Move over, milk. There’s a new strong-bone builder in town.
U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded research, performed at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center in Little Rock, is pointing to blueberries as having a powerful effect on the formation of strong, healthy bones. Scientists believe that polyphenols, the compounds that give blueberries their blue/purple color, might also be useful in building bone mass. The study included research on laboratory rats, where those fed rations with 10-percent freeze-dried blueberry powder had a significant amount more bone mass than those fed rations without blueberries.
Additional studies are needed to determine if the same will occur in humans. The ultimate hope is that this research will someday be used in treatments to develop bone mass and help prevent osteoporosis.
Read more about the blueberry bone-mass research project and its next steps.
