Advances in Humane Research
Epidemiology and clinical research increase our knowledge of the risk factors for osteoporosis, the best ways to identify at-risk individuals, and the best ways to treat developing and existing cases of osteoporosis. The following examples are just a few advances cited in the impressive clinical and epidemiological literature.
Animal Protein
Epidemiology has confirmed that people who consume the most animal protein have the weakest bones. Osteoporosis is not a common disease in nations where diets are low in meat and dairy products. Nutritionists explain that animal protein, unlike plant protein, is rich in sulfur, which forms sulfuric acid during digestion. The resulting acidic overload is called acidosis. The human body needs to maintain a steady pH and uses calcium phosphate to neutralize the acidosis. Because the body’s main store of calcium phosphate is bone mineral, calcium is leached from the bones whenever animal protein is consumed. After the acid is neutralized, the body excretes the calcium phosphate in urine (which also causes kidney stones). Thus, the more meat and dairy products that one consumes, the more bone mass that is lost.
U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists at ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California, conducted a study that compared vegan women with women who eat meat and dairy products. The researchers studied 48 healthy women using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and blood and urine analyses to test for measures of bone health. The data showed that nonvegan women excreted more calcium in their urine, had no additional bone resorption, and had significantly less bone formation than vegan women. These results are staggering because they show that meat and dairy products cause people to lose existing bone mass and prevent them from building new bone mass. The investigators concluded that diets rich in animal protein are a recipe for osteoporosis and that a vegan diet can help prevent osteoporosis.23
Weight-Bearing Exercise
Staying active and getting plenty of exercise is likely the best prevention for osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercise and strength training have been shown to be particularly beneficial. The Bone, Estrogen, and Strength Training Study took 140 postmenopausal women who lived sedentary lives and enrolled them in a year-long strength-training program that met two or three times each week. In several key bone areas, the women showed significant increases in bone mass. Weighted squats and weighted marching were particularly effective.24
In a fascinating study, Dr. Mehrsheed Sinaki of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine found that therapy with a weighted backpack could improve back strength and balance and decrease chances of falling in at-risk women. The study asked women to wear the backpack twice a day for just 30 minutes and found significant improvements that dramatically decrease the risk of a fracture-inducing fall.25 Sinaki’s study is just one of many that prove that weight-bearing exercise can ward off osteoporosis and fracture risk.
Getting Effective Treatment
A broken wrist in women over the age of 55 is regarded as a clear indicator of osteoporosis (unless heavy trauma caused the break). Dr. Kevin B. Freedman of the University of Pennsylvania, however, reports that less than one in four postmenopausal women receive treatment for osteoporosis in the six months following a break. He based his conclusions on an epidemiological study of 1,162 postmenopausal women who were treated for broken wrists.26 Women who suffer any kind of break should talk to their doctors about bone density testing and treatment options.
Soda Dangers
In a study of almost 3,000 people, Dr. Katherine Tucker, a nutritional epidemiologist at Tufts University, found a significant correlation between soda consumption and bone density loss. The relationship was “dose-dependent,” which means that the more soda a person consumed, the more bone density he or she lost. The levels of bone loss ranged from 2.5 percent to more than 5 percent for women who drank multiple cans per day and were independent of all other variables that are associated with bone loss. Interestingly, the effect was isolated to women and was consistent between regular, diet, and caffeine-free sodas. Researchers speculate that the phosphoric acid found in all these products is the real culprit. Based on these and other epidemiological findings, women who seek to preserve their bone mass should consume soda sparingly.27
Depo-Provera
There has been some concern that using the contraceptive Depo-Provera leads to bone loss, but after careful clinical study, it was found that these effects are temporary and largely confined to new users. New users experienced a 6 percent dip in bone mass; by two years, however, bone loss was down to only 2 percent—but still about twice the loss experienced by non-users. Additionally, when women stopped using Depo-Provera, they quickly regained the bone density they had lost, and their bone density levels were indistinguishable from those of non-users after a year.28
Early Detection
Researchers in England have developed a new technology that uses fingernail strength as a proxy for bone strength. The new test measures fingernail levels of disulphide, a bone-bonding substance, and uses them to estimate levels in the bone. The test does not measure bone strength or fracture risk, but it offers a simple and inexpensive way to determine who needs to undergo more extensive testing with quantitative ultrasound or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.29
23. U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Boning Up on Osteoporosis,” Agriculture Research Mar. 2003.
24. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, “Strength-Training Delays Osteoporosis,” 74(4) (2003): 8-9.
25. Reuters, “Weighted Backpack Device Helps Reduce Fall Risk,” 14 Jul. 2005.
26. Women’s Health Weekly, “Osteoporosis; Study Finds Postmenopausal Women’s Treatment Inadequate,” 31 Aug. 2000.
27. Medical Post, “Cola May Result in Women’s Bone Loss,” 7 Oct. 2003.
28. John O’Neil, “Patterns: Your Bones on Birth Control,” The New York Times 8 Feb. 2005.
29. United Press International, “Fingernail Test Developed for Bone Disease,” Medline Plus 11 Jul. 2005.
