For decades, milk has been touted as the key ingredient to building stronger bones. Remember the celebrity milk mustaches on the “Got Milk?” ads plastered all over billboards and our television screens? But as I discussed in last month’s newsletter, “What You Must Know About Dairy and Bone Health”, a compilation of high-quality studies found no association between consuming milk and lowering fracture risk. But what about fermented milk products such as yogurt?
A large, observational study of dairy intake and bone and frailty measurements in older adults, (4310 subjects > 60 years), found that greater yogurt consumption was associated with high hip bone density and a significantly lower risk of osteoporosis in older men and women – even after taking into account known risk factors including smoking, inactivity, and alcohol use. (1)
Dr. Miriam Casey, senior investigator of this study states:
“The results demonstrate a significant association of bone health and frailty with a relatively simple and cheap food product. What is now needed is verification of these observations from randomized controlled trials as we still don’t understand the exact mechanisms which could be due to the benefits of micro-biota or the macro and micro nutrient composition of the yogurt”.
This brings us to the question of our microbiome and how it is appears to be related to our bone health. Evidence has emerged that yogurt may help dampen chronic inflammation, which has been linked to many chronic diseases (2). An even more recent and enticing article (3), outlines the specifics of what we know so far:
- our gut microbiota consists of trillions of microbial organisms
- our microbiota regulates post-natal skeletal development, bone aging, and pathologic bone loss
- manipulation of microbiota through prebiotics or probiotics reduces inflammatory cytokine production, leading to positive changes in bone density
The authors of this article state:
“Prebiotics or probiotics may represent a future therapeutic avenue for ameliorating the risk of post-menopausal bone loss”.
My fervent hope is that more funding is directed toward researching the foods that strengthen our skeletons and improve our overall health. Our kitchens should be our pharmacy, where good, whole food can keep us healthy without the possible adverse side effects that medications can cause.
- Laird E, et al. Greater Yogurt Consumption is Associated with Increased Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Older Adults. Osteoporosis International 2017 Aug;28(8):2409-2419.
- Pei R, et al. Low-fat Yogurt Consumption Reduces Biomarkers of Chronic Inflammation and Inhibits Markers of Endotoxin Exposure in Healthy Premenopausal Women: A Randomised Controlled Trial. British Journal of Nutrition 2017 Dec; 118 (12): 1043-1051.
- Hsu, E, et al. From Osteoimmunology to Osteomicrobiology: How the Microbiota and the Immune System Regulate Bone. Calcified Tissue International 2018 May; 102(5): 512-521.