Protect Bone Density While Taking The Pill With Prunes

Protect Bone Density While Taking The Pill With Prunes

Did you know that an estimated 8 million women live with osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a loss of bone density that increases risk of falls and fractures. This can impact quality of life, independence and much more. Risk for osteoporosis increases after age 50, but the time to care about your bones is now.

Women reach peak bone mass at 30 years old. This makes ages 20-30 a valuable time to gain as much bone density as possible. Hormonal changes throughout life can put women at a disadvantage to optimizing bone health. Despite this disadvantage, lifestyle factors – like food choice and physical activity can play an important role in developing bone strength. For example, eating a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients can preserve bone health.

Bone Density and Oral Contraception

Hormonal changes throughout the life cycle can negatively impact bone density, including oral contraceptive use. Of the 66% of women using hormonal contraceptives, about 68% use oral contraceptives, like birth control pills. There are many positive benefits of using the pill, but it may have an impact on your bone health.

Most oral contraceptives are made with estrogen. Estrogen that comes naturally from inside our body (endogenous) supports bone health, but estrogen that we consume (exogenous) has the potential to have adverse effects on it. This occurs because the estrogen consumed lessens the effects of naturally occurring estrogen in our bodies.

Research suggests that women on the pill may be at a greater risk for poor bone health compared to those who aren’t.  It is important to recognize this is only an association and not proof of cause and effect. Eating foods that promote bone health has been shown to lessen these effects. In fact, new research proves it.

New Research Uncovers Benefits of Prunes During Oral Contraceptive Use

Prunes are the unsung hero of bone health, containing potassium, magnesium, vitamin K, fiber, and polyphenols. Prunes have long been proven to be effective in preventing and mitigating bone density loss in postmenopausal women and in animal studies, but research on young women has been lacking. Researcher and dietitian Dr. Shirin Hooshmand of San Diego University set out to determine if prunes could be a safe and inexpensive way to mitigate bone loss during oral contraceptive use in young women.

"Osteoporosis continues to impact millions of women later in life. Uncovering strategies to improve bone density in younger women could have a profound effect on rates and severity of osteoporosis,” states Dr. Hooshmand.

In a 12-month randomized controlled trial, 90 women ages 18-25 years old were put into one of three groups: control, oral contraceptive users, or oral contraceptive users who will eat prunes. Participants adding prunes were given 50g, or 5-6 prunes, to eat every day for one year.

At the end of the study, results showed that bone density decreased over time only in individuals who were taking oral contraceptives and not consuming prunes. This suggests that oral contraceptives may have a negative effect on bone health. However, in the group that consumed prunes, this effect was not seen. These results indicate that prunes may have a protective effect against bone loss in young women taking oral contraceptives.

“Eating 5-6 prunes daily is a simple dietary habit that can help to strengthen bones. This research suggests prunes can have positive effects on bone density in younger women taking oral contraceptives. These findings support the need for more research in this area to understand how additional strategies can improve life-long bone health,” Hooshmand elaborates.

One answer to protecting bone health during oral contraceptive use seems clear - eat prunes often.

Simple Tips to Maximize Your Bone Health

Here are 4 simple ways to incorporate prunes to support your bone density.

1. Start your day with a delicious and nutrition breakfast prune smoothie. Pitted prunes add more fiber and natural sweetness.
2. Boring salads are a thing of the past! Try adding diced prunes to this salad recipe for a fun texture and fruity flavor.
3. Prunes are the perfect way to add carbohydrates, fiber, and sweetness to snacks. Make these snack ideas for a tasty combination of like prunes with cheddar cheese, or prunes with almond butter make for a satisfying snack that keeps you feeling full longer.
4. Bake with prunes. This cupcake recipe features prunes (which add moisture to based goods), along with chocolatey deliciousness.

Bottom Line

Bone health matters, but so many women don’t address it until it’s too late. Women are especially susceptible to osteoporosis due to hormonal changes throughout the life cycle and can’t afford to wait until they are diagnosed with osteoporosis to optimize bone health.

Like any health promoting behavior, what you do most often matters. Eating 5-6 prunes per day has been shown to mitigate birth control pill related bone density loss in young women. It’s a small behavior that, when done consistently, has a massive impact. Reducing risk of osteoporosis means living a longer and happier life and the bone preserving properties of prunes can help you maximize bone mass.