Here’s a real “acid test” for your bone health — does your diet strike the right balance between alkaline- and acid-forming foods to maintain an optimal pH balance?

To find out, take a look at my three-part video series on this page. The first video explains the basics on an alkaline diet and the second outlines how the diet benefits bone.

And to help you get started, the third video gives tips for incorporating an alkaline diet into your lifestyle — answering the most often-asked questions, including:

• How do I add more vegetables into my diet?

• Do spices and herbs build bone health?

• Which summer and winter drinks are best?

• What foods should I avoid?

• Do you have ideas for delicious, wholesome treats? 

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Happy 2012! It’s time for my annual wish list for bone health in the coming year. And this time, I’m also including a suggestion — or two — along with each wish — that can serve as a little push for its fulfillment. After all, our wisdom and our collective focus can actually make wishes come true — especially important to remember in an area as essential as bone health!

My 2012 wish list:

1. 2012 will herald a new age of partnership between physicians and their patients. Physicians will partner with each individual woman to develop a unique bone strengthening program appropriate for that woman and the way she lives.

And just in case this wish needs a little push… If your healthcare provider thinks that your bone health situation is serious enough to warrant use of a bone drug, then we know it’s serious enough to warrant a full medical workup looking for the hidden causes of bone loss. Take my osteoporosis medical workup recommendations to your doctor and say you also are concerned about your bone health and would like these tests to look for possible causes of osteoporosis.

2. Everyone will be tested for vitamin D adequacy. It will be widely recognized that as many as half of all osteoporotic fractures could be prevented by maintaining a minimum 32 ng blood level of vitamin D. This awareness will inspire universal vitamin D testing.

And just in case this wish needs a little push… If you can’t obtain vitamin D testing from your healthcare provider, you can order an at-home vitamin D test online from public interest groups such as the Vitamin D Council and Grassroots Health.

3. Everyone who experiences a fracture that occurs without great trauma will take the hint from nature and get serious about implementing my Better Bones Program.

And just in case this wish needs a little push … Make it a New Year’s resolution to spend some time reading my articles about bone health. You will see that our Better Bones Program offers a life-supporting approach that fortifies bone while it strengthens your entire body. Even if you feel your fracture was due to trauma, you will be inspired to further strengthen your bone by joining us in our natural Better Bones Revolution.

4. The “Alkaline for Life” concept will become a household saying and even restaurants will offer alkalizing meal alternatives.

And just in case this wish needs a little push… Make it another of your New Year’s resolutions to include two cups of vegetables for lunch and dinner, use more spices and herbs, consume two or three fruits a day and reduce your intake of excess protein, caffeine, sugar, alcohol and processed foods. And explore more options!

5. Chronic stress, excessive worry, and fear will become recognized as key emotions that disrupt neuroendocrine functioning and weaken bone. Meditation, stress reduction techniques, and mindful exercises such as yoga, tai chi, and qigong will become essential elements of all osteoporosis prevention and treatment programs.

And just in case you get this message before the insurance companies do… Commit yourself to creating peace and inner quiet on a daily basis. Take 10-15 minutes a day, close your eyes and just relax. Notice your breath and entertain the idea that all is well, even amid any turmoil in the present moment.

Let’s make all of our wishes come true in 2012!

For a few years now I have been reporting the studies from Dr. Arjmandi and colleagues suggesting that dried plums have a special bone building effect. And, with the results of a new study, Dr. Arjmandi says, “Over my career, I have tested numerous fruits, including figs, dates, strawberries, and raisins, and none of them come anywhere close to have the effect on bone density that dried plums, or prunes, have.”

In the latest work, Dr. Arjmandi and his research group published data from a year-long trial with 100 post-menopausal women comparing the effect of 100 grams of dried apple with 100 grams of dried plums (that’s 10-12 prunes, if you’re counting!). While both fruits had bone-protective effects, the plums had significantly more pronounced effects on bone density of the spine and forearm. And, as would be expected, the markers of bone breakdown decreased most significantly and consistently in the dried plum group.

And do we know anything new about why dried plums maintain and build bone? Well, it is probably at least partially due to the fact that dried plums are high in bone-building vitamins C and K, boron, potassium and potent antioxidant compounds.

This study also notes a new finding showing that prune consumption leads to a reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a marker of inflammation. Lower CRP is a good thing as this means there is less inflammation in the body as a whole. High C-reactive protein, on the other hand, is linked to a number of chronic diseases, including osteoporosis. In fact, a growing body of literature suggests osteoporosis involves an inflammatory response where the body is tearing down old tissue at a much higher rate than it is building new tissue. High antioxidant intake, including the powerful antioxidants from prunes, reduces inflammation.

For those considering adding prunes to their diet, the consumption of 10-12 prunes a day did not lead to any significant weight gain. Also, if you’re following an alkaline diet, you may wonder how prunes fit into the mix. It’s true, prunes are slightly acid-forming, but remember that an alkaline diet is about balancing acid-forming foods with alkaline-forming foods. It’s okay to eat some acid-forming foods as long as the majority of your diet is alkaline. And when the bone-building benefits of the food are as great as they are with prunes, it’s clearly worth the trade-off!

So, if you like prunes, work them into your healthy diet. Wonderful organic prunes are available from California. I like them soaked or stewed a bit, and for the sociability factor, it is always wise to spread them out over a day, taking a few each meal rather than eating them all at once.

Reference: Hooshmand, et al, “Comparative effects of dried plum and dried apples on bone in postmenopausal women”. British Jr. of Nutrition (2011) pages 1-8