Anti-Inflammatory Diet May Help Decrease Bone Mineral Density Loss
Previous studies have found a connection between high levels of inflammatory markers and bone loss and fractures in mature adults. A recent study suggests that following an anti-inflammatory diet high in vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains may help improve bone health and prevent fractures in some women.
For this study, researchers examined data from the Women’s Health Initiative, which included 160,191 women. Participants were between the ages of 50 and 79 when they enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1998. Dietary data was collected and the researchers assigned inflammation scores based on 32 food components.
The researchers evaluated changes in bone mineral density and the Dietary Inflammation Index. They found that women with the least inflammatory diets lost less bone density over the six-year follow-up period compared to women with the most inflammatory diets. This held true despite the fact that women with the least inflammatory diets had lower bone density overall at the onset of the study.
A closer look at the data revealed that the correlation between high-inflammatory diets and fracture held true only for younger white women. They also found that higher inflammatory scores were associated with an almost 50% higher risk of hip fracture in Caucasian women who were younger than 63, when compared with the risk level for women with the lowest inflammatory scores.
Researchers from Ohio State University conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on December 26, 2016 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Previous research suggests that a low-inflammatory diet and other similar diets may improve heart health, lower the risk of diabetes, asthma, lower rates of obesity and possibly even decrease the overall risk of mortality.