Maintaining a proper balance of dietary fats may ward off much of the bone loss associated with post-menopausal osteoporosis, according to a recent study by scientists at Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Newswise reports that the researchers found diets with a low ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids minimized the bone loss typically brought on by estrogen deficiency, which is common in post-menopausal females. Omega-6 fatty acids are typically found in foods such as grains and beef, while omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as walnuts and salmon.

Bruce Watkins, professor and director of Purdue's Center for Enhancing Foods to Protect Health stated that omega-3 fatty acids help promote bone formation. He also suggests that an increase of omega-6 fats relative to omega-3 fats leads to an increased production of compounds associated with bone loss.

The current study, which is in press in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, assessed bone mineral content and bone mineral density in female rats. These measurements are used as indicators of bone mass and bone strength, respectively. While both types of fats are essential for human health, diets with a high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids are often associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. A low ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, however, is believed to promote cardiovascular health, improve memory and, as the current study shows, protect bone health.

"We saw in this study that omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a better blood profile of bone health, and with higher bone mineral density, in the absence of estrogen," Watkins said. The report suggests that the bone-protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids may be linked to their previously established role in minimizing inflammation in the body.

"We believe omega-3s may minimize bone loss with estrogen deficiency in association with their anti-inflammatory effects," he said.

The researchers have spent the last 10 years investigating the role of lipids on the biology of bone.

Read the full report at : Purdue Center for Enhancing Foods to Protect Health: http://www.efph.purdue.edu/

(posted 1st Aug 2005)