Dr. Brown: Builder contains 2,000 units of Vitamin D. The neat thing about Vitamin D is you can measure your level — and everyone should do this! I just saw research from Iran about risk fractures and everyone who fractured a wrist was Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency is strongly related to fracture risk. You want at least a 40 to 60 NG level of Vitamin D.

For most women, the 2000 IU is just what they need to replenish and maintain ideal Vitamin D levels, but if you take Builder and you say “Hey, the 2,000 units isn’t quite enough for me. My level is only 35.” Then you can just add more Vitamin D. My tip: Test your Vitamin D level at the end of the summer to see your highest level, and test again at the end of winter to determine your lowest level of Vitamin D. If you are not peaking in the 50 to 60 ND range, or your winter levels are under 40 ND, then add extra Vitamin D.

Dr. Brown: Strontium is a mineral that is not needed in high amounts for bone health, but in tiny trace amounts it can be helpful. We actually consume maybe two to four milligrams in our food and maybe one milligram in our water each day, which gives us all the strontium our bones need. For most of us, no added supplementation is needed.

There is so much confusion around strontium because in Europe, strontium is used in a bone drug. Let me clear this up: This is a synthetic form of strontium at a very high dose of 640 milligrams, which is, of course, thousands of times the daily intake that we get naturally.

Please always keep this distinction in mind when reading about strontium. Natural strontium is not a high-dose drug therapy and the research suggests that the amount we get through water and food is enough for the average person to reap the benefits of the mineral.

Dr. Brown: How long it takes to see improvements after starting Builder varies by individual situation. I’ve seen individuals who use Builder and within a year they notice improvement, particularly if an individual is low in any of these key nutrients like low in Vitamin D, or they’re not getting enough manganese, zinc, copper, boron, or they’re low in antioxidants. This formula has many, many antioxidants. It has a complete B complex, and all the key bone minerals. So if you’re low in some of those, you can respond quickly. And of course, if you engage in exercise for your bones, you will respond better. Reducing your stress and reducing the things that cause a loss of minerals in the body, like excessive alcohol, excessive caffeine, and even excessive stress, are another way to fast track positive results.

Dr. Brown: I was really delighted a few decades ago to develop the Better Bones Builder because it is a unique formula that includes all of the essential nutrients you need for building bone and for building overall health.

Builder is a comprehensive formula with all the key minerals that are vitally important for building bone. It has a total B complex, which is important for bone and energy and everything within the body. We often forget that bone loss is due to oxidative damage due to a lack of antioxidants. Builder provides a powerful array of bone-protective antioxidants, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, quercetin, curcumin, green tea and Lycopene.

If you know of my work, you know that to us, pH chemistry balance is extremely important. An acid condition causes a direct loss of bone, so we want to alkalize with fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, but also all of our minerals are in alkalizing forms, helping with overall acid/alkaline balance.

Builder is the best product that there is on bone, the most comprehensive one, the most complete product for bone, and it also serves as an excellent multivitamin and mineral at the same time.