FSU study: Can prunes reverse bone loss after menopause?

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FSU study: Can prunes reverse bone loss after menopause?

_http://www.fsu.edu/news/2007/01/11/osteoporosis.study/_

(http://www.fsu.edu/news/2007/01/11/osteoporosis.study/)

by Libby Fairhurst

 

 

Could a handful of nutrient-rich dried plums each day help keep the doctor

away by actually reversing bone loss in postmenopausal women with

osteoporosis or osteoarthritis? A unique clinical study under way in the

Florida

State University College of Human Sciences means to find out.

 

 

FSU Professor Bahram H. Arjmandi is the principal investigator and a

nationally recognized expert on the effects of " functional foods " (dietary

components that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition) on chronic

diseases. His previous studies found that dried plums—better known as prunes

—restored lost bone in animal models of osteoporosis, and improved

biomarkers linked to bone formation in postmenopausal women.

 

 

Expanding the range of effective treatment options for osteoporosis is

critical: 10 million Americans already have the silent but debilitating

disease; another 34 million are at risk. Postmenopausal women are particularly

susceptible to fractures due to osteoporotic bone loss—and up to 20 percent

of that loss can occur within just five to seven years after menopause.

 

 

Why prunes? " While drug therapies are available for the treatment of

osteoporosis, they can be prohibitively expensive and are not without side

effects; hence long-term adherence to these therapies is low, " Arjmandi said.

" Furthermore, many women prefer to modify their lifestyle and dietary

practices in order to prevent fracture due to osteoporosis. "

 

 

Chair of FSU's nutrition, food and exercise sciences department since

joining the faculty last summer, Arjmandi has spearheaded the current research

with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

 

And in a highly unusual twist, no one in this sweet study gets a placebo.

" Our FSU research is unique in that all participants, women between two and

10 years postmenopausal, can hope to potentially benefit in some manner, "

Arjmandi said.

 

 

" During this 12-month investigation, half the women will supplement their

daily diets with nine to ten dried plums, totaling 100 grams. The other

half will consume a comparable portion of dried apples, which also have known

health benefits. For instance, several studies indicate that a daily

helping of pectin-rich apples can help lower triglycerides and cholesterol

levels, " he said.

 

 

Participants in both treatment groups will be required to take 500

milligrams of calcium and 200 units of vitamin D daily; undergo blood and urine

testing every three months; and have their bone mineral density measured at

the beginning and end of the study using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or

" iDXA " (eye-DEX-uh), the latest in whole-body scanning technology.

 

 

Meanwhile, hopes are high for those plums. In a 2004 study he led while at

Oklahoma State University, Arjmandi found that a diet supplemented with

dried plums produced significant restoration of bone mass in female rats

whose ovaries had been surgically removed.

 

 

" I've never seen results that were more consistent, " he said. " If the

findings from FSU's human study are similarly positive and reproducible, they

could help researchers isolate the compounds responsible. From there, it may

be possible to create a safe, low-cost alternative or adjunct to

prescription medications for osteoporosis. "

 

 

While eating the fruit itself is the best way to benefit from potent,

concentrated plant-based chemicals such as polyphenols, supplemental forms are

useful when fruit isn't consistently available or consumed in sufficient

amounts, Arjmandi said. And when it comes to plums and apples, only a few

varieties provide optimal health benefits in dried form.

 

 

Joining Arjmandi as a co-investigator is Dr. Kenneth Brummel-Smith, chair

of geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine. Members of the nutrition,

food and exercise sciences department research team include post-doctoral

fellow Latha Devareddy; doctoral student Shirin Hooshmand, the study

coordinator; and master's degree students Raz Saadat and Kellie Adkins.

 

 

" Given its rapidly growing and aging population, the state of Florida has

been an ideal location for this research, " said Arjmandi. Further studies

are in the works. " Currently, my colleagues and I are preparing a major

proposal for the National Institutes of Health that exceeds $1.5 million, which

would enable a longer, more extensive dried plum investigation in both male

and female animal models of osteoporosis. "

 

 

During the past year, the FSU College of Human Sciences and its nutrition,

food and exercise sciences department have markedly expanded clinical

research into the effects of specific nutrients on key markers of

postmenopausal health. In addition to Arjmandi's study, FSU Professor Jasminka

Ilich is

leading the largest, longest study to-date on the efficacy of calcium—

through dairy products, supplements or both—for weight reduction and bone

preservation in overweight or obese postmenopausal Caucasian women.

 

 

Women who are two to 10 years postmenopausal and wish to learn more about

participation in Arjmandi's dried plum study can call (800) 951-4490. To

learn more about FSU's nationally top-10 ranked College of Human Sciences,

visit the Web site: _www.chs.fsu.edu/_ (http://www.chs.fsu.edu/) .