Bone Health at 50+ : What You Need to Know
The Calcium Conundrum: Is Protecting Your Bones Putting Your Heart At Risk?
Discover The Simple Trick To Safe Bone Support
Research out of two top-ranked Universities has raised an alarming red flag: women may be accidentally putting their heart at risk simply by using common calcium supplements.
And many have no idea they are in danger.
A 2021 report titled “Calcium Supplements and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials”¹ looked at thirteen rigorous, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving nearly 29,000 participants. And what they found has women worried.
That study showed a 15% increased risk of cardiovascular events among women taking 1,000 mg of calcium without supporting nutrients. This research highlights why how you supplement calcium — not just how much — matters.
Some calcium supplements can create a rapid spike in blood calcium levels. A spike much larger and faster than what happens when you eat calcium-rich foods.
This may increase your blood's tendency to clot, and may affect your blood pressure too.
When calcium is taken alone – without its natural nutrient partners — it may not be utilized as efficiently by your body. That means it could potentially leave behind excess that contributes to plaque build-up in your arteries.
You Should Never Have to Choose Between Protecting Your Heart or Protecting Your Skeleton
These blood calcium spikes are more likely to happen when calcium is taken alone, without the supporting nutrients you’d get in calcium-rich foods.
Yet many over-the-counter calcium supplements are single-ingredient formulas with 500–600 mg tablets or capsules. And since their serving sizes are often 1–2 a day, it’s not hard to put yourself in the danger zone.
But being calcium deficient can be just as dangerous.
If you avoid calcium supplementation simply to protect your heart, you could wind up with a whole different problem. One that can be just as serious as major heart issues.
That’s exactly what happened to Ocean Robbins’ good friend Kim.
➠ Who is Ocean Robbins?
Ocean Robbins is a pioneering health activist, bestselling author, and CEO of the Food Revolution Network, a ground-breaking educational platform with over 1 million members worldwide. The son of health legend John Robbins (Diet for a New America), Ocean has spent over four decades immersed in nutritional science. He is a master at translating peer-reviewed research on whole foods, plant-based nutrition, and disease prevention into practical, everyday guidance. Ocean is one of today's most knowledgeable and trusted authorities on the transformative power of nutrition.
The High Price Of Putting Bone Health On The Back Burner
Kim was a vegetarian most of her life, and knew her diet put her at risk for bone trouble. But she had also heard calcium supplements were linked to heart issues, so she was scared to take them.
She tried to be proactive about protecting her bones anyway, and asked her doctor for a bone scan. But her insurance company denied her. They told her she was too young to need one.
But Kim was right to worry. And she wasn’t “too young” to be in danger.
As she went about her life, she broke bones without even realizing it. When she did finally get scanned, they discovered fractures from ribs she'd broken years earlier. And when Kim noticed she'd shrunk a full inch… she finally started putting the pieces together.
But by then her bones were in serious trouble. And one day, everything came crashing down on her — literally.
Kim was walking along some railroad tracks when she wobbled and lost her balance. After teetering there for what seemed like an eternity… Kim fell on the rail.
It was just a short fall from standing, but it felt like a sledgehammer hit her hip and shoulder. Her body just broke and she laid there on her side, helpless and unable to move.
To make matters even worse, Kim and her friend had left their cell phones in the car. So she had to lie alone on the railroad tracks for what felt like ages while he left to go call for help.
The paramedics finally arrived, lifted Kim onto a stretcher, and took her to the nearest hospital.
Just from a simple fall.
Kim survived, but her recovery was long and difficult.
On a family trip, Ocean had to carry her up a flight of stairs.
And once an avid hiker, now Kim can’t hit the same trails she used to love exploring.
A simple stumble changed the way she lives her life.
And as bad as all this is… it could have been even worse. Just imagine what could have happened if that railroad track had been active!
What Kim didn’t know at the time was that your bones are constantly under construction. And calcium is a key building material.
Consider your skeleton one great big life-long renovation project.
Why Your "Ten-Year Skeleton" Is A Continuous Work-In-Progress
Throughout your life, your bones are constantly getting broken down and built back up.
This completely normal and natural process is called remodeling. And here’s how it works.
When your body senses it’s time to remodel a bone, it sends the signal to call in a demolition crew.
Little pacman-like “bone chewers” called osteoclasts chomp away at old or damaged bone. They seal off the remodeling zone, secrete acid to dissolve minerals, then leave or self-destruct once they’ve done their job. This is called the reabsorption phase of bone remodeling.
Next, a construction crew of bone‑forming cells called osteoblasts come in. They deposit calcium and phosphate, which hardens into new bone. These osteoblasts become embedded in the bone, and then morph back into trouble-sensing osteocytes that start the whole process over again.
Basically, your skeleton has a super smart contractor who constantly tears down your frame before it becomes unstable, then builds it back up again so your bones stay strong.
So every ten years or so… you have a completely new skeleton!
This remodeling process doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a continuous, gradual, and natural cycle that happens on its own. You just need to make sure your body has the right tools, or nutrients, for the job.
One of the most important tools for remodeling is calcium.
And as you age, your body needs more of it.
Here’s why…
Wrecking Crews and Building Leaks Slow Remodeling As You Age ⚠️
As we get older, bone remodeling gradually shifts.
Especially for women.
That’s because starting around menopause, more bone gets broken down, or “reabsorbed” than gets rebuilt².
Not only does calcium absorption decrease…
More calcium leaks out of your bones too. So it gets harder and harder to maintain the calcium levels your body needs to get the remodeling job done³.
Basically your body becomes less efficient at getting calcium where it needs to go (into your bones) AND simultaneously loses more and more of the existing calcium it already has IN your bones.
And Your Muscles Can Either Help… Or Make Matters Worse! 💪
To add insult to injury…
Muscle loss speeds up with age too.
Your muscles quietly start shrinking in your 30s and 40s. And the process just speeds up as you get older.
A review in Clinics in Geriatric Medicine reports that muscle strength drops about 10-15% per decade up to age 70. Once you hit your 70s, it speeds up even more. You can lose about 25-40% of your muscle strength every decade after 70.⁴
Yikes!
This is a problem because not only are your muscles what drive your movement…
Weight on your bones is a key factor in building up their strength. That’s why you hear so much about adding weight‑bearing and resistance exercises as you age. Those forces tell your bones to stay strong.
But if your muscles get too weak, you’ll struggle to keep up with the very exercise you need to strengthen your bones.
After all, you can’t do much exercise with broken bones!
And that can set off a dangerous “weakness cycle” that spells trouble.
⚠️ Why Women Need to Start Paying Attention to Their Bones Earlier Than They Think
Research shows bone density can decrease significantly during and after menopause — one study found losses of up to 20% in just 5-7 years.⁵ That's why healthcare providers emphasize the importance of bone-supportive nutrition during this stage of life.
20%!
So this narrow window of your late 40s and early 50s is crucial for taking action to protect your bones.
Of course, being proactive before you even hit perimenopause strengthens your entire foundation.
And the good news is it’s never too late to help support strong bones. Even into your 60s, 70s, and 80s… your bones are dynamic.
So with healthy nutrition, lifestyle choices, and appropriate care you can still support bone strength and help maintain bone density.
And it’s important you do.
Because the truth is you won’t be able to feel trouble coming on.
Weak bones don’t hurt. There are no symptoms, and few warning signals that your bone strength is declining. You may notice you’re getting a little shorter, or you may feel a little clumsier than usual. Like what happened to Kim.⁶ ⁷
But most women don’t know they’re in danger until they break something.
And a good diet isn’t always enough to protect you…
If you know how to finish the sentence ‘I've fallen, and I can't ______’ then congratulations…
You’ve officially made it to the age where protecting your bone strength should be on your to-do list!
But age isn't the only factor that increases your need for bone support. Factors like…
Following a poorly planned vegan diet
Being slender
Not getting enough movement
Smoking
Drinking a lot of coffee
Drinking dark soda
High sodium + processed foods
Struggling with certain digestive issues
… can all lead to weak bones. Don't get caught off guard by the common misconception that this is an "old lady" problem or that it's "too early to worry about" your bone health!
When Eating Right Isn’t Enough To Protect Aging Bones
A healthy diet is always a sound first step towards solving any health problem.
But to keep your bones strong and stable as you age, food alone often isn’t enough. Especially if you eat a plant-based diet.
That’s because the recommended daily allowance of calcium for women over age 51 is 1,200 mg.⁸ Yet leading plant-based dietitians report many vegan women are only getting about 800 mg!
So that’s a problem. And there’s only so many greens you can eat to match your body’s needs.
Take kale for example.
It’s a wonderful source of calcium, but you simply can’t eat enough of it to bridge the gap. It’s just not possible unless you eat 12 cups of cooked kale per day.
Some brands add calcium to soy and nut milks, but most fortified brands also contain processed sugars. So you end up paying a “fortification tax" of unhealthy ingredients. You might end up spiking your blood sugar — yet STILL not get the calcium your bones need.
Then there’s all the common health foods that actually leech calcium from your system, like spinach, rhubarb, and coffee.
And if you DO eat cheese and drink milk, you’d likely pack on some unwanted pounds trying to meet your calcium needs through high-fat dairy alone.
➠ The Dairy Paradox
When most people think about how to support their bones, drinking milk probably tops the list.
So you may be surprised to learn this…
Some of the countries that drink the most milk, break the most bones.⁹
Places like the US, Great Britain, and Scandinavia are among the highest for rates of hip fractures.
It may be because this particular source of calcium can lack some of the other bone-supporting nutrients calcium needs to work its best. It may be that people in these countries tend to get less sunlight, and that means less Vitamin D. Or it may be that diets high in dairy often include high sodium and processed foods too… both of which can block calcium.
Or maybe milk isn’t always great for bones after all. In fact, major studies have found that women who drink more milk might have higher rates of hip fractures.¹⁰
The moral of the story? Milk, yogurt, and cheese alone probably aren’t enough to meet your calcium needs.
The Good News Is There IS Something You Can Do About It
It’s never too late to start supporting your bones with the exact nutrients they need to remodel a strong, sturdy, and sound skeletal system.
But you need to do it right.
Because calcium doesn’t work in a vacuum. It gets support from a specific set of nutrients that work together naturally to direct it exactly where it needs to go — without overloading your system.
Kim’s devastating fall hit Ocean hard. He started thinking about his own mom. Was she at risk too? He thought about his wife. His relatives. The hundreds of thousands of women in the Food Revolution Network community over 50.
What about their bones?
So he did what Ocean does best. He dove into the research.
He consulted with world-leading dietitians and bone health experts. And what he found was both alarming and hopeful.
What was alarming was that women who don't supplement strategically may face significantly higher fracture risk.
Yet he became hopeful because research also showed the right nutrients, in the right forms and combinations, can lessen that risk.
So he looked for formulas he could recommend that would help strengthen women’s bones WITHOUT worrying about any weird side-effects for her heart. He wanted a formula that was clean and effective, and took into account the actual science behind bone remodeling.
But he couldn’t find anything he trusted enough to recommend to Kim. There wasn’t a formula he felt confident would help her… his mother… his wife… and the millions of other women who turn to him for health and nutrition advice.
He was concerned about what he felt was a lack of real, comprehensive solutions for bone health on the market. Sure, he found a few formulas that add D3 and K2 to their calcium supplements. But even those didn't seem to take enough of a full, big-picture view of how to effectively strengthen your bones.
Even worse, some products on the market contained low-quality ingredients, questionable fillers, and dosages that didn’t match the proven amounts needed for efficiency.
So he came to me.
Hi, I’m Matt Tullman, co-founder of Complement.
As an enthusiastic vegan, I know first-hand that sometimes your body has nutritional gaps food alone can't fill.
So I founded Complement on these simple beliefs:
Food comes first, always.
And modern breakthroughs in science now make it possible for us to give ourselves extra, research-backed support when food alone isn’t enough.
So when Ocean and I couldn’t find any bone supplements we felt comfortable recommending to our own friends, families, and followers…
We decided to create one ourselves.
Introducing…
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Bone Vitality is a full-spectrum formula with 400 mg of bioavailable, well-absorbed¹¹ Calcium Citrate Malate. This is no vague proprietary blend. It’s a carefully-researched formula that helps maintain healthy bone mass and supports normal muscle contraction. This precision dose gives you meaningful support for bone health without megadosing calcium. Another benefit of Calcium Citrate Malate is that it is generally gentle on digestion too.¹²
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We added 50 mcg / 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 to support calcium absorption and healthy blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. That helps support bone mineralization and muscle function.¹³ Some forms of Vitamin D3 are sourced from lanolin found in sheep's wool¹⁴, but Bone Vitality uses plant-based Vitamin D3 Cholecalciferol instead.
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Vitamin K2 helps activate osteocalcin proteins and helps support the body’s normal process of directing calcium into bone¹⁵, adding another layer of support for healthy bone structure. Bone Vitality uses 50 mcg of K2Vital® Delta, a patented, double-coated microencapsulated K2. So it’s formulated for bioavailability and stability in harsh environments (like your digestive tract).
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Magnesium is essential for over 300 enzyme reactions, including those involved in bone formation, nerve signaling, and muscle relaxation. That’s why we’ve also added 200 mg of Magnesium Bisglycinate to Bone Vitality. This well‑tolerated¹⁶ chelated form of magnesium helps support healthy bone remodeling, supports efficient use of calcium and vitamin D, and promotes calm, relaxed muscles.¹⁷ So it helps keep your bones strong and your muscles at ease.
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Since muscle strength plays an important role in staying active and stable, we’ve also included 2 g of a well‑absorbed form of Creatine Monohydrate, CreaVitalis®. By supporting your muscles’ natural energy‑recycling system, creatine monohydrate helps support muscle strength and power so you can stay active. It helps sustain regular weight‑bearing movement, which in turn supports healthy bones¹⁸.
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We also added 50 mcg of Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 helps support the body’s natural production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscles and bones. That’s just one more way Bone Vitality can help muscles perform their best so you can stay active. And remember, staying active is key for strong bones!¹⁹
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Boron helps support healthy vitamin D, calcium and magnesium metabolism, all of which are important for bone health. Since boron helps support normal bone metabolism and helps support healthy bone mineralization, we added 2 mg of Boron from Boron Citrate and Bororganic Glycine (Albion®) to help keep bones healthy and strong.²⁰
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Zinc helps support the body’s natural bone‑remodeling processes²¹, and helps support the normal collagen formation essential for bone strength and integrity²². That’s why we added 6 mg of Zinc Picolinate, a well‑absorbed form of zinc, to help support everyday bone health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
❌️ But Don’t Just Trust Us…
Bone Vitality – and all of our formulas – are 3rd party tested by SORA Laboratories, a nationally recognized laboratory.
We’re proud to say we trailblazed transparency. Publishing third-party test results has been a core company principle from the start.
And we’re proud to continue to publish our third-party test results so you can see exactly what’s in every bag of Bone Vitality. Everyone deserves to know exactly what’s in the products they take, so we’re happy other supplement companies have chosen to follow our lead.
You can view the full lab results linked directly next to the Supplement Facts on the product page.
Our Food First Approach
We believe eating nutritious, whole foods form the foundation of true health. Good nutrition works like a symphony. Just like the way different instruments played together create a rich, powerful sound… different nutrients work together to strengthen and boost each other up.
But like we just explained… in the case of calcium it’s not always easy to meet your needs from food alone. Especially as you get older.
Sometimes our bodies need a little extra help to function their best.
And that’s where Bone Vitality comes in.
Not only was our formula carefully crafted to give you full-spectrum support…
Our “food first, then supplement” approach even translates to HOW you can take Bone Vitality.
Mix 2 teaspoons into citrus juice, a fruit smoothie, or water with a squeeze of lemon or lime. The acid naturally neutralizes the subtle bitterness from magnesium glycinate — and makes Bone Vitality genuinely enjoyable to take.
Prefer to eat it? Stir it into oatmeal, fold it into a smoothie bowl, or blend it into any fruity base. The formula has no added flavor, no color, no smell, no preservatives. Nothing extra.
Just clean nutrition, on your terms.
All You Need Is 2 Teaspoons A Day
Just two teaspoons of Bone Vitality a day is a powerful way to make some extra deposits in your bone bank.
We always recommend you speak to your healthcare professional to decide what’s best for you and your unique situation.
But If you’re over 45…²³
You've had a worrisome bone scan…
Or you notice you’ve gotten a little shorter and more wobbly lately…
It’s probably time you talked to your trusted practitioner about bone support.
