A prune—or six—a day might hold irritation at bay

A examine in postmenopausal folks suggests consuming nutrient-rich prunes on daily basis could also be helpful to bone well being, lowering inflammatory components that contribute to osteoporosis. The analysis shall be offered this week in Philadelphia on the American Physiological Society’s (APS) annual assembly at Experimental Biology 2022.

An estimated 13.6 million folks within the U.S. over the age of fifty will develop osteoporosis—a lack of bone energy attributable to decreased mineral density of the bones—by the 12 months 2030. Osteoporosis will increase the chance of fracture, particularly in older adults. Individuals who expertise menopause have decrease ranges of estrogen, which set off a rise in irritation within the physique, which may additionally contribute to bone loss.

Earlier analysis has proven that polyphenol extracts—plant compounds that act as antioxidants and cut back irritation—in prunes promote decrease ranges of oxidative stress and irritation in a kind of bone cell known as osteoclasts. In a brand new examine, researchers from the Integrative and Biomedical Physiology Program and the Departments of Dietary Sciences and Kinesiology at The Pennsylvania State College explored the results of prunes on bone well being after menopause.

Postmenopausal girls with a bone mineral density rating that was outlined as low—a marker of osteoporosis—had been divided into three teams:

• One group ate 50 grams (g) of prunes (about six prunes) day by day for 12 months.
• A second group ate 100 g of prunes (about 12 prunes) day by day for 12 months.
• A management group ate no prunes.

The analysis crew checked out blood samples taken from all volunteers earlier than and after the trial and located important reductions in inflammatory markers in each of the prune-eating teams in comparison with the management group.

“Our findings recommend that consumption of six to 12 prunes per day might cut back pro-inflammatory mediators which will contribute to bone loss in postmenopausal girls. Thus, prunes is perhaps a promising dietary intervention to forestall the rise in inflammatory mediators usually noticed as a part of the getting old course of,” stated Janhavi Damani, MS, first creator of the examine.

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Experimental Biology