Ray Peat on Bones and Osteoporosis

Short answer: Ray Peat saw osteoporosis as part of a general stress state, not a simple shortage of estrogen or calcium. He named cortisol, prolactin and serotonin as the hormones that take bone away, and protein, thyroid, progesterone, calcium and carbon dioxide as what builds it.

What Ray Peat wrote about bones

Glucocorticoids cause a negative calcium balance and bone loss. Thyroid and progesterone oppose those hormones. Source: Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions

Excess prolactin causes osteoporosis. Estrogen raises both prolactin and the glucocorticoids, which is one of his reasons for doubting estrogen as a bone treatment. Source: Estrogen and Osteoporosis, Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions

Hypothyroidism often leads to high prolactin and high cortisol. He criticized the practice of telling women to stop thyroid supplements when osteoporosis is diagnosed. Source: Bone Density: First Do No Harm

After SSRI drugs were found to cause osteoporosis, it was discovered that serotonin made in the intestine causes bone loss, and that blocking its synthesis builds bone. Source: Osteoporosis, aging, tissue renewal, and product science

He called protein deficiency a clear cause of osteoporosis. Source: Bone Density: First Do No Harm

Carbon dioxide is part of bone. New bone mineral is laid down as calcium carbonate, and vitamin K is needed for the step that makes the protein osteocalcin bind calcium. Source: Osteoporosis, aging, tissue renewal, and product science

He distrusted bone density scans. Different machines, the same machine on another day and different radiologists give different answers, and tissue water changes the reading. Source: Bone Density: First Do No Harm

In menopausal women, unsaturated fats are associated with bone loss, and fruit and vegetables protect. Aspirin increased bone density in an animal study he cites. Source: Osteoporosis, aging, tissue renewal, and product science

What he suggested in practice

• Enough protein, calcium and magnesium, with vitamins A, B6, D and K.
• Milk and cheese, fruit, and less grain and unsaturated fat.
• Thyroid function, since low thyroid raises the bone-wasting hormones.
• Carbon dioxide: avoid chronic over-breathing, which he says causes calcium loss.

Where he wrote about it

This topic comes up in 53 of the articles on his site. These are the most relevant ones:

• Osteoporosis, aging, tissue renewal, and product science · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Bone Density: First Do No Harm · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Estrogen and Osteoporosis · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Aging, estrogen, and progesterone · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Sugar issues · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Stem cells, cell culture, and culture: Issues in regeneration · original on raypeat.com ↗

My take

I have covered trials in which vitamin D3 with K2 beat either one alone for bone density, and in which K2 raised active osteocalcin. I would add vitamin E, calcium and enough carbs to that.

Quick answers

What did Ray Peat say causes osteoporosis?

Excess cortisol, prolactin and serotonin, low thyroid function, protein deficiency and the loss of carbon dioxide, rather than a simple lack of estrogen.

Did Ray Peat recommend estrogen for bones?

No. He argued that estrogen raises prolactin and glucocorticoids, both of which cause bone loss, and that progesterone and thyroid are the protective hormones.