Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Study suggests that incorporating walnuts and flaxseed (Omega-3) into our diets may provide health benefits to both our cardiovascular and skeletal systems.
Osteoporosis is “a major public health threat” that costs our healthcare system $18 billion per year, affects 10 million American and has another 34 million Americans at risk (1)
Now a new study (2) has found that walnuts may also help bone health. In the study, 23 patients consumed one of three diets for 6 weeks, all providing 2400 calories per day and having 35% fat, 50% carbohydrate, and 15% protein. The omega- 6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio was different in each of the three diets. The control diet was the Average American Diet that had an omega-6-omega-3 ratio of 9:1. The second diet was the Linoleic Acid diet and had a ratio of 3.5:1 and the third diet was the Alpha Linolenic Acid Diet and had a ratio of 1.6:1.
Researchers gave patients in the second and third diet groups 37 grams of walnuts per day and also gave those in the third group 20 grams of flaxseed per day to reach the desired omega-6-omega-3 ratios. The researchers then took blood samples to measure for a protein called NTx, which has been shown to be a reliable measure of bone breakdown (3).
By the end of the study, those in the two walnut groups had “significant reductions” in NTx levels, compared to the placebo group. Specifically, those in the second group (Linoleic Acid Diet – 37 grams of walnuts per day) had an 11.5% decrease in NTx (1.77 nanomoles/Liter) while those in the Alpha Linolenic Acid group (37 grams walnuts per day plus 20 grams flaxseed per day) had a 15.3% in their NTx levels (2.17 nM/L).
For the researchers, “The present results suggest that incorporating plant sources of [omega-3 fats] into the diet may provide health benefits not only to the cardiovascular system, but also to the skeletal system.”
Source: Griel, Amy E., et al. “An increase in dietary n-3 fatty acids decreases a marker of bone resorption in humans.” Nutrition Journal 6.1 (2007): 2.
© 2007 Griel et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted October 16, 2009.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppage, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.pitchingdoc.com
References:
- “Fast Facts” posted on the National Osteoprosis Foundation Website. Griel AE. An increase in dietary n-3 fatty acids decreases a marker of bone. Nutr J 2007 Jan 16;6:2.
- Clemens JD, Herrick MV, Singer FR, Eyre DR: Evidence that serum NTx (collagen-type I N-telopeptides) can act as an immuno- chemical marker of bone resorption. Clin Chem 1997, 43:2058-2063.
