Prunes for bones?

[Guest guest]

From Bottom Line's Health Secrets....

 

 

Prunes Prime Bones for Growth and Repair

 

Prunes for fiber... for regularity... and sometimes just

because they taste good. But prunes for strong bones?

That's not what comes to mind for most people, but perhaps

that will change. In a number of studies prunes have shown

themselves to be great for your bones, helping to prevent

bone loss and repair bone density as well.

 

The man behind much of this research is Bahram Arjmandi,

PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, department

of nutrition, food and exercise sciences at Florida State

University in Tallahassee. He started this research back in

the 1990s, when he was approached by the California Dried

Plum Board. " I was skeptical, " he says, " but I figured if

they wanted to fund a study I would take a look. " Â To

his astonishment, he discovered that prune consumption

prevented bone loss in female rats. Still, he says he knew

a number of substances did that. The bigger question on his

mind was if prunes could rebuild lost bone... and they

actually did. In earlier research, Dr. Arjmandi had

searched for " bone builders " in growth hormone, growth

factors, raisins, dates, blueberries and more. Prunes

out-performed all of them, he says.

 

PROOF THAT PRUNES BUILD BONES

 

Dr. Arjmandi is currently conducting a clinical study

funded by the US Department of Agriculture and the

California Dried Plum Board comparing the effects of dried

apples versus prunes on bone mineral density in

post-menopausal women. He says that thus far 30 women in

the prune group have had at least a 6% increase in hip bone

(a critical area for maintaining strong bones) and that one

woman had a notable 11% increase over her baseline

measurement. In earlier preliminary data, all prune-eaters

showed at least some improvement in bone mass by six months

into the trial, he says. Final results of the present study

will be available in March 2009.

 

Research to determine what substance in prunes creates

improved bone mineral density has been done in conjunction

with a team from Oklahoma State University. It revealed

that particular polyphenols in the dried fruit achieve

two effects -- they up-regulate growth factors linked to

bone formation and they counter the activity of tumor

necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), an inhibitor of bone

formation. Prunes also contain potassium and boron (a trace

mineral), both believed to contribute to bone mineral

density.

 

Interestingly, consumption of fresh plums has not been

shown to substitute for prunes in matters of bone benefits,

says Dr. Arjmandi. The reason: Only certain kinds of plums

become prunes. Dr. Arjmandi's team used an offshoot of La

petite d'Agen, a native of Southwest France, which at

maturity has a royal purple outer skin and amber colored

flesh. This is the commercially available dried plum/prune.

So, while all prunes are dried plums (the preferred name

these days), most fresh plums cannot become prunes.

 

If you want to boost prune consumption, go slow. Dr. Arjmandi advises

starting with just three prunes, and increasing to nine or 10 per day as you

adjust to the fiber levels. Because prunes are so low on the glycemic scale,

they shouldn't be a problem for people with diabetes, he adds.

 

 

Source(s):

 

Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor

and Chair, department of nutrition, food and exercise

sciences at Florida State University, Tallahassee.

 

Be well,

 

Carole Jackson

Bottom Line's Daily Health News