The “Purple Produce Solution” PREVENTS Bone Loss

Your osteoporosis risk increases with age.

But if you’re a postmenopausal woman, you’re four times more likely to develop this devastating bone-destroying condition.

That means you need to work extra hard to reduce your risk.

If you want to add additional protection for your bones as you age, new research suggests the solution could be found in a most unlikely place:

Prunes.

The popular purple produce is best known for its ability to keep you regular, of course. This is because they’re loaded with fiber, which makes stools softer and easier to pass.

But these dried plums are ALSO loaded with nutrients that are essential for BONE health. Among those are vitamin K (which helps build bone) and potassium (which helps prevent calcium loss from bones).

Plus, it turns out plums have natural anti-inflammatory effects. And since inflammation is associated with bone loss, that means prunes could be a natural osteoporosis fighter.

And that’s what Penn State University researchers, in collaboration with the California Dried Plum Board, wanted to find out.

So, they recruited 200 postmenopausal women to see if eating prunes could indeed benefit their bone health.

After 12 months, women in the placebo group who didn’t eat prunes had a decrease in their bone mineral density and an increase in fracture risk.

But the lucky ladies who snacked on a daily dose of around five to six (50 grams) prunes DIDN’T experience those same dangerous bone changes.

In fact, after just six months… and continuing at the 12-month mark… the prune-eating women had preserved their bone mineral density and reduced their fracture risk.

Ultimately, the researchers called prunes a “promising, non-pharmaceutical nutritional intervention” for preserving bone and maintaining bone strength.

I’m always glad to see scientists looking outside the (pharmaceutical) box for common health concerns.

Prunes are easy to include in your everyday diet. Put them on your oatmeal, blend them into a smoothie, or simply eat them alone as a snack.

P.S. When your bone density DECRFEASES, your risk of fractures INCREASES. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Supporting your bone health as you get older starts with these 4 must-have nutrients.

SOURCE:

“Prunes preserve hip bone mineral density in a 12-month randomized controlled trial in postmenopausal women: the Prune Study.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Oct 6;116(4):897-910. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac189. PMID: 35798020.