Understanding Your DEXA Score: How To Support Healthy Bones

Your bones are living, dynamic tissues that constantly renew or regenerate themselves—but as we age, the natural regenerative process slows down. For years, it was believed that the only way to support this process was to add more calcium to the diet, but new research is shedding light on how natural growth-factors in your body may have more to do with your bone health than calcium alone. One of the best ways to understand your bone health is through a bone mineral density (BMD) test, most commonly known as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. This quick, painless test can help you take charge of your bone health before problems arise.

What Is a DEXA Scan?

A DEXA scan uses low-dose X-rays to measure the mineral content—primarily calcium—in your bones. The test produces a T-score, which compares your bone density to that of a healthy young adult.

Your T-score helps determine your risk of fractures and osteoporosis [1]:

• Normal bone density: -1.0 or higher
• Osteopenia: Between -1.0 and -2.5 (low bone mass, early warning sign)
• Osteoporosis: -2.5 or lower (weakened bones and higher fracture risk)

If you're under 50, your results may be presented as a Z-score, which compares your bone density to others of your same age, sex, and ethnicity.

Who's at Risk for Bone Loss?

Bone loss is a natural part of aging, but some people are more at risk than others.
Uncontrollable factors include [1, 2]:

• Age: Bone density decreases naturally with age.
• Sex: Women—especially those who are postmenopausal—lose bone faster due to declining estrogen levels.
• Body frame: Those with smaller frames generally have less bone mass.
• Ethnicity: Caucasian and Asian women have a higher risk.
• Family history: Genetics play a role—if your parent or sibling has osteoporosis, you may be at an increased risk.

Lifestyle and health factors also matter [1, 2]:

• Poor diet: Low intake of calcium, vitamin D, and other bone-building nutrients.
• Sedentary habits: Lack of weight-bearing exercise leads to bone loss.
• Smoking and alcohol: Both can weaken bones over time.
• Medications and conditions: Steroids, certain anti-seizure drugs, and disorders like celiac or rheumatoid arthritis can increase your risk for bone loss.

Supporting and Strengthening Your Bones

A low DEXA score is not the end of the story—it's a signal to take action. With the right nutrition and lifestyle choices, you can experience improved bone health and up your DEXA score with regenerative nutrition.

Bone-Building Nutrients

• Calcium: The cornerstone of strong bone structure; found in dairy, leafy greens, and fortified foods.
• Vitamin D: Helps your body absorb calcium efficiently. Your body produces it following sunlight exposure, and it’s found in fatty fish as well as fortified milk or cereals.
• Magnesium: Strengthens bone structure; found in nuts, seeds, and spinach.
• Vitamin K: Essential for bone mineralization; found in leafy greens like kale and broccoli.
• Protein: Makes up about half of the bone’s volume—optimal sources include lean meats, legumes, and dairy.
• Phosphorus and Boron: Work synergistically with calcium to maintain bone density.

However, even with optimal daily intake of essential vitamins and minerals, these nutrients are only useful if a strong bone matrix has already developed. The bone matrix is made up of robust, living bone tissue—mainly consisting of bone-forming cells, proteins, minerals, and collagen—that reinforce the strength and structural integrity of your bones. The bone matrix's primary function is to provide mechanical support for bones, and if a strong matrix doesn’t exist, vitamins and minerals, including calcium, can’t do much.

Our bodies produce growth factors that work in conjunction with bone-strengthening nutrients to help drive bone-tissue rebuilding processes throughout our lives, but the body gradually produces lower levels of growth factors with age. This is particularly evident in women who lose up to 43% of certain key growth factors from age 20 to 50.

Fortunately, Ostinol® is a unique bone supplement that is made up of the vital growth factors that we naturally have in our body—taking the bone rebuilding process one step further.

Ostinol® – Nature's Regenerative Answer to Age-Related Bone Loss

Ostinol® is powered by Cyplexinol®—the only patented natural bone and cartilage-stimulating protein complex consisting of regenerative growth factors. Growth factors are naturally occurring signaling proteins that trigger your body’s bone-building process [3]. They function at the cellular level by activating stem cells and guiding them to develop into bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) [3, 4]. In essence, growth factors serve as both the construction crew and the blueprint—providing the biological instructions needed to initiate the natural repair and regeneration of bone tissue. Once this process begins, essential nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2 help strengthen and solidify the newly formed bone.

What Makes Ostinol® Unique?

• Clinically tested for bone and cartilage tissue regenerative support [5, 6].
• Shown to help improve DEXA scores within 8–24 months in limited case studies [7].
• Demonstrates a fast onset of action, with measurable clinical improvements reported in as little as 14 days [6].
• Provides a full-spectrum bone- and cartilage-stimulating protein complex and growth factors that has been shown in laboratory testing to promote natural bone regeneration.

Measuring Bone Health with the addition of Ostinol® Bone and Cartilage Stimulating Proteins:

• Increase bone DEXA score
• Staying the same on DEXA score
• Slowing the decline on DEXA score

From the Operating Room to Your Wellness Cabinet

Originally inspired by the surgical use of bone- and cartilage-stimulating protein complexes to repair bone, Ostinol® brings regenerative science into daily wellness. It bridges the gap between clinical innovation and natural nutrition—helping your body build new bone, support joint health, restore resilience, and increase DEXA scores.

Your DEXA score is not your destiny—it’s your roadmap. By combining a nutrient-rich diet, active lifestyle, and advanced regenerative nutrition like Ostinol®, you can protect your bones, improve your density scores, and maintain strong, healthy bones for life.

References

1. Haseltine KN, Chukir T, Smith PJ, et al. Bone mineral density: Clinical relevance and quantitative assessment. JNM. 2021;62(4):446-454.
2. Camacho PM, Petak SM, Binkley N, et al. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis: 2016. Endocr Pract. 2016;22:1-42.
3. Wu M, Wu S, Chen W, Li YP. The roles and regulatory mechanisms of TGF-β and BMP signaling in bone and cartilage development, homeostasis and disease. Cell Res. 2024;34(2):101-123.
4. Bramlage CP, Haupl T, Kaps C. Bone morphogenetic proteins in the skeletal system. Z Rheumatol. 2005 Sep;64(6):416-422.
5. Scaffidi JJ, Vieira KF (2017) Cyplexinol®: A natural BMP complex with osteoinductive and anti-Inflammatory activity promotes de novo bone and joint tissue growth. J Stem Cell Res Ther. 7:387.
6. Pence J, Stockton M, Bloomer RJ. The dietary supplement Cyplexinol® alleviates joint pain in men and women. J Clin Transl Res. 2023;9(3):212-221.
7. Wilkinson K, Howard P. Dietary supplementation with Cyplexinol® for amelioration of osteoporosis: A case study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2019;25(6):44-48.