Pruimen
tegen botontkalking?*
Omdat uit eerdere onderzoeken bij dieren met osteoporose is overduidelijk gebleken dat gedroogde pruimen zorgen voor botopbouw en meer biomarkers gerelateerd aan botopbouw bij vrouwen, is er nu in Florida een klinisch onderzoek bij vrouwen gestart. Dit onderzoek zal 12 maanden duren en wordt vooral opgezet om na te gaan of dezelfde resultaten ook bij mensen bereikt wordt waardoor buitensporig geprijsde medicijnen en hun bijwerkingen wellicht vervangen kunnen worden.
Can
Prunes Reverse Bone Loss After Menopause? FSU Study
Could
a handful of nutrient-rich dried plums each day help keep the doctor away by
actually reversing bone loss in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or
osteoarthritis?
A
unique clinical study under way in the Florida State University College of Human
Sciences means to find out.
FSU Professor Bahram H. Arjmandi is the principal investigator and a nationally
recognized expert on the effects of "functional foods" (dietary
components that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition) on chronic
diseases. His previous studies found that dried plums -- better known as prunes
-- restored lost bone in animal models of osteoporosis, and improved biomarkers
linked to bone formation in postmenopausal women.
Expanding the range of effective treatment options for osteoporosis is critical:
10 million Americans already have the silent but debilitating disease; another
34 million are at risk. Postmenopausal women are particularly susceptible to
fractures due to osteoporotic bone loss -- and up to 20 percent of that loss can
occur within just five to seven years after menopause.
Why prunes? "While drug therapies are available for the treatment of
osteoporosis, they can be prohibitively expensive and are not without side
effects; hence long-term adherence to these therapies is low," Arjmandi
said. "Furthermore, many women prefer to modify their lifestyle and dietary
practices in order to prevent fracture due to osteoporosis."
Chair of FSU's nutrition, food and exercise sciences department since joining
the faculty last summer, Arjmandi has spearheaded the current research with
funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
And in a highly unusual twist, no one in this sweet study gets a placebo. "Our
FSU research is unique in that all participants, women between two and 10 years
postmenopausal, can hope to potentially benefit in some manner," Arjmandi
said.
"During this 12-month investigation, half the women will supplement their
daily diets with nine to ten dried plums, totaling 100 grams. The other half
will consume a comparable portion of dried apples, which also have known health
benefits. For instance, several studies indicate that a daily helping of
pectin-rich apples can help lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels," he
said.
Participants in both treatment groups will be required to take 500 milligrams of
calcium and 200 units of vitamin D daily; undergo blood and urine testing every
three months; and have their bone mineral density measured at the beginning and
end of the study using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or "iDXA" (eye-DEX-uh),
the latest in whole-body scanning technology.
Meanwhile, hopes are high for those plums. In a 2004 study he led while at
Oklahoma State University, Arjmandi found that a diet supplemented with dried
plums produced significant restoration of bone mass in female rats whose ovaries
had been surgically removed.
"I've never seen results that were more consistent," he said. "If
the findings from FSU's human study are similarly positive and reproducible,
they could help researchers isolate the compounds responsible. From there, it
may be possible to create a safe, low-cost alternative or adjunct to
prescription medications for osteoporosis."
While eating the fruit itself is the best way to benefit from potent,
concentrated plant-based chemicals such as polyphenols, supplemental forms are
useful when fruit isn't consistently available or consumed in sufficient amounts,
Arjmandi said. And when it comes to plums and apples, only a few varieties
provide optimal health benefits in dried form.
Joining Arjmandi as a co-investigator is Dr. Kenneth Brummel-Smith, chair of
geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine. Members of the nutrition, food and
exercise sciences department research team include post-doctoral fellow Latha
Devareddy; doctoral student Shirin Hooshmand, the study coordinator; and
master's degree students Raz Saadat and Kellie Adkins.
"Given its rapidly growing and aging population, the state of Florida has
been an ideal location for this research," said Arjmandi. Further studies
are in the works. "Currently, my colleagues and I are preparing a major
proposal for the National Institutes of Health that exceeds $1.5 million, which
would enable a longer, more extensive dried plum investigation in both male and
female animal models of osteoporosis."
During the past year, the FSU College of Human Sciences and its nutrition, food
and exercise sciences department have markedly expanded clinical research into
the effects of specific nutrients on key markers of postmenopausal health. In
addition to Arjmandi's study, FSU Professor Jasminka Ilich is leading the
largest, longest study to-date on the efficacy of calcium - through dairy
products, supplements or both - for weight reduction and bone preservation in
overweight or obese postmenopausal Caucasian women.
(Jan. 2007) (Opm.
Wij houden u op de hoogte. Meer over pruimen
en gedroogde pruimen.)