Reducing Hip Fractures
Amongst lean, elderly men, the risk of suffering a hip fracture is higher than men of a more average weight. This makes sense. Leaner men have less fat or muscle protecting their bodies and cushioning them from a fall. However, according to some recent research, a class of antioxidants€"carotenoids€"have been shown to help reduce the risk of hip fractures within this segment of the population.
The study looked at people of all sorts of body mass index numbers and compared the risk of hip fractures. People with BMIs that were fairly low (BMI < kg/m2), the risk was much higher. But when dietary carotenoids were administered, the number of hip fractures went down. This was a fairly large study conducted in China. Over 63,000 cases of men and women over the age of 45 were looked at. Men with low BMI numbers seemed to be at a higher risk of hip fracture than women within the same BMI range.
Carotenoids are commonly found in vegetables. One example of this is beta carotene which is abundant within things like carrots. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is extremely important for other reasons, too, but amongst lean, elderly men, they reap an extra reward of reducing the risk of hip fractures. There is more than enough evidence out there to warrant structuring your diet around fruits and vegetables, this is just one more reason why you need to up their amounts as much as possible. Carotenoids are common in orange and yellow vegetables and are converted to Vitamin A within the body once they are ingested.
There wasn't enough evidence available to determine if beta carotene or Vitamin A supplements fulfilled the same function as carotenoids that were ingested through natural means. Researchers will need to be focusing on this in the future to figure out whether supplements can serve this important function amongst lean men.
One trick to getting more carotene in your diet is to eat some fats with your diet, too. Carotenes are fat soluble, so when you eat a good amount of fats with your diet, they absorb into your system a little bit more easily. Obviously you want to be careful here since too much fat is not good for you. Additionally, there are some types of fat that are healthier than others. For instance, you want to stay away from trans fats at all costs, as these greatly increase your risk of many illnesses and diseases.
As you know, the risk of fractures goes up as we age. This is because of decreases in balance, age related weight loss, and an increased risk of bone diseases like osteoporosis. Focusing on the factors that increase risk of fracture is an important aspect of keeping our health as we age.
The study looked at people of all sorts of body mass index numbers and compared the risk of hip fractures. People with BMIs that were fairly low (BMI < kg/m2), the risk was much higher. But when dietary carotenoids were administered, the number of hip fractures went down. This was a fairly large study conducted in China. Over 63,000 cases of men and women over the age of 45 were looked at. Men with low BMI numbers seemed to be at a higher risk of hip fracture than women within the same BMI range.
Carotenoids are commonly found in vegetables. One example of this is beta carotene which is abundant within things like carrots. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is extremely important for other reasons, too, but amongst lean, elderly men, they reap an extra reward of reducing the risk of hip fractures. There is more than enough evidence out there to warrant structuring your diet around fruits and vegetables, this is just one more reason why you need to up their amounts as much as possible. Carotenoids are common in orange and yellow vegetables and are converted to Vitamin A within the body once they are ingested.
There wasn't enough evidence available to determine if beta carotene or Vitamin A supplements fulfilled the same function as carotenoids that were ingested through natural means. Researchers will need to be focusing on this in the future to figure out whether supplements can serve this important function amongst lean men.
One trick to getting more carotene in your diet is to eat some fats with your diet, too. Carotenes are fat soluble, so when you eat a good amount of fats with your diet, they absorb into your system a little bit more easily. Obviously you want to be careful here since too much fat is not good for you. Additionally, there are some types of fat that are healthier than others. For instance, you want to stay away from trans fats at all costs, as these greatly increase your risk of many illnesses and diseases.
As you know, the risk of fractures goes up as we age. This is because of decreases in balance, age related weight loss, and an increased risk of bone diseases like osteoporosis. Focusing on the factors that increase risk of fracture is an important aspect of keeping our health as we age.
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