Nuts and seeds are rich in the supporting nutrients magnesium and potassium. Calcium-fortified, whole food soy products such as tempeh and soy milk; corn tortillas; leafy green vegetables; legumes; dairy or nondairy yogurt; cow’s milk; and high-quality cheeses are good options, Tucker recommended.
Study Shows Vegan Diet Linked With Higher Risk of Bone Fractures
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.09.20
Studies have shown people who follow a meat-free diet – particularly vegans – could have an increased risk of broken bones, especially hip fractures.
The research comes from Oxford University in England, where the EPIC-Oxford Study reports vegans have a 43 percent higher risk of bone fractures anywhere in the body. But they highlighted specific areas like the hip as a particularly high risk site for fractures.
“We found that vegans had a higher risk of total fractures, which resulted in close to 20 more cases per 1,000 people over a 10-year period compared to people who ate meat. The biggest differences were for hip fractures, where the risk in vegans was 2.3 times higher than in people who ate meat, equivalent to 15 more cases per 1,000 people over 10 years,” Tammy Tong, PhD, BSc, the lead author of the study and a nutritional epidemiologist at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, stated in a press release.
The study of more than 50,000 British people involved both men and women who were recruited for the research between 1993 and 2001.
The large group of participants was made up of almost 30,000 meat eaters, about 8,000 who didn’t eat red meat but did eat fish, 15,000 vegetarians, and nearly 2,000 vegans. All participants were tracked for an average of 18 years to monitor their health, which revealed some staggering results. During the time span of that study, there were 3,941 bone fractures recorded with hips being the leading problem area, followed by wrists, arms, ankles and legs.
Researchers have determined that vegetarians and people who ate fish but not meat experience a higher risk of hip fractures due to low amounts of protein and calcium intake as well as low BMI.
“Previous studies have shown that low BMI is associated with a higher risk of hip fractures, and low intakes of calcium and protein have both been linked to poorer bone health. This study showed that vegans, who on average had lower BMI as well as lower intakes of calcium and protein than meat eaters, had higher risks of fractures at several sites,” Tong said.
“Well-balanced and predominantly plant-based diets can result in improved nutrient levels and have been linked to lower risks of diseases, including heart disease and diabetes,” she added. “Individuals should take into account the benefits and risks of their diet, and ensure that they have adequate levels of calcium and protein and also maintain a healthy BMI, that is, neither under nor overweight.”
According to Healthline, Lauri Y. Wright, PhD, and assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of North Florida, was not shocked at all to hear the results of this research.
“The study results are consistent with previous studies, so not a surprise. The findings of increased fractures in non-meat eaters was partially explained by protein and calcium intake as well as BMI. However, there continued to be higher risk of fractures in vegans when those factors were controlled. This may be related to bioavailability of those key nutrients in bone health,” Wright said.
“For example, the vegans may have consumed adequate amounts of calcium, but many plant-based sources of calcium like spinach are not as bioavailable as dairy,” she added. “Protein quality is another example. Vegans may have consumed an adequate amount of plant proteins, but the amino acid ratio does not support resorption and remodeling as well as the amino acid ratio in animal proteins.”
So you might be asking yourself at this point, ‘is it even possible to be vegan and still have healthy bones?’
Katherine Tucker, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, emphasized the importance of diet quality and how it plays as big a role – if not more – than diet choice.
“Though meat eaters typically consume higher amounts of protein, calcium and vitamin D and the nutrients are more bioavailable, a person may still be deficient if their food choices are poor,” Wright said according to CNN.
“A deficiency has the same impact on bone health, whether you are a meat-eater or plant-eater.”
It’s vital that vegans increase their intake of key nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamin B12 and Vitamin D – which most people are deficient in – and in greater amounts than those who consume meat on a regular basis because plant nutrients aren’t as easily absorbed.
