Studies have shown that prunes may help prevent bone loss and keep bones strong.
Two studies at Penn State University have found that eating prunes can help prevent osteoporosis in women and maintain their strength.
According to the Eurek Alert website , the study was conducted on 235 postmenopausal women, and the results were presented at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, which was held in Atlanta, USA.
In the United States alone, about 10 million adults over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis, and women are four times more likely than men to develop it, in part because estrogen levels drop with the onset of menopause in women, which leads to a loss of bone density. Trabecular bone (the spongy, honeycomb inner core), cortical bone (the tough outer part of the bone), along with aging itself.
Estrogen deficiency also contributes to an increase in inflammatory factors that increase bone resorption and inhibit bone formation.
Study one: inflammation and bone
In the first study, scientists looked at the relationship between inflammatory factors and various measures of bone health.
Co-author Dr. Connie Rogers said evidence from several previous studies suggests a link between chronic inflammation, osteoporosis and fracture risk. Looking at postmenopausal women, "We began our research by exploring the relationship between biomarkers of inflammation and bone, and this helped us establish a reference line before dietary intervention with prunes."
The results indicate that higher levels of inflammatory markers were associated with lower scores of trabecular bones in the lumbar spine, among study participants. Essentially: the higher the inflammation, the weaker the bone health.
"Our findings show that inflammatory markers are negatively associated with bone health in postmenopausal women, suggesting that inflammation may be an important mediator of postmenopausal bone loss, and a potential target for nutritional therapies," Rogers said.
Study Two: Plum
The second study was conducted on the same women from the first study, and lasted 12 months.
The treatment groups were divided into:
Control group: They did not take broccoli.
A group ate 50 grams of prunes (5-6 prunes per day).
A group ate 100 grams (10-12 prunes per day).
And researcher Dr. Marie-Jeanne de Souza found - according to her latest findings - that consumption of plums maintains bone mineral density and strength at the weight-bearing sites of the tibia, which are often the sites of cortical bone, benefits that included: Eat 6 and 12 plums daily.
"It appears that plums may help prevent bone loss, particularly in the hip and leg," she said.
How does osteoporosis occur?
Osteoporosis - also called osteoporosis - is a disease that affects the bone and causes it to weaken and make it brittle and more prone to fracture. It is a disease that affects both men and women, and leads to a person having fractures in the wrist, hip, vertebrae and other places. It is not contagious, but certain factors play a role in its infection.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, half of women over 50, and a quarter of men over 50, will have an osteoporotic fracture.
Bone is living tissue that undergoes a continuous process of demolition and construction, as old bone tissue is destroyed and replaced with new bone tissue. And the shape of the bone under the microscope resembles the honeycomb cells made by bees.
In osteoporosis, the process of demolition overwhelms the building process, which leads to a decrease in bone density and strength, and this appears in the increase in the size of the void in the bone tissue, and the void inside the “honey cell” becomes larger. The name osteoporosis reflects this characteristic. The meaning of the word "osteoporosis" is porous bone.
Osteoporosis is a silent disease, as the patient usually does not know about it until after suffering a fracture that leads to complications that may be long-term.
Risk factors
-Women are more susceptible to the disease than men.
-That the person is skinny or weak in structure.
-Family history. The risk of contracting the disease increases if someone in your family has had it.
-Taking certain medications such as steroids.
-Having some diseases, such as "weak bones" (Osteopenia).
-Eating an unhealthy diet that does not provide an adequate amount of calcium.
-A person does not get an adequate amount of vitamin D, whether through food or exposure to sunlight, as it plays a key role in the body's absorption of calcium and bone health.
-Lack of physical activity and lethargy.
-Smoking.
-Symptoms of osteoporosis
-Usually, a person with osteoporosis does not feel any symptoms until a fracture occurs, which is usually in the vertebrae of the spine, wrist or hip.
The first symptom that appears on a person may be a decrease in his height, which occurs as a result of a fracture in one or more vertebrae in the spine, and this fracture leads to a decrease in height by up to 2.5 centimeters or more.
If a person has more than one fracture in more than one vertebra, symptoms may include back curvature and pain, as well as fatigue.
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