Advanced Bone Support (formerly Oscap)

As much as 50 percent of the female population in the United States over the age of 65 should be actively concerned about maintaining good bone health. As women age, they experience an overall increase in bone loss compared to bone formation. Concern about maintaining good bone health should begin well before menopause. Because some bone loss during menopause is inevitable, the more bone a woman has "banked" earlier in life the greater her peak bone mass will be, and hence, menopausal bone loss can have less of an adverse impact. Even women in the 18-35 year-old age group should make an effort to promote good bone health, because physical inactivity, low body weight, eating disorders, and poor nutrition during this age span can have adverse impacts on bone health later in life.

Ensuring female bone health should consist of more than just calcium supplementation. Thorne Research's Advanced Bone Support provides vitamins and minerals that promote bone density. The calcium in Advanced Bone Support is bound to citrate-malate, one of the best-absorbed forms of dietary calcium available. Calcium (citrate-malate) as low as 500 mg daily has been shown to significantly support bone health. Adequate magnesium intake promotes bone density by regulating parathyroid hormone secretion and facilitating active calcium transport to the bone. The magnesium in Advanced Bone Support is also provided in the highly absorbable citrate-malate form.

Oscap also provides vitamin D3, which facilitates the absorption of calcium; boron, which assists the body's metabolism of vitamin D and estrogen; and vanadium, which promotes bone mineral density.

Research indicates elevated plasma homocysteine levels can interfere with the integrity of the bone matrix; therefore, Oscap contains methylcobalamin (an active form of vitamin B12), folinic acid and L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, (the active forms of folic acid), and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (the active form of vitamin B6) for their function in maintaining already normal homocysteine levels.* Equisetum arvense (horsetail) has been added as an excellent source of organic silica, an element found in high concentrations in healthy bone. To provide a bone-health formula that can be used by individuals taking a blood-thinning medication, Oscap does not contain vitamin K.