Mediterranean Diet can Prevent Osteoporosis

Mediterranean diet is associated with higher muscle mass, bone density after menopause in women and also lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases.

Mediterranean diet is good for older women's bones and muscles, as it can increase muscle mass, bone density after menopause, reveals a new study.

The study of postmenopausal women in Brazil results were presented at ENDO 2018, the Endocrine Society's 100th annual meeting in Chicago, Ill.

‘Mediterranean diet can prevent osteoporosis and fractures in postmenopausal women.’

The researchers reported finding higher bone mass and muscle mass in postmenopausal women who adhered to a Mediterranean Dietthan in those who did not. This way of eating involves a high intake of fruits and vegetables, grains, potatoes, olive oil and seeds; moderately high fish intake; low saturated fat dairy and red meat consumption; and regular but moderate drinking of red wine.

Mediterranean diet has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and certain other chronic diseases.

Few studies, however, are available about the Mediterranean diet and its effects on body composition after menopause, said the study's lead investigator, Thais Rasia Silva, Ph.D., a postdoctoral student at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. This information is important, she said, because menopause, with its decline in estrogen, speeds a woman's loss of bone mass, increasing her risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis and broken bones.

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In addition, menopause and aging reduce muscle mass. Silva said declines in skeletal muscle mass and strength in older people are major contributors to increased illness, reduced quality of life and higher death rates.

Silva and her co-workers conducted their study in 103 healthy women from southern Brazil, who had an average age of 55 and who had gone through menopause 5.5 years earlier, on average.

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Mediterranean diets, special attention has been given to the traditional Greek Cretan diet. It emphasises the consumption of olive oil, whole grains, pulses, wild greens, herbs and fruits.

All women underwent bone scans to measure their bone mineral density, total body fat and appendicular lean mass, which was used to estimate skeletal muscle mass. The subjects also completed a food questionnaire about what they ate in the past month.

A higher Mediterranean diet score (MDS), meaning better adherence to the Mediterranean diet, was significantly associated with higher bone mineral density measured at the lumbar spine and with greater muscle mass, Silva reported.

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Mediterranean diet has long been considered one of the healthiest diets on the planet. This diet plan discourages the use of saturated fats and hydrogenated oils while cooking meals.

This association, she said, was independent of whether the women used hormone therapy previously, their prior smoking behavior or their current level of physical activity, as measured by wearing a pedometer for six days.

"We found that the Mediterranean diet could be a useful nonmedical strategy for the prevention of osteoporosis and fractures in postmenopausal women," Silva said.

Given the many health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, Silva added, "Postmenopausal women, especially those with low bone mass, should ask their doctor whether they might benefit from consuming this dietary pattern."

Source-Eurekalert