Men's Osteoporosis Support GroupHigh potassium consumption and BMD Osteoporos Int. 2008 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print], The effects of high potassium consumption on bone mineral density in a prospective cohort study of elderly postmenopausal women. Zhu K, Devine A, Prince RL. PMID: 18575949. This article is another showing that a high potassium diet may be beneficial for bone density. There is a recent Update with similar conclusions as related to the benefits of a diet with a high potassium to sodium ratio. This study involved 266 70 to 80 year-old women whose 24-hour urine potassium excretion was measured at one and five years. Additionally total body bone mineral density (BMD) was measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and distal radius and tibia pQCT vBMD (volumetric BMD) were measured. Results showed that women in the highest quartile of urinary potassium excretion had significantly higher total hip BMD at 1 and 5 years and significantly higher total body BMD and distal tibia total and trabecular vBMD at 5 years than those in the lowest quartile. The authors conclude, "Potassium intake shows positive association with bone density in elderly women, suggesting that increasing consumption of food rich in potassium may play a role in osteoporosis prevention." Editor's comments. Note that trabecular vBMD was 11% greater at five years in women in the highest quartile. These results are similar to the increase in BMD after 3 to 5 years on osteoporosis medications such as Fosamax or Actonel. It appears that paying attention to the potassium content of the food you eat may be beneficial to BMD. Additionally there will be a side benefit of lower tendency to produce kidney stones.
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