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Flaxseed Oil Cuts Osteoporosis Risk
In Diabetic, Older Women
According to Study
Flaxseed Oil may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in women
with diabetes and those who are post-menopausal, according
to an important new study.
The results of new research suggest that flaxseed oil has a beneficial
effect on bone mineral density and reduces markers associated with
osteoporosis. The researchers are indicating that this dietary supplement
could be beneficial to women with diabetes or older women in reducing
their risk of osteoporosis.
The findings were published in the International
Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.
Osteoporosis is characterised by low bone mass, which leads to an
increase risk of fractures, especially the hips, spine and wrists. An
estimated 75 million people suffer from this debilitating condition in
Europe, the US and Japan.
Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men
and the authors of this study explained that previous research indicates
that diabetes decreases bone turnover that is associated with impaired
osteoblastic maturation and function.
According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, boosting bone
density in high-risk and post-menopausal women could ease the burden
of osteoporosis.
The researchers explained that they studied 70 female laboratory
subjects of which 30 had their ovaries removed (ovx) to simulate the
post-menopausal state whereby oestrogen is decreased and another
group was rendered diabetic (Type 1) in order to determine the impact
of diabetes on the development of osteoporosis.
“Bone status was tested through estimation of serum bone formation
biomarkers IGF-1 and osteocalcin and bone resorption biomarker
deoxypyridinoline,” explained the team.
The authors added that flaxseed oil (rich in omega-3 fatty acids)
replaced corn oil (rich in omega-6 fatty acids) in the diet of some of
the diabetic and the ovx-diabetic groups with the aim of testing for
the impact of this oil on either delaying or preventing the development
of osteopenia in ovx subjects.
They reported that, after two months, urine and blood samples were
analysed and IGF-1 and the bone-creating protein osteocalcin were
also measured.
Results
The researchers found that the serum concentrations of IGF-1 and
osteocalcin were increased in the ovx and diabetic ovx groups but
their lowest levels were detected in the diabetic group.
And the team said that bone mineral density and content in diabetic
group were reduced and normalised after receiving flaxseed oil.
The researchers also found that the levels of deoxypyridinoline
in the urine were raised in the diabetic group. Deoxypyridinoline
is normally present in healthy bone and its presence in urine is a
specific marker for bone resorption associated with osteoporosis.
Levels of this marker compound fell when the subjects were given
flaxseed oil, continued the authors.
The team concluded that diabetes has a more pronounced effect
on bone health than ovariectomy and they suggest that diabetes
in post-menopausal women may also be a greater risk factor for
osteoporosis than the decline in sex hormones associated with
the menopause.
They said that the presence of healthy fatty acids in flaxseed oil
may play a role in protecting the processes of matrix formation and
bone mineralization, which apparently are compromised by diabetes
and the menopause.
Source: International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health
Published online
Funding for the study was provided by the National Cancer Institute.
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