Bone Health
Green Tea Extracts Linked to Healthier Bones According To A New Study
Specific Antioxidants, Carotenoids and Phytonutrients Now Recognized For Helping Support Bone & Joint Health.
A new study shows specific natural compounds from Green Tea may lead to stronger bones by promoting bone formation, while also inhibiting bone resorption, which leads to weakening.
The new study looked at three tea compounds called epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG), and found that EGC produced the greatest bone boosting potential.
"Our study has provided the first laboratory evidence on the bone promotion effects of the green tea catechin EGC as was demonstrated by the promotion of osteoblastic differentiation and inhibition of osteoclast formation," wrote researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong report their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Osteoblasts are cells responsible for bone formation, while osteoclasts are cells which break down bone, ultimately leading to resorption and weakening.
The study is consistent with data from epidemiological studies. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Oct. 2007, Vol 86, pp. 1243-1247) reported that bone mineral density levels were 2.8 per cent greater in tea drinkers than non-tea drinkers, suggesting the beverage has the potential to aid in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is currently second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of global healthcare burden, according to the World Health Organization. This condition affects nearly 200 million people today but the number of sufferers is expected to increase steadily with growing numbers of elderly living longer, and obesity adding extra strain on bone health.
Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent.
The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tea leaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.
EGC was found to stimulate bone mineralization, while simultaneously inhibiting the formation of osteoclasts. The other catechins were found to be less effective;
"The present study illustrated that the tea catechins, specifically EGC, had positive effects on bone metabolism through a double process of promoting osteoblastic activity and inhibiting osteoclast differentiations," explained the researchers.
"Our observations would serve as groundwork for further studies," they concluded.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Vitamin D Plus Calcium May Protect Everyone From Fracture According To a New Study
For Supporting Bone And Joint Health... Daily Supplements Which Combine Vitamin D And Calcium May Reduce The Risk of Fractures For Everyone, Regardless of Age or Gender, Say The Results of a Huge Study.
Almost 70,000 people participated in the US and Europe and found that the vitamin-mineral combination significantly reduced fractures by 8 per cent, and hip fractures by 16 per cent, according to results of a pooled analysis published in the British Medical Journal.
However, supplemental vitamin D on its own had no significant effects on fracture prevention, said the study, led by researchers at Copenhagen University in Denmark.
"What is important about this very large study is that goes a long way toward resolving conflicting evidence about the role of vitamin D, either alone or in combination with calcium, in reducing fractures," said co-authors from the University of California, Davis.
The combination of vitamin D and calcium has long been recommended to reduce the risk of bone fracture for older people, particularly those at risk of or suffering from osteoporosis, which is estimated to affect about 75million people in the USA, Europe and Japan.
The action of the nutrients is complimentary, with calcium supporting bone formation and repair, while vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. The proposed dosages were 1000mg calcium and 800 IU vitamin D3. This new study reports that the bone boosting effects of vitamin D plus calcium may also extend to other age groups and to both sexes.
Study details
The researchers used data from seven major randomised trials of vitamin D with calcium or vitamin D alone, providing data from 68,517 people. The average age of the participants was 69.9, and 15 per cent of the people were men.
According to findings published in the British Medical Journal, trials which used only vitamin D showed no significant reductions in fracture risk. When 10 micrograms of the vitamin was taken with calcium, however, reduced risks of fracture and hip fracture of 8 and 16 per cent, respectively. The combination was effective "irrespective of age, sex, or previous fractures", emphasized the researchers.
"This study supports a growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of fractures,". "Interestingly, this combination of supplements benefits both women and men of all ages, which is not something we fully expected to find. We now need to investigate the best dosage, duration and optimal way for people to take it," they explained.
Estimates suggest that in the absence of primary prevention the number of hip fractures worldwide will increase to approximately 2.6 million by the year 2025, and 4.5 million by the year 2050. Osteoporosis weakens bone strength which increases the likelihood of hip fracture, a problem that increases with age.
Source: British Medical Journal 2010; 340: b5463 Published online Almost 70,000 people participated in the US and Europe and found that the vitamin-mineral combination significantly reduced fractures by 8 per cent, and hip fractures by 16 per cent, according to results of a pooled analysis published in the British Medical Journal.
However, supplemental vitamin D on its own had no significant effects on fracture prevention, said the study, led by researchers at Copenhagen University in Denmark.
"What is important about this very large study is that goes a long way toward resolving conflicting evidence about the role of vitamin D, either alone or in combination with calcium, in reducing fractures," said co-authors from the University of California, Davis.
The combination of vitamin D and calcium has long been recommended to reduce the risk of bone fracture for older people, particularly those at risk of or suffering from osteoporosis, which is estimated to affect about 75 million people in the USA, Europe and Japan.
The action of the nutrients is complimentary, with calcium supporting bone formation and repair, while vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. The proposed dosages were 1000mg calcium and 800 IU vitamin D3. This new study reports that the bone boosting effects of vitamin D plus calcium may also extend to other age groups and to both sexes.
Study details
The researchers used data from seven major randomised trials of vitamin D with calcium or vitamin D alone, providing data from 68,517 people. The average age of the participants was 69.9, and 15 per cent of the people were men.
According to findings published in the British Medical Journal, trials which used only vitamin D showed no significant reductions in fracture risk. When 10 micrograms of the vitamin was taken with calcium, however, reduced risks of fracture and hip fracture of 8 and 16 per cent, respectively. The combination was effective "irrespective of age, sex, or previous fractures", emphasized the researchers.
"This study supports a growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of fractures,". "Interestingly, this combination of supplements benefits both women and men of all ages, which is not something we fully expected to find. We now need to investigate the best dosage, duration and optimal way for people to take it," they explained.
Estimates suggest that in the absence of primary prevention the number of hip fractures worldwide will increase to approximately 2.6 million by the year 2025, and 4.5 million by the year 2050.
Osteoporosis weakens bone strength which increases the likelihood of hip fracture, a problem that increases with age.
Source: British Medical Journal 2010; 340: b5463 Published online
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Beer is a Rich Source of the Dietary Mineral Silicon and May Help Prevent Osteoporosis
A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.
Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis studied commercial beer production to determine the relationship between beer production methods and the resulting silicon content, concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon.
Details of this study are available in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.
The study examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer.
Silicon is present in beer in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid (OSA), which yields 50% bioavailability, making beer a major contributor to silicon intake in the Western diet. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon (Si), as soluble OSA, may be important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor to silicon intake. Based on these findings, some studies suggest moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.
The researchers examined a variety of raw material samples and found little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process. The majority of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is not affected greatly during malting. The malts with the higher silicon contents are pale colored which have less heat stress during the malting process. The darker products, such as the chocolate, roasted barley and black malt, all have substantial roasting and much lower silicon contents than the other malts for reasons that are not yet known. The hop samples analyzed showed surprisingly high levels of silicon with as much as four times more silicon than is found in malt. However, hops are invariably used in a much smaller quantity than is grain. Highly hopped beers, however, would be expected to contain higher silicon levels.
The study also tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. The average silicon content of the beers sampled was 6.4 to 56.5 mg per liter.
"Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon," concludes the study. "Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element. While most of the silicon remains in the husk during brewing, significant quantities of silicon nonetheless survives into the beer."
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