Is Your Gut Leading You Into Osteoporosis?

Bacterioides Vulgatus & Bone Health

We’ve talked before about the importance of gut health:

• Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later)

And we’ve shared quite some information and resources on osteoporosis:

• The Bare-bones Truth: Osteoporosis Mythbusting
• Osteoporosis Exercises (What To Do, And What To Avoid)
• Vit D + Calcium: Too Much Of A Good Thing?
• Collagen For Bones: We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of
• Which Osteoporosis Medication, If Any, Is Right For You?

How the two are connected

A recent study looked at Bacterioides vulgatus, a very common gut bacterium, and found that it suppresses the gut’s production of valeric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that enhances bone density:

❝For the study, researchers analyzed the gut bacteria of more than 500 peri- and post-menopausal women in China and further confirmed the link between B. vulgatus and a loss of bone density in a smaller cohort of non-Hispanic White women in the United States.❞

Pop-sci source: Does gut bacteria cause osteoporosis?

The study didn’t stop there, though. They proceeded to test, with a rodent model, the effect of giving them either:

• more B. vulgatus, or
• valeric acid supplements

The results of this were as expected:

• Those who were given more B. vulgatus got worse bone microstructure
• Those who were given valeric acid supplements got stronger bones overall

Study source: Gut microbiota impacts bone via Bacteroides vulgatus-valeric acid-related pathways

Where can I get valeric acid?

We couldn’t find a handy supplement for this, but it is in many foods, including avocados, blueberries, cocoa beans, and an assortment of birds.

Click here to see a more extensive food list (you’ll need to scroll down a little)

Bonus: if you happen to be on HRT in the form of Estradiol valerate (e.g: Progynova), then that “valerate” is an ester of valeric acid, that your body can metabolize and use as such.

Enjoy!