Women close to the menopause should follow a Mediterranean-style diet, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. A low-inflammatory diet (rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, omega-3s and whole grains) would reduce the risk of bone density loss and fractures.
Researchers at Ohio State University in the United States conducted a study with 160,191 women. They assigned them inflammation scores based on 32 food components that participants reported consuming in the 3 months prior to enrollment. The participants were between 50 and 79 years old.
For better bone density, women should follow the Mediterranean diet
To establish the effects on women’s bone health from diets, scientists measured their bone density and the number of fractures. They linked them to their diet.
During the 6-year follow-up, they observed that women who ate a low-inflammatory diet had better bone density than participants who ate less healthy. Their study also found that these women were twice as likely to fracture their hips as other women.
“This suggests that as women get older, healthy diets have an impact on their bones,” said Tonya Orchard, senior author and professor at OST. “I think this gives us one more reason to support the recommendations for healthy eating.”
This new study confirms the findings of a study published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine in March 2016 who said that women who follow a Mediterranean diet would have less risk of osteoporosis and therefore fractures.
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