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Dr. Shilpa Sayana is redefining women’s health by challenging the outdated view that bone loss is just a normal part of aging. A triple board-certified physician in Internal, Obesity, and Functional Medicine, she helps women navigate perimenopause and menopause with clarity—especially when they’re told their labs look “normal.” Through her Sayana Medical Road Map, she brings answers, not just bandaids, helping women reclaim their energy, balance, and bone strength with natural solutions for menopause and holistic osteoporosis support.
She breaks down exactly how estrogen decline, chronic cortisol elevation, and hidden inflammation are silently weakening your bones—and what to do about it. This isn’t surface-level advice. It’s root-cause insight into why your bone loss is happening and how you can shift it. Using functional medicine principles for bone loss and proven alternatives to osteoporosis medications, you’ll walk away with clarity, confidence, and a toolkit to take your power back.
Why This Matters to You
If you’re a woman over 50 navigating perimenopause, menopause, or diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, this episode will help you find clarity and take action.
- Losing bone despite a clean DEXA scan? Learn how Dr. Sayana redefines what strong bones really mean.
- Feeling wired, tired, and inflamed? Discover how cortisol is quietly weakening your bones—and how to lower it naturally.
- Told your hormones are “fine”? Understand how estrogen decline directly impacts bone strength (and what to do about it).
- Afraid of medication as your only option? Get empowered with natural, functional strategies that address root causes.
- Don’t know where to start? Gain confidence with a clear plan that connects hormone balance, inflammation, and stronger bones.
Actionable Advice
- Manage Cortisol to Protect Collagen – Learn why addressing chronic stress is essential for preventing hidden bone loss.
- Get the Right Labs – Not Just the Routine Ones – Dr. Sayana explains how Dutch testing and CRP reveal what DEXA scans can’t.
- Don’t Settle for “Normal” – Understand the importance of functional medicine ranges and how to apply them to your healing journey.
- Support Your Bones Daily – Discover how lifestyle,nutrition, mindset, and movement shifts bone loss from a fear to a focus.
- Rebuild Your Hormone Foundation – Dr. Sayana shares how optimizing estrogen can help preserve and protect your bone structure.
Dr. Sayana didn’t always have the answers. Like many women in midlife, she saw patients dismissed, overmedicated, and misdiagnosed. Through the lens of functional medicine, she learned that bone health isn’t just about density—it’s about the full-body story: hormones, inflammation, stress, and more. Her midlife hormone health journey gave her the tools to create a compassionate, evidence-based approach to functional healing for osteoporosis that builds lasting strength from the inside out.
Links and Resources to Explore
Dr. Shilpa Sayana’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sayanamedical
Dr. Shilpa Sayana’s Website – https://www.sayanamedical.com
Listen to the Full Episode – Available now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
You are not fragile. You are strong. And you are in control of your body and your bones.
Start making small but powerful changes today—because the strength of your bones starts with the strength of your knowledge. Listen to the full episode now!
Podcast Subscribe Links - Reversing Osteoporosis
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Oxalates, also known as oxalic acid, are naturally occurring compounds found in many plants, vegetables, and fruits. They are part of a plant’s defense mechanism against predators and can be found in high concentrations in foods like spinach, rhubarb, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, and certain beans.
Regarding bone health, oxalates can bind to minerals such as calcium in the gut, forming calcium oxalate. This compound is not easily absorbed by the body, meaning the calcium that could have been utilized for bone strengthening is instead excreted. This process can potentially lead to lower calcium availability for bone health, which can be particularly concerning for individuals at risk of osteoporosis or other bone-related issues.
However, for most women, dietary oxalates do not pose a significant threat to bone health, especially if their diet is balanced with enough calcium and they do not have a history of kidney stones.
Your gut is crucial for stronger bones for several reasons:
- Nutrient Absorption: The gut is where most nutrient absorption occurs. For bones to be healthy and strong, they need a variety of nutrients, particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin D. A healthy gut efficiently absorbs these essential nutrients from your diet and facilitates their transportation to the bones.
- Gut Microbiome and Bone Health: Research has shown that the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in your intestines) can influence bone density. Certain gut bacteria help in producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which have been shown to promote bone health. SCFAs can enhance the absorption of minerals necessary for bone strength and play a role in reducing inflammation, which can negatively affect bone health.
- Hormone Regulation: The gut helps regulate hormones that are involved in bone metabolism, including insulin, thyroid hormones, and sex hormones like estrogen. For example, estrogen is vital for bone density, and gut health can influence estrogen levels through the enterohepatic circulation, where estrogens are processed in the liver and intestines.
- Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation, which can stem from poor gut health, is linked to many conditions that compromise bone strength, such as osteoporosis. A healthy gut helps to reduce systemic inflammation, protecting bones from inflammatory damage.
- Immune System Modulation: The majority of the immune system is located in the gut. An imbalance in the immune system can lead to autoimmune conditions, some of which affect the bones. Maintaining gut health helps to ensure the immune system works correctly, protecting against autoimmune reactions that could impact bone health.
In essence, maintaining a healthy gut contributes significantly to stronger bones by ensuring the effective absorption of vital nutrients, regulating hormones, reducing inflammation, and supporting a healthy immune system. Therefore, a diet rich in bone-healthy nutrients, prebiotics, and probiotics, along with lifestyle factors that promote gut health, is key to maintaining strong bones.