Hello and

today's

today's episode, like so many of our nutrition diva podcast, I'm your host, Monica Reinagle,

and today's episode, like so many of our episodes,

was suggested by an email from a listener.

Judy wrote to me in response to my recent episode

on sodium supplements.

If you missed that one, some influencers claim that the current

recommended intake for sodium is actually too low and that we might be healthier if we got more

sodium, not less.

Well, after listening to that episode, Judy wrote,

I'd love for you to address the connection between sodium intake

and osteoporosis.

Before my own osteoporosis diagnosis, my diet was very high in both sodium and caffeine,

so I was dismayed to learn that this probably contributed to my bone loss.

No doctor had ever warned me about this.

Now, Judy is correct that sodium and caffeine

can both impact calcium metabolism. However, there's a lot more to this story.

A high sodium intake can increase the amount of calcium that is excreted or lost in the urine and caffeine can do the same thing.

However, your body can compensate for some of these losses by increasing the amount of

calcium that it absorbs from the foods that you eat.

As long as your diet contains enough calcium, a high sodium diet is likely to have little to

...