It has been a mystery in the United States for years: With a high consumption of dairy products, why is it that Americans still have a high incidence of osteoporosis? Researchers in Asia, where both osteoporosis and dairy consumption have historically been quite low, might have found a major clue.

It turns out the calcium consumed through milk and supplements is not always absorbed or used to build bone. Without a healthy probiotic population in the gut and the presence of other bone-building cofactors, such as vitamins D and K2, magnesium, zinc and essential fatty acids, calcium can pass right through undigested. Or, worse, excess calcium turns into unhealthy deposits in soft tissue and arteries.

Research done exclusively on Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics found that when women aged 48 years and older took a Japanese probiotic supplement for at least eight weeks, their bone density was 36 percent higher when compared to those who didn’t take the supplement.

“Scientists suspect that probiotics help the body properly digest calcium,” said Mindy Barrows, CN, national director of education at Dallas-based Essential Formulas, the U.S. distributor of the Japanese probiotic supplement used in the study. “The friendly bacteria also manufacture some of the vitamin cofactors needed for bone-building including B6, B12, K and folic acid.”

It’s a surprising side benefit of probiotics, which are frequently touted for supporting digestive health and immune response. Scientists have noted that it is important to provide both pro- and pre-biotic components for the GI tract to enhance calcium uptake. Such dramatic results might not occur when using common freeze-dried probiotic supplements.

In addition to probiotic and prebiotic supplementation, Dr. Natalie Engelbart, founder and clinical director at Alternative Health Solutions in Flower Mound, TX encouraged women to consider increasing magnesium intake for better bone health. “Magnesium regulates calcium absorption into our bones, and ensures that calcium deposits don’t wind up in the soft tissue. The proper balance for our body is a ratio of 2:1 calcium to magnesium. But if you have been deficient in magnesium due to high stress, or from taking calcium-rich supplements or foods, you may want to increase your magnesium intake even more.”

Reference:
Kawakami, Masayuki, Ohhira, Iichiroh, et al. The Influence of Lactic Acid Bacteria (OM-X) on Bone Structure, The Journal of Applied Nutrition, Vo. 53, No. 1, 2003.