Natural News - May 1999

Bone-Protecting Protein

Eating animal protein may prevent broken bones, according to a new study by Ronald Munger, Ph.D., of Utah State University in Logan.

Hip fracture is a major cause of death among older American women; the average 50-year-old runs a 17.5 percent chance of breaking her hip. According to Munger, women can slash that risk if they eat enough cheese, fish or meat. In the Iowa Women's Health Study, 32,050 women ages 55 to 69 completed a diet survey in 1986. Those who fractured a hip in the next three years were compared with those who had not.

Women who suffered hip fractures ate an average of 74 g of protein a day, 51 g from animal products, while healthy women ate 82 g of protein a day, including 60 g from animal sources. Women who ate more than 91 g total daily protein had only one-third the fractures as women who ate less than 72 g. To put it into perspective, a hard-boiled egg contains 6.3 g of protein and the Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is 50 g.

The difference between women eating the least and most animal protein was even more dramatic—those eating less than 49 g had five times the hip breaks as those eating more than 70 g.

Protein is a major component of bone, but it was previously assumed that high- protein diets accelerated calcium loss and predisposed people to weak bones. This study, however, shows that high protein intake, especially from animal sources, may do just the opposite. Calcium and vitamin D intake were not associated with hip fracture risk in this study.

—American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999 Jan;69:147-52