Emily Chan
When it comes to building strong bones, we always turn to milk. But according to a new study, prunes should be a part of your daily diet because they can help slow down bone loss and reduce the risk of bone fractures.
Bones are constantly remodeling themselves. Old bones are replaced with newer ones using specialized bone cells.
As we age, this process declines. Our bodies continue breaking down old bones, but new material isn’t replacing the old bones in time.
Older women, in particular, are at higher risk of a bone disease called osteoporosis, which causes bone mass and density to decrease.
This changes the structure of the bones, making them weak and brittle. As a result, those with osteoporosis are more prone to injuries. More than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis.
Currently, there is no cure for osteoporosis. However, prunes can be extremely beneficial for bone health. In the new study, a research team from Penn State created a 12-month trial with 235 older women as participants.
“This is the first randomized controlled trial to look at three-dimensional bone outcomes with respect to bone structure, geometry, and estimated strength,” Mary Jane De Souza, a professor of kinesiology and physiology at Penn State, said.
“In our study, we saw that daily prune consumption impacted factors related to fracture risk. That’s clinically invaluable.”
The women were assigned to one of three groups: eating no prunes, eating four to six prunes daily (50 grams), or eating 10 to 12 prunes daily (100 grams.)
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