You can make lifestyle choices to increase your bone health, says chiropractor Dr. Frank Bodnar. He gives listeners the full picture of what bone density means and how our own daily habits along with medical interventions can make a difference.

Listen and learn

• What a DEXA scan indicates and how to interpret the results,
• What's the difference between osteopenia and osteoporosis and when is the prime time for intervention,
• How the immune system, white cells in blood, and other factors affect bone health, and
• Why efforts like the Mediterranean diet plan, careful supplement pairing, and resistance strength training can all have an impact at any life stage.

Dr. Frank Bodnar is a licensed chiropractor in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois and works with the Lifestyle Matrix Resource Center. While many chiropractors don't address bone density per se, his own experience of watching his father diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when nutrition therapy for diabetes was not normal protocol impacted him.

He knew patients deserved better and this experience made him sensitive to how important it is to teach patients about what they could do for themselves. He brought his own passion for lifestyle interventions into addressing bone health and helps clinicians educate patients about lifestyle benefits as part of their plan. In this interview, he readily shares some of the same advice with listeners.

He begins by explaining some of the terminology of bone health, from a DEXA scan to the physiology behind bone growth and density loss, down to the effect of protein on blood sugars and why the Mediterranean diet leads to less inflammation. Additionally, he describes why supplementation is more than just adding calcium, and explains what considerations nutritionists advise in how to pair supplements for the most beneficial effects.

Finally, he gives specific examples of patients and what made substantive differences for their bone health. Even stress, he adds, can lend a factor and in addition to the psychological benefits of exercise on stress, resistance training can have a marked effect on bone density, even for the elderly. Curious about how to put your bones on a healthy path?

Listen in as Dr. Bodnar shares his knowledge.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/30PvU9C