Most of you know that I’m on the radio several times each month, taking calls from listeners with health concerns. I’ve noticed that one of the most frequent worries among female radio listeners seems to be osteoporosis – the loss of bone density often associated with age.  Here at Longevity Medical Clinic, the approach we always prefer to beat osteoporosis is to rebuild a patient’s natural bone density by restoring the level of endocrine support typically found in younger women. This is a much different and more far-reaching solution than the one preferred by the pharmaceutical industry, which favors using prescription drugs such as Fosamax. 

But here’s some interesting news. A study published a few months ago in the British Journal of Nutrition offers a simple, cheap, and tasty method of helping a woman to protect her bones.  Researchers found that consuming three ounces of prunes each day for one year resulted in a significant increase in bone density.  The study group included 238 postmenopausal women.  One half of the women consumed about three ounces of dried prunes per day, while the other half ate about three ounces of dried apples per day.  After one year the sample groups were compared using X-ray studies of multiple bone sites along with serum markers of bone turnover (the body’s natural process of replacing old bone with new bone).  The women who consumed the prunes were found to have significantly greater bone density than those who consumed the apples!