SOME RECENT RESEARCH AND FOOD SUGGESTIONS TO HELP PREVENT OR REVERSE OSTEOPOROSIS

Summarized By Rosemary Fisher

How Common is Osteoporosis?
About 28 million people are at risk for osteoporosis, which costs about $13 billion in health care annually.

Vitamin D and Osteoporosis

Much is being said in the research about vitamin D. The first study I noted was done in France, by Marie C. Chapuy et al. It studied 3270 women, 69 to 106 years of age. They were living in 180 nursing homes or apartment houses. This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1992; 327:1637-42). It was a planned study period of 18 months. Their diets were supplemented with a special calcium mixture and 800 units of vitamin D3.
I asked myself, "What is vitamin D3?" Through more research I found that vitamin D3 is made from fish liver oils and is so labeled on the bottle. I buy them in Rochester, N.Y., 100 for $1.55. I take only one a day, not two, since in France dairy products are not fortified with vitamin D, but they are in the US.

At the end of the study of 18 months, the number of hip fractures was 43% lower and the number of nonvertebral fractures was 32 % lower in the women treated with calcium and vitamin D than among those who received the placebo.

A good reason to watch your calcium and vitamin D intake. Note that the ages in the study were 69 to 106 years of age. Impressive!

Another study was reported in New England of Medicine (1997; 337 (10). This study lasted 3 years and involved 176 men and 213 women, 65 years or older. Researchers say the reduction in the risk of fractures was similar to the French study.

How foods high in lysine help increase bone density

Researcher Roberto Civitello, M.D. of Washington University in St. Louis says it’s possible that you may absorb more calcium by eating foods that are high-lysine, such as poultry, fish, dairy products, legumes, defatted soy flour and nuts. (Nutrition; November - December 1992). In defatted soy flour there are 100 grams (1/2cup) of lysine. This is good for osteoporosis and many other diseases.

A diet rich in calcium should contain at least 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium per day. In the study they used 800 milligrams of lysine a day.

Another good reason to eat calcium-rich foods (as opposed to supplements) is a much lower risk of creating kidney stones. Many stones are rich in oxalate. The calcium in foods, however, may bind the oxalate before it can be deposited as a stone.

Can Men Reverse Their Osteoporosis?

Research indicates that at least 30% of men suffer hip fractures due to osteoporosis. And the good news is that they can avoid this according to new Tufts University study. There have not been many studies on men, most research has focused on women, but this study specifically included men. Compared with controls, men in the placebo group lost 1% of bone density and men on vitamin D and supplements increased density by 1%.

"If people keep their calcium and vitamin D levels up, maybe we won't have this problem at all," said Sherry Sherman, Director of Clinical Endocrinology and Osteoporosis Research for the National Institute on Aging. (New England Journal of Medicine September, 1998)