Mediterranean Diet Can Benefit People With Osteoporosis Says Study

Bone density takes a hit when a person is suffering from osteoporosis and they are at a great risk of bone fractures and disintegration. However, a Mediterranean diet could prevent this, is the latest find of a study conducted by the University of East Anglia. The researchers say that a diet that is rich in foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts, unrefined cereals, olive oil, and fish shows its effect by reducing hip bone loss in just one year.

The Study

For this study, the researchers evaluated diets of 1000 people between the age group of 65 to 79. They were evaluated on the basis of whether or not they consumed a Mediterranean diet. Also the researchers measured the bone density of all these volunteers at the beginning of the study and then after one year. They found that those with normal bone density didn’t have much significant impact from their diet but those with osteoporosis did.

Diet Beneficial For Osteoporosis

The volunteers who consumed the Mediterranean diet had an increase in bone density in the femoral neck whereas the others had shown a decrease. “This is a particularly sensitive area for osteoporosis as loss of bone in the femoral neck is often the cause of hip fracture, which is common in elderly people with osteoporosis,” Prof Susan Fairweather-Tait, UK study lead and hailing from UEA’s Norwich Medical School told Science Daily.

“Bone takes a long time to form, so the 12-month trial, although one of the longest to date, was still a relatively short time frame to show an impact. So the fact we were able to see a marked difference between the groups even in just this one area is significant.” Her co-researcher from UEA, Dr Amy Jennings said: “Although this is a small number it is sufficient for the changes in femoral neck bone density between the two groups to be statistically significant. Those with osteoporosis are losing bone at a much faster rate than others, so you are more likely to pick up changes in these volunteers than those losing bone more slowly, as everyone does with age.”

“A Mediterranean diet is already proven to have other health benefits, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer,” said Prof Fairweather-Tait. “So there’s no downside to adopting such a diet, whether you have osteoporosis or not.”