A Spotlight on Susan Brady of Nurtured Bones

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease affecting 54 million Americans. It is characterized by deterioration of bone tissue leading to loss of bone mass and bone strength. Bones become weak and fragile, leaving them at an increased risk for fractures. In fact, the disease causes an estimated 2 million broken bones every year.

Susan Brady of Nurtured Bones, based in Northern Virginia, has developed a trademarked treatment, the BONES method, to approach osteoporosis in a holistic manner. The treatment includes balanced nutrition, optimized digestion, nurturing the soul, exercise and taking supplements, when necessary. She starts with a “food first” approach to nutrition but it is often necessary to take supplements to ensure her patients are getting all the bone-building nutrients.

“My first goal is to understand the cause of bone loss or inability to adequately rebuild bone. I look at health history, dietary intake, exercise habits, lifestyle habits, digestion, stress levels and recent blood work. I may also ask a patient to do additional testing such as a Pyrilinks-D urine test to evaluate active bone loss, serum bloods tests to evaluate active bone deposition, digestive stool analysis if there are digestive concerns or an adrenal stress test to evaluate cortisol levels if chronic stress is evident,” notes Brady.

The importance of seeking a holistic treatment to osteoporosis stems from the fact that most allopathic doctors lean toward a pharmaceutical approach to treatment. While many patients respond to this approach, for others, the medications have been known to cause spontaneous fractures.

Also, a common recommendation for patients is to take calcium and vitamin D, yet it has been shown that there are many other nutrients critical to bone health. Brady explains that “the use of calcium and vitamin D without the other essential complementary nutrients can cause damaging effects to other tissues in the body. That is evident by the latest research coming out about excessive intake of calcium supplements promoting heart disease. Although calcium is essential to building the matrix of the bone, without nutrients such as magnesium and vitamin K, the calcium can’t get into the bone and instead, ends up in other tissues or forming plaques.”

Brady is using the month of May, which is National Osteoporosis Month, to make sure that others know that is a misconception that osteoporosis is an inevitable part of the aging process. If one gets the necessary bone-building nutrients from diet and exercise, while reducing stress, avoiding dietary habits and behaviors that cause bone loss, plus supplementing when necessary, loss of bone can be prevented, and in many cases, osteoporosis can be reversed.

Brady, with a master’s degree in physical therapy, has been working with osteoporosis patients for more than 27 years. After realizing how important a holistic approach is to healing, she continued her education to become a doctor of Integrative Medicine, obtained certification in nutrition and then a post-master’s degree in Integrative Health and Nutrition. “Over the years, I have been shocked by the rise in osteoporosis as well the spontaneous femur fractures that were occurring as a side-effect of the medications. That’s when I began to really study and understand bone loss and realized that it can be prevented and even reversed through a holistic, non-pharmaceutical approach. I developed the Bones Method to address bone loss through a comprehensive and holistic approach. Many people become fearful of breaking a bone that could leave them severely debilitate. I love working with people to show them how they can strengthen their bones, so they can age vibrantly and without fear.”