By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, March 26, 2009, abstracted from “Protective Effect of Total Carotenoid and Lycopene Intake on the Risk of Hip Fracture: A 17-Year Follow-Up From the Framingham Osteoporosis Study” printed online January 5, 2009 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

Osteoporosis is “a major public health threat” that results in 1.5 million fractured bones per year (1). The condition costs our healthcare system $18 billion per year and affects 10 million Americans, with another 34 million at risk (2).

There are a number of ways to help maintain bone health, including calcium with vitamin D (3), olive oil (4), soy isoflavones (5), citrus fruit antioxidants (6), and exercising (7). Now a study (8) has found that lycopene, the antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red color, may benefit bone health in men and women. Lycopene has previously been found to benefit skin health (9), prostate health (10), female health (11), cellular health (12), and heart health (13).

A recent study found that taking more than 10 milligrams of lyocpene per day helps maintain bone density, compared to taking only 3 milligrams per day (14). Building on these findings, researchers followed 919 patients from the Framingham Heart Study (15) from 1989 through 2005. The patients completed a 126-item food questionnaire (16) that the researchers used to assess carotenoid intake. Carotenoids are the antioxidants that give vegetables their color. Since osteoporosis is thought to be caused in part by oxidative stress (17), the ability of carotenoids to offset oxidative damage (18) may give it a role in bone health.

The researchers found that both men and women with the highest 20% of total carotenoid intake (median: 23,711 micrograms per day) had “a significantly lower risk of hip fracture” (46% reduced risk) compared to those with the lowest 20% of intake (median: 7,299 micrograms per day). When looking at specific carotenoids, they found that lycopene produced a 36% reduced risk of fracture with intakes of at least 12,644 micrograms per day compared to intakes of less than 2,710 micrograms per day.

For the researchers, “These findings support the hypothesis of a protective association between carotenoid intake and risk of hip fracture as well as non-vertebral osteoporotic fracture in older adults.”

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

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