Boning up
New research supports calcium for preventing fractures and points to another, unexpected way to boost bone density
Newsflash: According to a new study, calcium protects your bones. Researchers found that people taking 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day had a 72 percent lower risk of fractures than those who don’t get enough of this essential nutrient. Okay, so there’s nothing earth-shattering about this “news.” But that’s not to say there aren’t new developments on the bone-protecting front. In fact, on the same day I read about the new calcium research, I also came across a study showing that dried plums can help increase bone density.
Dried plums have typically been associated with digestive regulation (back when they were called “prunes”), so this recent study breathes some new life into the stigmatized fruit.
Researchers from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences tested extracts from dried plums on growth factors that regulate bone formation and found that not only did the dried plum extract enhance the production of those compounds, but they also helped ward off the harmful effects of bone-destroying compounds.
They caution that their study was only conducted in test tubes, so the dried plum extract may or may not have the same effects in human bodies. But it’s such a simple, safe, and tasty bone-building strategy that it’s certainly worth trying (at the very least, your digestive system will benefit from it). Just be sure whatever brand you choose is all- natural and has no added sugar.
Sources:
“Calcium pills beat fractures in new clinical trial,” NutraIngredients (www.nutraingredients.com), 6/9/08
“Effect of calcium supplementation on fracture risk: a double-blind randomized controlled trial,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008; 87(6): 1,945-1,951
“Study backs dried plums for stronger bones,” NutraIngredients (www.nutraingredients.com), 6/24/08
“Dried plum polyphenols attenuate the detrimental effects of TNF-alpha on osteoblast function coincident with up-regulation of Runx2, Osterix and IGF-1,” The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, published online ahead of print, 5/20/08
