Health

            POTASSIUM
SALTS AID BONE HEALTH AND
LIMIT OSTEOPOROSIS
RISK, NEW RESEARCH FINDS

Latest research from the University of
Surrey has found that the potassium salts
(bicarbonate and citrate) plentiful in fruit
and vegetables, play an important part in
improving bone health.
For the first time,
the results also showed that these
potassium salts reduce bone resorption,
the process by which bone is broken
down, therefore increasing their strength.

The study, published in the journal
Osteoporosis International, also revealed that
high intake of potassium salts significantly
reduces the excretion of calcium and acid in
urine.

“This means that excess acid is neutralised
and bone mineral is preserved,” said lead
author Dr Helen Lambert from the University
of Surrey.

“Excess acid in the body, produced as a
result of a typical Western diet high in animal
and cereal protein, causes bones to weaken
and fracture. Our study shows that these
salts could prevent osteoporosis, as our
results showed a decrease in bone
resorption.”

Although bone resorption and bone formation
is a natural process, allowing bones to grow,
heal and adapt, in osteoporosis the balance
is shifted so that more bone is broken down
than is built up, leading to fragility and
fractures.

The debilitating disease affects almost three
million people in the UK. One in two women
and one in five men over the age of 50 will
break a bone because of poor bone health.
This study shows that eating more fruits and
vegetables could be a way to improve the
strength of our bones and prevent
osteoporosis.