Wellness Wednesday

Help Reduce the Effects of Osteoporosis by Changing Your Diet

Following a Mediterranean diet could help reduce bone loss in people with Osteoporosis.

     Being diagnosed with Osteoporosis is a scary phenomenon experienced by 44 million people in the US alone. It mainly affects people 50 years old and over, and women are more likely to be diagnosed than men. Researchers have found a link between a Mediterranean diet and a reduction in bone loss in those diagnosed with Osteoporosis. This diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, unrefined cereals, olive oil, and fish, if you or someone you know has been diagnosed this might be an option to make their quality of life better.

     Researchers from the University of East Anglia have decided to look into the impact of a Mediterranean diet on bone health in older adults. They followed over 1000 people for 12 months half of which followed a Mediterranean diet and a control group which did not. They did a bone density screening at the beginning of the 12 month period and at the end. They found following this diet didn't seem to have an effect on people with normal bone density levels but those with osteoporosis they found an increase in bone density particularly in the femoral neck at the hips. Bone loss in this particular area is responsible for many hip fractures in older people. There are still more studies to be done and hopes to have them on a longer basis are desired, but there are no negative effects found by changing the diet, in fact there are many other health benefits from adopting this diet, it might be worth a shot.

https://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-statistics

University of East Anglia. "How a Mediterranean diet could reduce bone loss in osteoporosis." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 July 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711093133.htm>.