Nutrients reduce chances of hip fracture in adults

Article by Arnie Gitomer

It’s not just calcium, when it comes to preventing osteoporosis. It’s much more complicated than that. Other nutrients, working together with each other, play an important role as well. Some may surprise you. Did you know that antioxidants, such as carotenoids, are important also. Read below.

This is the largest study of its type for hip fracture and vitamin D. Doctors analyzed vitamin D levels in more than 1,175 men and women who had a hip fracture during an eight-year study period and compared to vitamin D levels in 1,438 who did not.
 Doctors considered age, gender, and body mass index scores and found, overall, those with the lowest vitamin D levels were 38 percent more likely to have a hip fracture than those with the highest vitamin D levels.
Men seemed to benefit most from good vitamin D levels, while the benefit was smaller for women. As the levels of circulating vitamin D increased, chances of hip fracture declined. Doctors also found that vitamin D appeared to protect against hip fracture when levels were above 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood, or 75 nanomoles per liter.
Reference: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism; May, 2013, Published Online

Carotenoids are the colorful antioxidant pigments in fruits and vegetables. Doctors in this study measured the diets of 63,257 adult Chinese men and women and followed up with them for 10 years. While there was no link to carotenoids and hip fracture in women, men who got the most carotenoids were 26 percent less likely to have a hip fracture compared to men who got the least carotenoids.
Doctors also looked at men with low body mass index (BMI) scores, because those who are too thin—particularly older men—may be more prone to osteoporosis. Doctors found men with the lowest BMI scores had the greatest benefit: those who got the most carotenoids were 39 percent less likely to have a hip fracture.
Discussing their findings, doctors said that the antioxidant effect from carotenoids may counteract the tendency for underweight older men to develop osteoporosis, and that osteoporotic fractures may decrease in older men who get the most carotenoids.
Reference: Journal of Bone and Mineral Research; July, 2013, Published Online