Bone health

What is better for your bone health?

fruit-vegetable-dairy-pattern-good-bones

The food that you eat can affect your bone health and consequently your upcoming quality of life. Researchers from the Netherlands investigated whether specific dietary patterns, linked with bone mineral density (BMD) and hip-bone geometry, are associated with fracture risk. They found several favorable effects from fruit, vegetables, and dairy pattern.

Bone Density and Food Patterns

Data on food intake, BMD, bone width and other measures reflecting bending strength and bone instability were obtained from 4.028 subjects aged 55 years and more, enrolled in the Rotterdam Study, a prospective, population-based study in the Netherlands. Based on the consumption of 28 food groups, the authors identified 4 different dietary patterns, among which 2 were used in this analysis: the first was named “fruit, vegetable, and dairy” pattern, the second “sweets, animal fats, and low meat” pattern.

Dairy as Part of 3 Bone-Friendly Foods

The results show that adherence to the ‘fruit, vegetables, and dairy pattern’ is associated with a favorable bone health profile (high BMD and bending strength, lower bone instability and risk of osteoporotic fractures). In contrast, adherence to the ‘sweets, animal fats, and low meat’ pattern was associated with, on the one hand, high bones width and strength, but, on the other hand, with a higher bone instability and risk of fractures (osteoporotic fracture and hip fractures), independently of BMD. Finally, this study suggests that a fruit, vegetables, and dairy could provide some benefits on bone health and aging.

To learn more, read the original article.

Source: de Jonge E A et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. First published November 30,2016.

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