One of the most common causes of death in old age is fractures. It is also a cause of infirmity. But it is not, despite appearances, a disease of old people. It is a disease of the young, which produces symptoms in old age. There is only one way to avoid bone problems in old age, you have to take care of them in youth, while your bones are still able to become stronger. After that, of course, they will become brittle, but if you work on them hard enough, the effect will last. It’s really important whether, at 80, we’ll have trouble climbing the stairs to the 1st floor, or can we manage to run with friends in the mountains?
This is the most difficult part of the “job” of a person who gives people disease prevention advice. Everyone thinks they are immortal, that nothing will ever happen to them, if NOW they feel fine, why do anything? How to convince people to change their habits? I don’t know…
The most important element, basically unavoidable is the gym or hard physical work. Bones get harder in response to strain. Astronauts after being in orbit have massive decalcification, despite a very healthy diet and supplements. Here it must be stressed that only very heavy loads will be effective. Running will do little, and some studies suggest that it even harms. Similarly, waving light dumbbells has no effect. The only way is to lift weights so heavy that after up to 10 repetitions you no longer have the strength for the next one.
It’s not true that magnesium has any particularly positive effect. This theory is very popular, but incorrect.
It is likely that vitamin K2 has a big impact. Both MK4 and MK7 forms should be used, although currently only MK4 has a clear positive effect shown in studies (unless one wants to protect one’s rats from disease), but MK7 has strong support from theory. Studies are currently underway to determine more precisely to what extent this vitamin prevents decalcification.
Strontium has a very strong positive effect, in studies much, much better than calcium supplements. The name sounds threatening and is associated with poison, but that’s because at one time there was a buzz about radioactive strontium, this is something completely different. The “normal” one is harmless and commonly found in food. It is worth eating a tablet containing, for example, 400 mg of ions of this element every now and then. There is no point in doing this every day because of the cost, but such periodic supplementation will have a marked effect.
Of course, you need to supplement vitamin D3.