Vegetables Much Better Than Drugs at Building Bone Density


The evidence continues to pour in that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is good for your health. In this case, researchers found that both young and old age groups had improvements in bone mineral status when they ate a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Specifically, boys and girls aged 16-18 years and women aged 60-83 years had significant positive associations between spine bone mineral content and fruit intake. In boys, the association was true for neck bone mineral content as well.

Among women aged 60-83 years, a significant positive association was also found between spine bone mineral content and fruit intake. The results found that if fruit intake doubled, it would result in a 5 percent increment in spine bone mineral content.

Previous studies have also found associations between fruit and vegetable intake and positive measures of bone health.

It is not yet known how fruits and vegetables may affect the bones, though some suggest it may be the alkalizing effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on acid-base balance. Other possible mechanisms include the dietary effects of vitamin K, phytoestrogens and other unidentified dietary components they contain.



American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2006, Vol. 83, No. 6, 1420-1428

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2006, Vol. 83, No. 6, 1254-1255



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Dr. Mercola's Comment:


Traditional media sources have gone a long way toward convincing most people that if they want to increase their bone density they need to swallow their calcium pills along with some vitamin D. If they already have osteoporosis, then of course the next step would be one of the biphosphonate drugs like Fosamax.

More nutritionally enlightened individuals will realize that there are other micronutrients besides calcium that are useful for improving density, like boron, silicone, manganese, copper, iodine, magnesium, chromium, zinc and selenium.

But how many people would recognize that fresh vegetables have nutrients that improve bone density?

One of the best reviews I ever read on this topic was in my favorite clinical journal, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN, the same journal that this study was published in). Four years ago they had a nice review from the Framingham study on how vegetable intake affected bone density.

This journal has a great policy of allowing anyone to review all their articles over one year old for free, and you can view that study on their site for free. This is a great deal as most of us pay $100 a year to look at the current issues.

If you review the study you will find that higher intake of vegetables in children and older women had a very beneficial effect on bone density. The investigators weren't able to identify the precise mechanism on why eating more vegetables worked, but they determined very clearly that it did work.

Interestingly, the researchers in the current study reached similar conclusions and were equally puzzled as to the specific reasons that vegetables conferred these benefits.

If you read Monday's newsletter you might have reviewed the startling finding about prenatal supplements causing increased weight gain in the offspring of pregnant mice. This should provide a fair level of skepticism toward believing there is some supplement formula that will somehow magically restore your bones.

Should you take calcium supplements? That is a personal decision that you will have to make. I can tell you that I don't take them. Makes far more sense to me to consume wholesome dairy products that provide natural, highly usable forms of calcium.

Of course, it makes sense, as these studies indicate, to have plenty of fresh, minimally cooked vegetables, not only for your bones but for just about every other chronic degenerative disease.

Other Natural Ways to Increase Your Bone Density

Of course you will want to exercise as that is just as important as calcium at improving your bone density.

Most people also are not aware that omega-3 fats like krill oil are a useful tool to build your bones. Last year I wrote an article on The Fat Secret to Build Your Bone Density.

The reviewed study was also in the AJCN, so you can see the free full-text article of how omega-3 fats increase your bones. The study, interestingly, also showed that the omega-6:3 ratio was crucial. So if you have too much omega-6 vegetable oils you will hurt your bone density.

You may also want to be careful of wheat, as it has been shown to decrease bone density in a number of people.


And finally, get plenty of healthy sun exposure as that is, without question, the best way to increase your vitamin D levels.



Related Articles:


What You Can do to Prevent Yourself From Shrinking

Bony Vegetables

Vitamin K May Help Build Strong Bones

http://www.mercola.com/2006/jun/22/...one_density.htm

When I see a study like this I wonder:

1. Are the positives from eating more fruits and veggies - OR - eating less high glycemic, nutrient empty junk?

2. Since today's fruits and veggies are full of pesticides and have a fraction of the nutrients they did 100 years ago and more sugar -- is it even better to eat low carb and take supplements?

Somewhere I got the idea that it is weight bearing exercise that increases bone density. Is that something I read in some womens magazine and mistook to be the truth? My mom and my aunt have RA when they got in their late 50s started having many bone fractures, they have always been really thin and I thought being small and thin makes you more inclined to have osteo. I started some specific exercises with weights. They say most people with osteo hurt their wrists, lower back and hips, so the trainer said padding those areas with more muscle will increase the bone density there and help cushion the bones.

I eat way more dairy on lowcarb from protein shakes, yogurt, cheese, I don't feel I NEED a calcium supplement but its with the magnesium so I take them both.

Set me straight Kebaldwin.

I guess its a personal decision about the veges and fruit, you can go to whole foods and buy organic. I found the organic veges last much longer and they taste so good I don't put anything on them even the salad mix.

Check out this study:

Vegetable protein stregthens bones and animal proteins weakens them

wow thanks whoa! What are good sources of vegetable protein?

I guess using a lot of dairy for a source of protein is a good way to go- I'm not sure if milk is an animal protein?

My guess that building bone density is a combination of diet, supplements (or incredible nutrition) and exercise.

I would assume that someone that took a lot of supplements and ate fat would need less calcium than someonet that did not and ate low fat.

Perhaps for women ... but not recommended for men.

I wish they would do seperate men & women studies ... last time I checked ... we are different.

Thanks for the topic Kebaldwin. After getting old age problems in my 30s and then a pesticide exposure I credit lowcarb for turning back the clock and helping me to slowly recover from the poisoning. At my last physical my fatty liver was gone! Even before the poisoning I had always had elevated liver enzymes thought to be from being a chemist and breathing too many solvents. Regular world would be shocked to know I'm getting healthier everyday instead of aging and I eat 70% fat!

High dosage multi-vitamins with lots of antioxidants will help to transport wastes out of your body.

Look up "chelation".

How long have you been low carb and supplements?

In 2002 I developed arrythmia and went on heart medication and gained weight very quickly, I saw Dr. Atkins on tv in Nov 2002. I started LC the next day it stopped the wt gain and cut down the arrythmia but never lost any wt and eventually found out my thyroid was low. I worked at a company that was carb crazy we had work lunches daily and my boss forbade me to even talk about the carbs. My workmates were all chinese and it was all asian food and we had candy dishes. With all temptation I gave into my LC efforts were a joke and I gained a lot eating a high fat/high carb diet. Its only been the last year when I left that co that I've been LC and got my thyroid fixed in January. I had bloodwork in Nov and in April and there were big changes in everything. Sorry that was the long answer! The cool thing is the arrythmia stopped, drs puzzled since they said I had extra pathways in my heart and would need ablation. I think it was my body rebelling from all the sugar and caffeine and low thyroid.

I have hyperactive immune system and keep getting benign cervical tumors my dr said my body is trying to detox itself. He told me take choline and niacin but after I found out the fatty liver was gone I stopped. I take the womens LC vitamin with antiox do you mean I could take it twice a day?

thanks a lot, sure do appreciate you around this forum!

Congrats on your success! The low carb diet, supplements, and exercise have fixed so many problems for me also -- the last time I saw my doctors they were also bewildered saying "what ever you are doing - keep on doing it".

Regarding the vitamins - what I mean is instead of taking a one-a-day or trying to get your nutrients from food -- take a higher quality vitamin. You mentioned vitacost.com. They have their Synergy line that starts at like $10 per month up to $300 per month.

IMHO the $300 vitamins would help to detoxify (and correct problems with) someone's body better/faster than the $10 vitamins. Is it 30 times better or work 30 times faster ? -- I don't know.

Likewise, I don't think people that are healthy and have been healthy need $300 a month vitamins. But most of us on this board are not in "the healthy for a long time" category :-)

If money was not object then I would recommend everyone take the $300 per month vitamins. But at least people should take something like the Synergy Men's or Women's at like $40 per month.

Funny how people will pay hundreds of $ per month for prescription drugs (to block bad things from happening) but not $50 per month for vitamins to do positive things for your body.

The methionine / choline / inositol cocktail (lipotropics) helps with the fatty liver disease common in alcoholics and people that eat too much high glycemic foods. It is also used to help your body burn the fat that it has stored -- i.e. lower your body fat.

But this is secret information that only Atkins followers can know ;-)