Vegans don't need dairy for good bone health.

HONOLULU -- Although vegans do not eat dairy products, they appear to have surprisingly good bone health, according to results from a study presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Heather J. Hinkley, Ph.D., of the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, London, and colleagues recruited 60 white females for the study. The women were 20-44 years old, and all had been vegan for a minimum of 5 years. Exclusion criteria included use of hormone therapy, use of corticosteroids or thyroxine for more than 6 months, onset of menopause before age 45, lactation during the previous year, presence of rheumatoid arthritis, or previous osteoporosis-related fracture.

Broadband ultrasound attenuation of the calcaneum was examined for all women to assess their bone mineral density. The results were compared with ultrasound attenuation data on 110 age-matched white female omnivores.

Although the vegan women were found to have a slightly lower mean ultrasound attenuation, compared with omnivore women, the difference was not statistically significant. Weight also was not significantly different in vegan women, compared with omnivores. There also was no relationship between the duration of the vegan diet and ultrasound attenuation results.

Because vegan women did not show an age-related decline in ultrasound attenuation, the researchers speculated that the vegan diet may actually benefit bone health. They observed that 66% of the vegan women said they took calcium supplements, which may have increased bone density. And the lack of dietary animal protein may benefit the acid/base balance, resulting in less movement of bone mineral and decreasing calcium excretion, thus preserving bone integrity, they suggested.

BY GREG MUIRHEAD

Contributing Writer