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Bone

June 29, 2023

By admin

Probiotics, vitamins K and D, protect bone

Probiotics improve postmenopausal bone density

As women reach postmenopause, bone mineral density can decrease by one to two percent. In this study, 53 postmenopausal women, average age 58, took a placebo or 8-billion colony-forming units of a lactobacillus-based probiotic.

After six months, bone mineral density at the femur neck—the narrow upper portion of the thigh bone that connects to the hip—had increased by 4 percent, with no change for placebo. Levels of osteocalcin, a protein that binds with calcium to mineralize bone, remained stable for probiotics while decreasing for placebo.

Discussing the findings, doctors said femur neck fractures are more serious than osteoporotic spine fractures because they often require surgery.

Reference: Journal of Bone Metabolism; November, 2022, Vol. 29, No. 4, 225-33

Vitamins K and D support bone in IBD

People with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis have increased chances for bone loss, and may be deficient in vitamins K and D. In this study, doctors measured vitamins K and D in the diets of 193 participants with IBD, and 199 without.

Both IBD and non-IBD groups got insufficient amounts of vitamin D; 53.1 and 63.2 percent of the U.S. RDA, respectively. For vitamin K, the IBD group got 78.7 percent of the RDA while the non-IBD group got 138.8 percent. Those with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis were severely low in vitamin K.

Doctors suggested, to avoid exacerbating symptoms, those with IBD may limit certain dairy and green leafy vegetables, which are high in K and D, and those with IBD can easily reverse inadequate dietary levels by taking nutritional supplements.

Reference: Nutrients; 2023, Vol. 15, No. 7, 1678

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