The Secret to Stronger Bones

As women enter menopause, the reality is that they can lose up to 20% of their bone density in just 5 to 7 years. This significant change can impact mobility, independence, and overall quality of life.¹ While we often hear about the importance of calcium and vitamin D for bone health, let’s shine a light on another essential ally: electrolytes. These minerals are vital for strong, healthy bones.

What Are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are essential minerals well known for keeping your body hydrated. They include calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, and beyond their hydrating qualities, they also support bone density and muscle function. Calcium and magnesium are fundamental for creating and maintaining strong bones, while healthy muscle function provides support and protection to the skeletal system.^{2, 3}

These minerals also help maintain your body’s acid-base balance, or pH balance. An overly acidic environment can lead to calcium leaching from bones, weakening them over time. In addition to bone health, electrolytes enhance nutrient absorption, prevent muscle cramps, and reduce the risk of falls and injuries.^{4, 5}

Incorporating these vital minerals into your diet is key to supporting your health during this stage of life.

How Electrolytes Support Strong Bones

Calcium: The Building Block

Calcium forms a network of calcium phosphate crystals that provide strength and structure to your bones. It also plays key roles in muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and blood clotting, ensuring that your bones and muscles function smoothly.^{6, 7} Contrary to popular belief, milk isn’t the only way to get calcium. Excellent dairy-free calcium sources include leafy greens, nuts, and seeds.

Magnesium: The Supportive Mineral

Magnesium helps activate vitamin D to enhance calcium absorption. It directly supports bone formation by regulating the activity of bone-building cells. As an electrolyte, magnesium helps regulate muscle and nerve function, blood sugar, and blood pressure as well.^8-10 To boost your dietary magnesium intake, include more nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables.

Potassium: The Balancer

Potassium supports muscle function, nerve signals, and fluid balance, while helping you maintain a healthy pH level. This prevents excessive acidity, which can weaken bones by leaching calcium.^11-13To boost potassium intake, include fruits and vegetables like bananas, oranges, potatoes, and spinach.

Sodium: The Regulator

Sodium regulates vital bodily functions important for bone health. It maintains fluid balance, ensuring nutrients reach bone cells and supporting overall bone density. Sodium is also essential for muscle contractions during bone-strengthening exercises and aids in nerve signal transmission, enhancing stability and reducing fracture risk.^14-16

However, too much sodium can lead to calcium loss through urine, weakening bones over time.¹⁷ To maintain a healthy sodium balance, limit processed foods and focused on whole, unprocessed options.

How to Optimize Electrolyte Balance for Stronger Bones

Factors like intense exercise, heat, poor diet, alcohol, medications, and certain health conditions can deplete electrolytes. To maintain a healthy balance, you’ll want to make sure you’re drinking enough water, especially during your workouts. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces of water per day, plus 0.5-1.0 ounces of water per minute of active exercise (not counting your rest breaks).

Pay attention to signs like muscle cramps or fatigue, which can signal an electrolyte imbalance.

Focus on a balanced diet with unprocessed foods, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Additionally, optimal protein intake is important as it provides amino acids that assist in the transport and function of electrolytes in the body.^18-20

Support Electrolyte Balance for Bone Health and More

Meeting your electrolyte needs through food alone can be challenging, especially during intense exercise, illness, or specific health conditions. That’s why I created ElectroReplenish, a comprehensive electrolyte formula designed to support your body’s increased demands. It delivers optimal amounts of potassium, sodium, chloride, and magnesium, along with D-ribose for post-exercise recovery and taurine for effective cellular electrolyte regulation.

To enhance its benefits, the formula includes antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients like vitamin C, quercetin, and citrus bioflavonoids, ensuring you get more than just hydration. Sweetened with stevia for a refreshing lemon-orange flavor, ElectroReplenish is free from added sugars and artificial sweeteners. Whether mixed into drinks or frozen into popsicles, it provides superior electrolyte support to help your body perform and recover at its best.*

Order ElectroReplenish here.

References:

Endocrine Society: Menopause and Bone Loss
Shrimanker I, Bhattarai S. Electrolytes. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541123/
Office of the Surgeon General (US). Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General (US); 2004. 6, Determinants of Bone Health. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45503/
Blair HC, Larrouture QC, Tourkova IL, Liu L, Bian JH, Stolz DB, Nelson DJ, Schlesinger PH. Support of bone mineral deposition by regulation of pH. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2018 Oct 1;315(4):C587-C597. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00056.2018. Epub 2018 Jul 25. PMID: 30044661; PMCID: PMC6230682.
Cleveland Clinic: Electrolytes: Types, Purpose & Normal Levels
Vannucci L, Fossi C, Quattrini S, Guasti L, Pampaloni B, Gronchi G, Giusti F, Romagnoli C, Cianferotti L, Marcucci G, Brandi ML. Calcium Intake in Bone Health: A Focus on Calcium-Rich Mineral Waters. Nutrients. 2018 Dec 5;10(12):1930. doi: 10.3390/nu10121930. PMID: 30563174; PMCID: PMC6316542.
Yu E, Sharma S. Physiology, Calcium. [Updated 2023 Aug 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482128/
Fiorentini D, Cappadone C, Farruggia G, Prata C. Magnesium: Biochemistry, Nutrition, Detection, and Social Impact of Diseases Linked to Its Deficiency. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 30;13(4):1136. doi: 10.3390/nu13041136. PMID: 33808247; PMCID: PMC8065437.
Healthline: What Are the Health Benefits of Magnesium?
National Institutes of Health: Magnesium
Healthline: What Does Potassium Do for Your Body? A Detailed Review
Linus Pauling Institute: Bone Health In Depth
Hopkins E, Sanvictores T, Sharma S. Physiology, Acid Base Balance. [Updated 2022 Sep 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507807/
Strazzullo P, Leclercq C. Sodium. Adv Nutr. 2014 Mar 1;5(2):188-90. doi: 10.3945/an.113.005215. PMID: 24618759; PMCID: PMC3951800.
Harvard Health: Salt and Sodium
National Institute of General Medical Sciences: Pass the Salt: Sodium’s Role in Nerve Signaling and Stress on Blood Vessels
Science Daily: Diets high in salt could deplete calcium in the body
Healthline: Electrolyte Imbalance: Types, Symptoms, Causes, and More
Cleveland Clinic: Electrolyte Imbalance
Murphy GR, Dunstan RH, Macdonald MM, Borges N, Radford Z, Sparkes DL, Dascombe BJ, Roberts TK. Relationships between electrolyte and amino acid compositions in sweat during exercise suggest a role for amino acids and K+ in reabsorption of Na+ and Cl- from sweat. PLoS One. 2019 Oct 3;14(10):e0223381. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223381. PMID: 31581276; PMCID: PMC6776299.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. Products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The views in this blog by JJ Virgin should never be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please work with a healthcare practitioner concerning any medical problem or concern.