Research Round Up: August 2022
• Prunes Support Bone Health. Prunes may help protect against bone loss in postmenopausal women, researchers say. In a study of 235 postmenopausal women, those who ate five to six prunes a day for one year maintained hip bone mineral density and were protected against hip fracture risk, while women who ate no prunes lost significant bone mass at the hip and increased their hip fracture risk. Bone mineral density increases rapidly after menopause and in women over age 50. Prunes are rich in nutrients that support bone health, giving rise to their use as a food-based option to protect it.
(World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, March 2022)
• Veganism May Lessen Arthritis Pain. A low-fat vegan diet may improve joint pain from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), research shows. Study participants (with RA) followed a vegan diet for four weeks, eliminated additional foods for three weeks, then reintroduced foods over 9 weeks or followed a control diet for 16 weeks. The vegan phase showed significant reductions in pain and inflammation versus placebo, while also losing an average of 14 pounds versus weight gain in the control diet.
(American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, April 2022)
• Salt Substitute, a Viable Choice. Compared with regular salt intake, a salt substitute is associated with better health outcomes for stroke prevention and quality of life adjusted years gained and is more cost effective, according to research. Inspired by the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study—14 percent lower rate of stroke with a reduced sodium added potassium salt substitute among more than 20,000 adults in rural China—researchers performed an evaluation on the effects of stroke prevention and quality of life adjusted years and concluded the salt substitute to have better outcomes at lower cost.
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