Mediterranean Diet good for people with osteoporosis

Consuming a Mediterranean-type diet could reduce bone loss in people with osteoporosis, says a new study.

The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated a significant reduction in the rate of bone loss at the femoral neck in individuals with osteoporosis following a 1-y intervention of the Mediterranean-like diet together with vitamin D₃ supplements (10 µg/d).

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recommended for the prevention of chronic disease, but evidence for a beneficial effect on bone health is lacking.

Amy Jennings, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, and colleagues conducted the study to examine the effect of a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern on indexes of inflammation with a number of secondary endpoints, including bone mineral density (BMD) and biomarkers of bone and collagen degradation in a 1-y multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT; NU-AGE) in elderly Europeans.

The Mediterranean Diet is generally defined as one that favors plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, olive oil, and nuts. Fish and other lean proteins are emphasized over red meat. Unhealthy fats and sugars are tightly restricted.

A total of 1,142 participants (44% males, mean ± SD age 70.9 ±4.0) completed the 1-year trial.

• A Mediterranean-style diet did not affect bone mineral density (BMD), nor was there any impact effect on free pyridinoline or free deoxypyridinoline, the urinary biomarkers of osteogenesis imperfecta.


• The diet significantly increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and decreased parathyroid hormone versus the control group.


• Subgroup analysis of individuals with osteoporosis at baseline (site-specific BMD T-score ≤ -2.5 SDs) showed the diet attenuated the expected decline in BMD (n=24 and 30 in MD and control groups, respectively; P=0.04) but did not affect lumbar spine or whole-body BMD.


• A Mediterranean-style diet did not affect bone mineral density (BMD), nor was there any impact effect on free pyridinoline or free deoxypyridinoline, the urinary biomarkers of osteogenesis imperfecta.

"Our main findings were that post-menopausal women and elderly men with osteoporosis could benefit from consuming a Mediterranean diet because it should slow down their rate of bone loss," said study co-author Susan Fairweather-Tait, from King's College London.

"In most patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis, there is some motivation to make lifestyle changes, as the alternatives like unpleasant drugs or bone fractures are less appealing," said Fairweather-Tait. "It is more difficult to motivate people with apparently normal bones who are not at risk of fracture, unless they have firsthand experience of the problems of osteoporosis through parents, siblings, friends, et cetera."