Kevin Ellis | The Hormone Stronger Bones Solution - Why Your Current Program Is Likely Not Enough and What To Do Instead

Welcome back to another enlightening episode of The Hormone Prescription Podcast! This week, we dive deep into a topic that resonates with so many of us: bone health. We often think we’re doing enough by following generic health programs, but what if those programs fall short when it comes to bone health? What if there’s a better way to ensure stronger, healthier bones?

🎙️ Episode Highlights:

In this episode, we are thrilled to welcome Kevin Ellis, famously known as Bone Coach™, into our midst. Kevin is not just any health coach; he's a Forbes-featured certified integrative nutrition health coach, podcaster, YouTuber, bone health advocate, and the founder of BoneCoach.com. With his unique 3-step process and world-class coaching program, the Stronger Bones Solution™, Kevin has transformed the lives of thousands across the globe.

Key Points Discussed:

• The Reality of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia: Understanding why traditional programs might not be enough.
• Kevin's Unique 3-Step Process: Learn about the innovative Stronger Bones Solution™ that has helped individuals in over 1500+ cities worldwide.
• Personal Stories and Success: Hear inspiring stories from people who have regained confidence in their bone health journey.
• A Vision for the Future: Kevin's mission isn't just about the present. Discover how he plans to help future generations prevent osteoporosis and lead long, active lives.

Kevin's approach is both inspiring and informative, providing actionable insights and practical steps that you can start implementing today. His dedication goes beyond just addressing current issues; it's about paving the way for a healthier future for our children and grandchildren.

🦴 Who Should Listen?

This episode is a must-listen for midlife women who are looking to take control of their bone health. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis or simply want to ensure your bones stay strong and healthy, this episode offers invaluable advice and guidance.

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Bone health is more than just a medical concern; it's a critical component of living an active and fulfilling life. Kevin Ellis’s expertise and passion shine through in this episode, offering you not just hope but a practical roadmap to stronger, healthier bones. Let’s embark on this journey together and make bone health a priority!

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Hormone Prescription Podcast and leave us a review. We love hearing your thoughts and experiences. Until next time, stay healthy and stay strong!

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By engaging with this episode, you’re not just taking steps toward better bone health; you’re joining a global movement dedicated to a healthier, more active future. Listen now and be inspired!

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Dr. Kyrin Dunston (00:00):

You don't have to know where each step is placed day one. You just have to know where you want your path to lead. Kevin Ellis, stay tuned for the Bone Coach who will share his groundbreaking program with you to make sure that your bones stay strong and vital as you age.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (00:19):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB GYNI had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (01:13):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. Thank you so much for joining me today. As we talk with Kevin Ellis, also known as The Bone Coach, Kevin has a unique three step process and coaching program called Stronger Bone Solution. He's gonna share with you, he's gonna share so much. He really has a great way of articulating the importance of bone health. We're gonna talk about diagnostics. How do you know if you have an issue with this? What are the correct diagnostic tools you should be undergoing? You're probably not getting this information in your regular doctor's office. I even share a story about one of my clients who had a kind of interesting experience with her primary care doctor around that. So we're gonna dive into that. And you know, bone health is super important. It's kind of one of the most silent diseases because most of us start losing bone mass around the age of 30 unless we're doing something to prevent bone loss.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (02:16):

And most of us are not. And it accelerates more in women than men, which is super unfair. But it's just a reality for various reasons that we're gonna touch upon. Also related to your hormones as we go through midlife. So if you're not doing diagnostics around this and you're not paying attention and being proactive, I promise you this is happening to you. As you're sitting there listening to my voice, whether you're driving your car or gardening or doing the dishes, you are losing bone mass if you're not doing something to prevent bone mass loss if you're over 30. It's just a fact. And so the only way that you really will know this is a problem if you don't do anything about it, is you might fall when you're older and have a fracture, which can be devastating because a third of women who fall and have a hip fracture because they have osteoporosis, will die from it.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (03:20):

Yes, die. It's one of the leasing causes of death in older women, a third of us who that happens to will become incapacitated, where we can no longer live independently. That means you have to move out of where you've lived your whole life maybe, and into a facility where you have assisted care all the time and you lose your freedom <laugh> and you lose lots of things that come along with that, that change. So I know we talk about it really in this kind of detached, often the future way, like we're not talking about you, but yes, we are talking about you. So this is a vital episode for everyone to listen to. Even if you're a guy, there are men who listen to my show too. Hi guys. And I love that because you help the women in your life and this is you, you need to listen.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (04:09):

But we're gonna talk about how you can know this is an issue for you earlier. And then most importantly, what do you do about it? Kevin has some great resources for you. He explains things in plain English in a down to earth way just like I do. So I think you're really gonna love our discussion. I'll tell you a little bit more about him and then we'll get started. Kevin Ellis is better known as the Bone Coach. He is a Forbes featured integrative health coach podcaster and is the founder of Bone coach.com. Through a unique three-step process and the world class coaching program called Stronger Bone Solution, he and this team have helped thousands of people with osteopenia and osteoporosis in over 1500 cities around the world get confident in their stronger bones plan. His mission is to help millions of people with osteoporosis build stronger bones and to help our children and grandchildren create a strong and healthy foundation so they can lead long active lives. Please help me welcome Kevin to the show.

Kevin Ellis (05:11):

Thank you so much for having me. I'm looking forward to this. It's gonna be a great conversation.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (05:15):

It is. I have been waiting to have you on the show for a couple years. You are super busy because you have a su super successful program in helping people reverse their bone density and improve it whether they have osteoporosis, osteopenia. And so I'm really glad to have you on the show and share you with my audience. Some of my listeners may know, 'cause I talk about <laugh>, I'm an open book when it comes to my health and my family's health, and my mom has the worst osteoporosis I've ever seen. No surprise that she also has Alzheimer's, right? 'cause The two are connected and connected also with hormone imbalance. She was in hormonal poverty for three decades without treatment. So I think it it's great to launch into this talk really with you telling everyone why you're so passionate about the work that you do.

Kevin Ellis (06:10):

Yeah. 'cause usually when you're thinking about bone health or you're thinking about osteopenia or osteoporosis or stronger bones, you're not typically thinking about the younger male, right? You're, you're typically thinking about somebody later in life. Maybe it's maybe just like you said a mother or a grandmother or an aunt or a friend or someone like that who's experienced the effects of maybe fractures or osteoporosis and how you saw that, how that impacted their quality of life in their later years. So it's usually not the younger male that's passionate about this or talking about this, but for me, my journey really started a long time ago. And like a lot of us in the health space, my journey started through my own health issues and challenges. So when I came outta the Marine Corps, I had a lot of different health issues, high stress, poor sleep, chronic digestive distress, couldn't figure out what was going on.

Kevin Ellis (06:54):

My energy was almost non-existent. Some days I could barely even get out of bed. And then I was diagnosed with celiac disease. And for those who are not familiar, celiac disease is an autoimmune condition where when you ingest gluten, the tiny little nutrient absorption centers inside your small intestine, they're called vii. And I, I like to call 'em roots in your soil. And my roots were becoming damaged and they were becoming blunted and they couldn't do their job. And my body still needed these important nutrients to execute its daily functions, specifically calcium, because calcium is the primary mineral constituent of your bones. But you also need it for muscle contractions, for nerve impulses, for a, a variety of other things. So I wasn't absorbing these important nutrients and my body was going to the largest reserve of minerals I had, which were my bones and pulling from there.

Kevin Ellis (07:40):

So celiac disease led to bone loss and a subsequent diagnosis of osteoporosis. And this was right around 30 years old. And for anyone to get that diagnosis at any point, it can be scary. And you know, for me at a young age, I still was trying to make sense of it all. And there was fear was a very strong impetus and driver for me and also wanting to be there for my kids in the future because I lost my father when I was two months old. And all I ever wanted was to have that person in my life. And I didn't wanna leave my kids in a position where, you know, they didn't have me there too. So I had a pretty strong reason to make improvements and I put this plan together, I did the research, consulted with people, and I ended up turning this, this health journey into a passion. And I became a coach and I built out a program and grew that community to a couple hundred thousand people. And we've got over 10,000 people that have come through these stronger bones programs now. So it's, it's just really a passion of mine through personal experience, but also just seeing the lives of people we've changed and transformed and how they get to live their most best lives that you know in the future. So

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (08:43):

Yeah, I love hear hearing how people came to do what they do, that they love, that they're passionate about those. So thank you for sharing that. And I think that a lot of women listening right now don't think that we're talking to them because osteopenia, osteoporosis, bone loss really has no symptoms until you are at the point where you start getting fractures, right? It might be spinal compression fractures or you could fall when you're older and and break something. But I find that this is so <laugh> under-discussed in the medical community. And I actually recently had a patient who shared with me that she went and got a bone density. 'cause I advised everyone to get a bone density and based on certain parameters, which we can talk about. And she definitely qualified as needing one. And she went and got it and she had osteoporosis and she took it to her primary care doctor who basically scolded her and yelled at her for getting a bone density.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (09:50):

I don't know if you've come across situations like that, but increasingly I'm having patients come to me where their doctors are getting angry at them for getting screening tests that they really needed, that their doctor didn't recommend bone density being one of them because, you know, his whole attitude was, well now you have osteoporosis, what are I gonna do about that? Because he didn't know what to do. So this is why I love what you do because doctors really don't have an answer. And the fact I was so angry after she told me that, that her doctor got mad at her. So can we talk a little bit about what is appropriate screening? Who should be getting screening? What screening should they be getting? Because I think a lot of the women listening have never had the proper screening and don't even know that they need it and they don't know that we're talking to them.

Kevin Ellis (10:36):

Yeah, this is, this is so important. I'm glad we're talking about this because number one, you as the patient have the right to be the educated and empowered advocate for you. You have the right to ask for tests. You have the right to get those tests done and to see where you're at and get some objective baseline markers and monitor those changes. You as the patient you should be asking for that. That's how you take care of yourself long term. Because a lot of times what happens when I see people, a lot of people, they want to prevent future fractures. They may not already be at that point, but some people I've seen, they've already fractured a lot of times, 5, 10, 15 times, even some. So we want to prevent that from happening. So how do you do that? Well, first let's understand that every single person has bones in their body.

Kevin Ellis (11:18):

Your bone health is important and you're putting on 90% of your bone mass by the time you turn age 18. And by the time you turn 30, the remaining 10% approximately is gonna fill in. And that's what we call peak bone mass or what I call a full bucket, right? So if when you were younger, you had poor diet nutrition, you drank a bunch of sugary soft drinks, you ate a bunch of candy, you weren't getting enough calcium, vitamin D, magnesium K two, you weren't getting enough protein in your diet. Or if you're listening to this and you've got kids or grandkids, think through that lens too. Not just what you went through, but what maybe your kids are going through right now. If we led a sedentary lifestyle, if we weren't out playing sports or being active or moving our bodies and our bones in these short, sharp, dynamic movements to help stimulate good healthy bone growth from a young age or doing gymnastics, right?

Kevin Ellis (12:10):

Get those kids in gymnastics if, if possible because gymnasts have some of the best bone density out there. And then if we had an eating disorder when we were younger, if we took certain medications like glucocorticoids or if we smoked or drank excessively, all of those things could have prevented you from reaching peak bone masses starting with that full bucket. So it's good to understand how, how your bones are being built over time. And it's good to also know, hey there, there are probably some contributors I had in my youth. What are the things I can do now to understand where I'm at and what I need to do to move forward? So I like to see people getting these objective markers and baselines early in your thirties to forties, right? If you get a baseline right around the time you, you achieve peak bone mass, 30 years old, then you can monitor those changes over time.

Kevin Ellis (12:57):

And that's a great place to start. If you're already past 30 and you haven't had a bone density scan yet, you can get one. If you can't go to your doctor and get one, go to an external radiology group and get one. If you have any chronic digestive issues, especially if you have celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any, any of those absorption conditions, you have a reason to go to your doctor and say, Hey, I believe this is contributing to bone loss and I'd like to dig a little bit further. Can we get this test? And that's how you go about having those conversations. Or you can even just say, Hey look, I, I'm not saying no to your recommendations, I'm just saying can you help me get a little bit more data to make the best decision to move forward? Right? So if you just have that kind of dialogue instead of shutting your physicians down, that may lead to MM-hmm <affirmative> better results.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (13:42):

And then what kind of bone density should they be asking for? Because they're not all bone density testing is created equal <laugh>.

Kevin Ellis (13:50):

That's right. Yeah. So we would look for a DEXA scan, dual energy x-ray absor geometry, it's painless test, kind of like an X-ray, but very low levels of radiation. You lay down on the machine, it does a scan and it tells you your bone mineral density and then it generates a score. And that score is, if it's plus one or minus one, you're gonna be told that's normal and healthy. If it's minus one to minus 2.5, you're gonna be told that's osteopenia. We would call that low bone mass. And that's like a precursor to osteoporosis and minus 2.5 or lower. So minus 2.6, minus 2.7, so on and so forth. That's considered osteoporosis. And the greater the negative number becomes the more severe the osteoporosis. Now important note, bone density is only part of the picture. It's an important part, but it's only part of the picture.

Kevin Ellis (14:37):

So if we wanna really understand stronger bones, you have to know that bone density is the actual mineral content of the bone. Bone quality is the structural integrity of the bone, the micro architecture, how the bone is organized. Those two things combine to create bone strength. So a lot of times you only have part of the picture if you're just getting a bone density scan. So how do I get the bone quality part? Well, there's an add-on software to the DEXA scan that you can get. It's called TBS trabecular bone score. You can call a facility ahead of time, ask 'em if they have the capability and then just confirm with the technician before you start your scan, just say, Hey, do you have the TBS? 'cause It's, it's, you're gonna be able to get all that data just in that one scan, which can be great.

Kevin Ellis (15:20):

So you have bone density, bone quality, there's another technology out there that is, it's more prevalent in Europe, it's making its way more into the US now it's called rems, radiofrequency echo graphic multis spectometry technology. And it's found in a device called echo light. And this looks at the, it's an ultrasound technology that looks at your bone density, your bone quality and gives you a five-year fragility score, like a predictor of fracture basically. And that can also be another tool that you use. And the the last set of tools that I would encourage people to look at are when you get these tests, these, these markers of bone density and bone quality, you have to understand that if you only have one, you don't know if you're actively losing bone right now, present day as we speak. So what are the things that we can look at to understand what's going on right now in our bones?

Kevin Ellis (16:12):

Well, we'll look at bone turnover markers and bone turnover markers. Look at the activity level of cells that are building up and breaking down your bone and let's if the, the bone turnover markers, we're gonna talk about bone resorption. The most sensitive marker for bone resorption is serum CTX. And that is a CT low peptide test. And that looks at the activity level of cells that are breaking down bone. So if that activity level is elevated or even really high, that can be an indicator of active bone loss and a root cause issue that needs to be explored and addressed. And if we have, if we're looking at bone resorption, we also wanna look at bone formation. So the most sensitive marker for bone formation is called P one and P, that's pro collagen type one and terminal propeptide. And this looks at the activity level cells that are building up that bone. So you wanna look at, you wanna look at those two things at the same time. So those are some markers. I love that. And where you're at.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (17:08):

Comprehensive answer. Thank you so much. So everybody listening, we're gonna give some, Kevin has some great resources for you to get further information. So don't freak out about what are all the, this lingo you're hearing about. He's got more resources to really support you in your bone journey, whether you've got great bone mass or you're already losing bone mass because bone mass is something you have to promote. Just like you don't clean your house one time and it stays clean, you have to clean it periodically. So it's something you need to work on. So let's dive into talking about the connection between bone health and hormones because I don't think a lot of women get that there's a connection and particularly women at midlife don't realize that they're being robbed in the middle of the night while they're sleeping a bone mass and it has something to do with their hormones. Can we talk a little bit about that?

Kevin Ellis (18:05):

We most certainly can. So there are different types. There's absolutely a hormone connection, there's a major hormone connection to osteoporosis and bone loss and stronger bones. So let's start with, there are different types of osteoporosis. There is primary osteoporosis that is typically related to a decrease in estrogen. In post-menopausal women. Estrogen has a protective effect on bone as estrogen levels decrease as they do during menopause or even before menopause. That can cause an increase in the activity level of cells that break down bone. And when that activity level elevated and really high, that's gonna cause more bone loss, right? And over time, even in the five years right around that transition, some women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in that, in that period of time. And that's pretty significant, right? So we have to be aware of that, that major hormonal change that's happening and even take some proactive steps to, to do that.

Kevin Ellis (18:59):

And I know Dr. Karen, you, you talk about this all the time, but in terms of other causes of osteoporosis, there's secondary osteoporosis and that is where it occurs as a result of behaviors, disorders, diseases, conditions, and medications. So there can be different reasons for that bone loss that's taking place. Hormones can absolutely play a role, especially estrogen. And then if we're talking about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, if that is part of your plan, you know, and it's different for every single person, and I know you talk about this quite a bit, but estrogen can help with the prevention of bone loss, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA can help with supporting the bone building side of things too. So there, there are things that you can do from a hormonal perspective and that again, it varies for every single person. You gotta work with a practitioner to help you figure out what's right for you. But just know those can be some tools to help support you as you start moving in the right direction or even preventing some of that loss from happening.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (19:52):

I just wanna make the point for everybody listening that there really is no current recommendation on use of sex hormones or what I like to call flex hormones because they have flexible functions. It's not just about sex. For the prevention of bone loss, really there isn't. So when you're talking to your doctor about hormones, you're probably not gonna get some of the information that we're sharing with you today about the fact that it does help prevent bone loss. So it's something that you're going to have to bring up. And the fact that flex hormone therapy or getting to a state of what I call hormonal prosperity actually helps you to build bone. There is a recommendation using estrogen in particular to reverse or treat osteoporosis. It's not considered a first line therapy though, which we might get into talking about medications and they don't talk about the use of other bone building agents like testosterone is super important for women too. So I, I'd love to just give that caveat because a lot of times people will hear something on the show and then they go running to their doctor and say, well I heard Kevin talking about this, Karen talking about that, and, and they just get poo-pooed and then they get really confused because they're kind of being gaslit but don't realize it <laugh>. Yeah. So that's why I like to, to tell them what to expect when you bring this information you're super excited about to your, your doctor

Kevin Ellis (21:24):

And, and you have to realize too, and it's just, you kind of just touched on medication. But you have to realize too that when you go into the conventional medical model and you're having these conversations, just know that the standard recommendation that will be provided for you is take some calcium, take some vitamin D, go for a walk, don't lift anything heavy over, you know, very small amounts of weight and here's this medication, take it. And we'll see you in two years for your next bone density scan. I would bet if anyone has already had this conversation with their doctor, 95% of you're like nodding your head. Yeah, that's exactly what I heard. Right? There is so much more to bone health than that. There are so many other pieces and let's even, I'd love to just touch on the medication because that that conversation is gonna come up.

Kevin Ellis (22:13):

So if you're okay with that. Sure. Briefly, I, I would, I'm not anti-medication. I have seen a lot of situations where it's necessary in lifesaving for some people, but I am pro do everything you possibly can naturally first before considering that as an option. Because when it comes to these bone medications, they have a dramatic effect on bone physiology. It's not like taking an aspirin. And there are different categories of these drugs. There are anti-resorptive medications and there are anabolic medications. Anti-Resorptive medications are designed to slow down the activity level of cells that are breaking down bone. Can they do that? Of course they can, but there are risks and side effects that come with their use. So for antiresorptives, this would be broken down into bisphosphonates and rank lain inhibitors. Bisphosphonates, you've probably heard of some of these before would be your Fosamax, your bon niva, your reclass, those kind of drugs, those are bisphosphonates and your rank lain inhibitors are like Prolia.

Kevin Ellis (23:11):

Okay? So bisphosphonates, the safety and efficacy of these drugs, not really well known beyond five years. And as you and I are going about our daily lives, doing our daily activities, exercising, doing chores around the house, we're starting to get these tiny little micro cracks, micro fractures in our bones. That's normal, right? For every single person. That's normal. And then what happens is you have cells within the bone called osteocytes, they're like orchestrators of this bone remodeling process. They sense that damage and they send out a signal and say, Hey, we need to become stronger. And that signal is picked up by other cells and these cells called osteoclast, they come in and they, they scoop out that damaged bone and right behind it, it's a coupled process. You have these other cells called osteoblasts that come in and build stronger, healthier new bone. That is a normal remodeling process that happens throughout our lives.

Kevin Ellis (24:03):

When you're taking some of these medications, especially longer term, multiple years, you can actually slow down that activity level too much to where you start to accumulate that old worn damage weakened bone over time. So even if you're taking one of these longer term and you're seeing improvements or you're seeing stability in your bone density scan, that quality, that structural integrity, it may not be there, right? So you may not actually have stronger bones, your bones may end up being weaker, just, it just depends. So you have to be aware of these things before you jump into them. And then other certain medications like Prolia, you can't just take that medication and then stop taking it because you'll have what's called a rebound effect. And that can increase the risk of ver vertebral fractures. So again, most people don't get that education in a 15 minute conversation before they just jump into taking a medication.

Kevin Ellis (24:54):

And then the other category of drugs are called anabolics. And those drugs are designed to build bone, build better quality bone and build it faster. Can they do that? Yes. Are there risks and side effects and implications of use? Of course. So you can only take 'em for a certain period of time and once you take them you have to follow it with another medication just to not lose the bone you gained. So the reason I tell people this is ask questions. It's okay to pause, to take a deep breath to make those decisions and to, to just make the most educated, empowered decision you can.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (25:26):

Yeah, super important to know about the medications, be an informed consumer, know what your options are because a lot of times you're not gonna get all the information when you're talking to your doctor. You're just gonna get a prescription here, take this. But what I love about what you do and the resource that you have for everybody is that you really help them to understand, like I I always say I'm not the type of physician who's just gonna tell you do what I say because I'm the expert. I'm gonna educate you about how your body works and help you make the best choice for yourself and you do the same. And that's what I love about the work you do. I think gone are the days when we can just abdicate control of our health to our healthcare provider and assume they have our best interests at heart.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (26:09):

We really have to become the CEOs of our own health and have a working knowledge of how our body works. Otherwise, we're gonna kind of get to the later in the finish line and be upset like a woman I talked to recently who's in her eighties and having all these consequences of hormonal poverty and she's really angry and saying, why didn't anyone tell me? Why Didn't anyone tell me what I was signing up for <laugh> when I didn't, when I went into hormonal poverty at menopause and nobody helped me to get out. I, I think something else that's really important. I know we only have so much time to talk today and that's why I love that you have this extra class everyone can attend, which we'll give you details on later, is exercise. I was talking with a client just a couple hours ago about exercise and when most women at midlife hear the word exercise, they think aerobics and <laugh>, they don't think about weight-bearing exercise or if we hear weight-bearing exercise, we don't necessarily think you're talking about weights.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (27:14):

This woman was actually kind of interesting won't give details on her name or anything, so it's confidential, but the situation I think is very common. I hear this a lot. She didn't wanna lift weights 'cause she didn't wanna bulk up like a man. Also, she was noticing when she was doing certain exercises like squats or arm ex upper arm exercises that she was having discomfort so she stopped doing them. So I know that's a lot of information in there, but basically let's talk about what kind of exercise do you do need to do for your bones?

Kevin Ellis (27:47):

Yeah, exercise is so important. You can be eating all the right foods, which most of the time people think they're eating. I hear this all the time. People are, I feel like I'm eating healthy, I feel like I'm exercising and I still have this condition. Why is this? Well, you have to provide the proper stimulus that your bones need to become stronger and your bones need a couple different types of stimuli. You need impact and you need muscle pulling on bone. So when the muscle pulls on bone, there's this mechanical signal that sends a chemical signal to tell the bones to become stronger. Most people, like I said, when they get diagnosed, they're told, Hey, do some walking. Don't lift anything heavy and just kind of avoid anything that could potentially cause a fall or fracture. Do.Dot that could actually be some of the worst advice that people get is to not put any stimulus on those bones.

Kevin Ellis (28:33):

And the reason I say that is you have to have weight-bearing exercise and you have to have resistance training and muscle strengthening. So what is weight-bearing exercise weight-bearing exercise is anything where your body and your bones are working against gravity to keep you upright. There are things you're doing on your feet and they're placing a good healthy stress on those bones. So that would be, you're walking, you're jogging, you're hiking, you're gardening, you're playing pickleball, you're running around with the kids and the grandkids out in the yard. All those things are considered weight-bearing exercise. It also would be yoga, Pilates, tai chi, qigong, dancing, even All those things are weight-bearing exercise. If you are doing those things, keep doing 'em and you can incorporate this into your plan. Okay? You have to also be aware of non-weightbearing exercise. And this is where your body and your bones are not working against gravity to keep you upright and they are not placing good healthy stress on your bones.

Kevin Ellis (29:27):

And if one of these activities is your primary form of exercise and the only thing you incorporate, you need to do more, right? So if you're doing swimming or cycling, especially swimming, you need to be aware of this. And swimming specifically, it's not that if you do it and it makes you happy and it brings you joy and you're, you just love getting in the pool and swimming around, that's great. You can keep doing this, but don't get in the pool five days a week, swim a couple laps, get out and say, I did my exercise. 'cause You didn't, you have to provide the stimulus that your bones need. And that would be this next form of exercise, which is muscle strengthening and resistance training exercise. And this is where you're bringing in, maybe it's the barbells, the dumbbells, the the resistance bands, the machines at the gym, if that's where your comfort level is at and you're starting to incorporate some, some really good movements that can be helpful.

Kevin Ellis (30:23):

Now, if you are new to weightlifting or resistance training or muscle strengthening exercise, don't be intimidated by some of the things I'm gonna share because you don't have to start at the highest, most intense level. That's not where we recommend people start. We want you to start at a weight that you're comfortable with, that we can look at your body mechanics that we can get you doing things with good form and slowly build up that intensity from there to where you just know how to do it and you're comfortable, right? So that's where we're doing things like squats or this is, it sounds scary, but it's actually not that scary. Dead lifts, right? Overhead presses. And there are other exercises that we can incorporate there too, but those are some great foundational movements that we can incorporate and we want to build up that intensity. Five to 10 repetition range can be a great, a great range to be in, but you gotta have good form, right? So again, you don't have to start at the most intense place day one. You just gotta slowly build up from there.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (31:18):

Yeah, I, I'm so glad that we're talking about this because I do think that just a lot of women miss it. We really do need the weights, the weightbearing activities and working with weights and it's something that a lot of women aren't familiar with, so they shy away from it. And I just thought it was interesting. The woman earlier said that she started having discomfort and so she just stopped doing it and she just wrote that off, I don't need to do that. It hurts <laugh>. Yeah. So it gave us the opportunity to have a, a conversation about, well, no, it's just like when, when something hurts in your body, you've gotta investigate why. Same with lifting weights. If you're having pain, you probably need to look into why.

Kevin Ellis (31:57):

Exactly. And, and just to give you an example, every single person is different. They're at different fitness and activity levels. They have different conditions, they have different pain in their body. So we actually teach people how to modify things to address this. I know we're gonna share this resource here in a little bit, but we'll teach people how to, you know, if they've got pain in any area, any area of their body, their neck, their shoulders, their back, their hips, their knees, their feet, and they're worried about their bones. We teach modifications, adjustments and tweaks to where you can actually provide the stimulus that you need. Or if people have specific conditions that they're trying to navigate, stenosis, scoliosis, spondylothesis, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc, or you've already had a fracture, we will teach modifications, adjustments, and tweaks to make sure you know how to, how to do those things safely and still provide stimulus that you need. So yeah, a lot of times pain, it can either prevent people from taking action altogether or it can compromise their body mechanics and put them at greater risk of injury. So we just wanna make sure they're doing the right things and they've got the right form as they get into these movements.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (33:00):

Two questions I definitely wanna ask you before we wrap up. And number one is, I know some women are probably thinking, so I'm getting thin bones, it's not that big a deal. But what they don't understand are the consequences they're signing up for or the potential consequences of having thin bones. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I I, more than anything from this episode, I want everyone to really get the message. You need a, you need to check your bone density now it's vital and you need to do something about it if it's not optimal. So what kind of consequences are we talking about?

Kevin Ellis (33:38):

Yeah, I'm, well, a lot of times the biggest concern is, is fracture, right? So if you have seen anybody later in life, whether it's a mother or grandmother or something like that, I used to work at a retirement home when I was, when I was a lot younger and that was one of the first jobs I had. And I always talk about how that had a dramatic impact on my life because I saw people in their final years and what they looked like and what their quality of life was like, and whether they were hunched over kind of making their way to the dining hall or they, they were just upright chatting, having fun with their friends. And that had a really big impact on me. And the biggest concern that I see people when they come to us is they're concerned about fracture. Because when we have fractures that that's gonna dramatically impact your life, they can be life changing, they can be debilitating six months after a hip fracture, you've only got about 15% of patients can walk across a room unaided every year.

Kevin Ellis (34:26):

We've got about 300,000 hip fracture patients. A quarter of people end up in nursing homes, half of them never regain their previous function. So it's, it's not to, not to scare people because just because you have low bone density doesn't mean you're gonna fracture, right? There are preventative things you can do to build stronger bone to prevent that from even being your fate. A fracture is a possibility and it does happen. So we need to do everything we possibly can to preserve and strengthen this structure that's gonna carry you to an active future. And that's a big part of what we focus on.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (34:55):

Right. And then the other thing I wanted to talk about, we talked about the sex or flex hormones when it comes to bone density, but we didn't touch on cortisol, the stress hormone, which also gets to gut health and bone. And I don't think that a lot of people are a aware of the connection between other hormones like cortisol, which relates to gut health and bone health. Can you talk a little bit about that briefly?

Kevin Ellis (35:21):

Yeah, I certainly can. So there's a major connection, let's even start with the gut health piece too. 'cause Yes, of course stress hormone cortisol that can impact your gut health can increase the, can increase intestinal permeability, leaky gut. But with gut health, there are a couple ways that this can affect your bones. So the first way is kind of what I talked about with celiac disease, the absorption of nutrients and having challenges with, with that, that can cause your body to pull minerals in from the bones and that can, that can lead to bone loss if you have issues with absorption. The other issue when it comes to gut health and bone health is that your bones are living tissue. They're not just these static structures that hold you up right and carry you through life. They do that and they do a really good job of it.

Kevin Ellis (36:04):

But inside your bones you have something called bone marrow. And bone marrow is a soft spongy material. It produces 95% of the blood cells in your body. So if you need help with preventing bleeding and clotting, that's where platelets are gonna come in. If you need help with carrying oxygen to the body's tissues, carrying carbon dioxide away from the tissues back to the lungs, red blood cells are gonna help with that. But if you need help with fighting infections, healing wounds, anything related to the immune system, that's where white blood cells come in. Well, the cells that break down bone are a form of white blood cell. So anything that is stimulating the immune system is speaking in the same language as the cells that break down bone. Where does 70% of your immune system reside in your gut? So if you have digestive issues, especially chronic and long term, it's not just a matter of am I absorbing my nutrients, it's am I stimulating that immune system speaking in the same language as the cells that break down bone and leading to more bone loss.

Kevin Ellis (37:01):

So resolution of those digestive issues is incredibly important. And then if we shift to, if we're talking about the impact of chronic stress and high cortisol on our bones specifically, there are a couple, a couple ways that this can affect our bones. Number one, it can reduce progesterone production and we need progesterone to support healthy bones. The other way is that it actually reduces the ability of the os osteoblasts, the cells that build bone, it reduces their ability to build that bone. And the other thing that we need to be concerned about is high glucocorticoids, these natural steroid hormones, they kill osteocytes, osteocytes are these orchestrators of the bone remodeling process. So we need all of these things to function in a, in a good way. And when we have high stress, elevated cortisol levels or we have cortisol dysregulation, even that can be an issue that comes up.

Kevin Ellis (37:55):

So just be aware that if you have stress in your life, and it may not be, I know we always, we talk about the lion always, but you know, the lion is, is probably not gonna be the, the main stressor in your life. The, it's probably gonna be the, the financial conflict, the family challenges, the keeping up with the perfect lives of the Jones is on social media. Those kinds of things can contribute to and drive that stress response. And you just have to be aware of that and you just need to cultivate a healthy practice around dealing with that stress. And I think if you do that, you you'll be in a really good place at least to start. Yeah,

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (38:31):

For sure. And I love this quote you shared with me before we, we started recording, I have to share with everyone, you don't have to know where each step is placed day one, you just have to know where you want your path to lead. You have certainly given everyone a step for day one when it comes to their bone health journey and let's tell them where it leads. We'll <laugh> we'll have link links in the show notes, but Kevin, tell everyone where they can connect with you online and about this great resource that you have for them to help them continue on their journey. And we'll have the link in the show notes.

Kevin Ellis (39:07):

Absolutely. So you can always find me@bonecoach.com. We got a lot of free resources, stronger bones programs, all that stuff there. And you can always find me on all the social channels too. At Bone Coach or at Bone Coach Kevin, go to Instagram, go to the podcast. Go go. Any of those places you'll find us there. But the best resource I would suggest your audience starts with is if we could leave this in the show notes we kind of talked about, this is my free Stronger Bones Masterclass, comes with a free bone healthy recipes guide. But this masterclass is gonna take anybody who wants to improve their bones, is concerned about their bone health or just wants to have an active future and you want to take care of that structure that's gonna get you there, sign up for this masterclass. It's gonna walk you through step by step. Everything you need to do, it's gonna just gonna walk you through the process we take. We take our clients through step by step by step. It's gonna help you uncover missing pieces in your plan. It's gonna help you get on the right path for stronger bones. And that's the Stronger Bones Masterclass. We'll leave that in the show notes. So check that out, sign up for that. And that's the best resource to get started. Awesome.

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (40:07):

Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing this really very important information, Kevin. I really appreciate it. Thanks

Kevin Ellis (40:14):

So much Dr. Ki,

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (40:15):

And thank you for joining me for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin. I know you are inspired to lift up the hood of your bone car and take a look at your bones and see what's going in there. If you haven't had proper testing, please, please, please go and get it and then take action. This is vital. So I look forward to hearing about your bone health journey on social media. You can reach out to me on Instagram or Facebook and share your stories and your progress and what you're learning and we'll have another wonderful

Speaker 2 (40:48):

Episode for you

Dr. Kyrin Dunston (40:49):

Next week. Until then, peace, love, and hormones y'all.

Speaker 2 (40:54):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

 

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