogen in other ways. So I decided to increase intake of foods that contain plant estrogens, mostly in the form of tempeh and black soy beans. I’ve also increased resistance exercise. (I can now do 15 pushups without stopping - something I couldn’t do even 6 months ago - and 15 medium deep squats, which is 12 more than when I first started 6 weeks ago) I’m hoping that these interventions improve my results next year. Things you’ve said give me hope that it can improve.

We are getting sicker and older so I think that’s why more of us are seeking information to save ourselves in this toxic world. We must take our health in our own hands because the government and our doctors aren’t helping. Thanks for your channel.

The title is misleading. This video didn't say what to eat to avoid osteoporosis other than saying eat a quality diet. Kinda clickbaity.

i'm an 73 year old male and go to dance on Techno, House and Disco music during one, and sometimes two, nights per week in a dancing with all young people. I don't use drugs or alcohol and drink only water. I dance sometimes 3 to 4 hours intensively. Few weeks ago I stumbled in a street, and beside some minor cuts of the skin of some fingers, I had no other wounds. (As far as my diet, I am a pescotarian = vegetarian who eats fish.) I'm still healthy. I also do some long walks during the weekdays.

Please provide a citation for the danger of vitamin D3 supplementation, especially in patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia. The only citation provided in the comments studied African schoolchildren and seems to only show that no benefit was found rather than that any harm may be done. The other citation studied pregnant women and did find a benefit (preliminary, it seems) for the children of those women at age 4 years. The preponderance of the evidence I've seen shows that D3 supplementation is totally safe at reasonable levels (up to about 5000 IU per day but with no need for more than about 1000 IU per day for the vast majority of people). The purpose of D3 supplementation is to hedge one's bets against D3 deficiency, which while not overwhelmingly prevalent, has rates estimated at 15% globally and over 40% in some countries. Further, sunscreen prevents D3 absorption but is extremely important for skin cancer prevention. Dismissing D3 supplementation with vague reference to unnamed studies is not prudent. Given the benefits and safety of D3 supplementation (not to mention D3 supplements being very affordable), a serious, rigorous explanation needs to be provided for a counter to be taken seriously.

So helpful. As a 66 year old lady with a diagnosis of osteoporosis a couple of years ago, I was prescribed Accrete as well as alendronic acid. The Accrete was really hard to do - two huge daily tablets requiring special timing food wise! This really impacted my digestion. On chatting with my enlightened GP she removed the Acrrete ( calling it concrete), changed that to one small Vit D per week and to get the calcium from my diet. What a huge difference that has made! The point is - keep questioning! I also bought a rebounder ( little trampoline) for 5 mins per day. Easier on the knees that jumping on the floor and great little cardio work out to start the day too. Thankyou.

I wish this information could have been available at the time my early menopause took place 14 years ago - I was disgnosed with osteoporosis of the spine at the age of 51 and back at age 39 all the consultant said make sure you do exercise and have a lot of dairy in your diet. I am now on alendronic acid, and HRT (as per my request) and diet and lifestyle changes - after 3 years my bone density has improved by 11% which is a massive win!

I tried Alendroniic acid. I had fuzzy episodes, and felt as if i was losing my cognition. I went to my GP who thought id had a stroke and sent me to A&E. They did all sorts of tests and told me that they could find nothing wrong but a slught lack of salt levels. They told me to stop the Alendronic acid and see how i went. My cognition came back. Thank goodness.

Thank you Jonathan for specifically asking to clarify that weightlifting is not necessarily the same as weight bearing exercises, since it seems to me that that distinction is often blurred. However, there was not much talk about what to eat, which is what the titled seemed to indicate as the topic.

Why aren't you talking about prevention and natural diet related remedies? Such as Protein and Resistance Bands, meds cause serious side effects.

Osteoporosis is a depletion of estrogen so we need to replenish our levels of HRT! This really worked me plus diet and weight bearings exercises.

I really value Zoe podcasts, but was a bit disappointed that in the quick fire round, Professor Cyrus Cooper answered a resounding YES! to the question can osteoporosis be reversed? but this was not picked up or fleshed out in the podcast, ummmmmm it seems relevant. If you're hosting health podcasts, please focus on three things, 1. what your risk factors are - 2. what to do to prevent - and 3. what to do if you've got it ! There's also some controversy regarding the bisphosphonate drugs that I also would have liked Zoe to give a little attention to.

I’m mid 60’s. I broke my arm in 2011 after tripping over something in the garden. As I was just post menopausal I had a DEXA scan (though had to wait over a year!) & was told my bone density was lower than optimal for my age - osteopenia - & given Adcal which I didn’t take for long! Surprised no one mentioned osteopenia in this podcast. A repeat DEXA in 2019 showed little change, no better but no worse. I eat a varied diet including meat & chicken (not very Zoe friendly!!) eggs, fish & dairy plus nuts, seeds & certain fruit & veg but as I live in north of UK I supplement with VitD & K2. I have no plans to ditch this as Vit D is vital for so many aspects of health. I’ve never taken HRT but sometimes wish I had! I’m not on any medication & wouldn’t be keen to take drugs. I was hoping to have some specific foods mentioned as the title suggested. Overall I was a bit underwhelmed with this podcast.

Why no mention of the view that Calcium intake, whether in food or by supplementation, needs Magnesium to work correctly in the body, also that VitK2 is also said to be essential to metabolise calcium and make D2 work to deposit calcium in the bone structure.

Side effects of bone meds were glossed over - almost dismissed. Apart from ONJ, eg there was no mention of spontaneous vertebral fractures after the discontinuation of denosumab. Once you start on bone meds, it's a lifelong commitment.

It is surprising that no mention was made of magnesium or of Vitamin K-2, which keeps calcium in the bones, where it belongs.

Appreciate the discussion but feel it’s more complicated than this. I’ve done everything as suggested, but still have osteoporosis. Since introducing Vit K2 I’ve managed to stop bone loss, and now to increase bone density, I’m doing a specific weight lifting programme called Onero that is backed by research. It’s impossible to keep taking oestrogen as you age. Skipping and excellent diet was not enough either. Sarcopenia and bone loss seem to go hand in hand. I’ve also been reading up on some specific strains in the microbiome that improve osteoporosis. Also some studies show that some of the drugs prescribed may not actually prevent fracture . My mother suffered terrible from necrosis of the jaw after taking Bisphosphonates.

Vitamin D @ 25 min: I live in Florida and in my early 60s (70 now) I started testing D3. Was below 30 ng/ml which is low end of ref range. I live in Florida but have been an office worker but walk 5 miles a day outside. Went through a couple of years testing, adding near full body sun exposure 10 to 15 minutes a day, and adjusting supplement levels. Finaly settled on about 4000 IU per day to keep my in the 40 to 50 ng/ml, slowly transitioning from 1000 IU per day My point is that sun alone may not cut it, and to test. Look at the full range of research on D. I had previously took the lead from researchers like Michael Hollick, but will look into the researcher of Cyrus Cooper. BTW, I don't take D3 for bone health as it seems to have pleotropic effects. I eat a Zoe like diet and walk a lot giving my skeleton plenty of moderate stress. Zoe, please get a second opinion on D3 and over health effects, not just on bones.

Thankyou so much. I have osteoporosis and value this greatly.