Update on prunes reversing bone loss

It is September 13, 2009, and I am at the largest U.S. meeting of bone researchers (the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research meetings in Denver), and I am pleased to give you a follow-up report on prunes and their amazing ability to reverse bone loss.

At this year’s meeting, Professor Bahram Arjmandi and colleagues presented hot-breaking research findings on their one-year human trial testing the potential of prunes to reverse bone loss in postmenopausal women. As you might recall from earlier blogs, Dr. Arjmandi is studying 144 osteopenic postmenopausal women, simply giving them 100 grams of dried prunes daily (10-12 prunes each day) and looking for changes in bone mineral density.

The early data is in, and it looks good! The first data from the year-long trial was presented today at the ASBMR Meeting, and the findings include a significant increase in ulna and spine bone mineral density in the women who ate the prunes. As Dr. Arjmandi and colleagues write, “The findings of this one-year study confirm our earlier observation that dried plum has the ability to reverse bone loss.”

While the prune-associated hip bone density changes are not yet tabulated, Dr. Arjmandi has high expectations. Previously, he reported several cases showing hip bone density increases from prunes to be even greater than the spinal density gains.

Needless to say, I will keep you posted on the hip density increases as they are published. In the meantime, why not share with me and all readers your favorite recipes for adding 10-12 prunes to your daily diet?