Moderate Alcohol Intake Could Help Prevent Bone Loss
July 11, 2012 — Moderate consumption of alcohol as part of a regular healthy lifestyle may promote bone health in postmenopausal women and help them avoid developing osteoporosis, according an article published online July 9 in Menopause.
Jill A. Marrone, MS, from the Nutrition Division, School of Biological and Population Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, and colleagues conducted a 15-day intervention trial that included postmenopausal women who were healthy, younger than 65 years, and not taking hormone therapy.
During the week before intervention, 40 postmenopausal women drank their normal amounts (average, 1.4 drinks/day) of alcohol and kept a diary. For the 14-day intervention, the women abstained from drinking any alcohol. On day 15, researchers gave a measured amount of alcohol, based on the women's previous drinking patterns, for them to drink.
During the study, the researchers took blood samples from the women before, during, and after the intervention to assess whether alcohol consumption affected bone turnover, the process through in which old bone material is removed and new bone is created. In osteoporosis, more bone is lost than replaced. Postmenopausal women are at increased risk for osteoporosis because of decreased estrogen. However, prior observational studies have shown a correlation between moderate alcohol consumption and higher bone density.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/767254?sssdmh=dm1.801873&src=nldne
