Soy Compound May Bolster Women's Bones

(WebMD)  Genistein, a compound found in soy, may strengthen the bones of women at risk for osteoporosis.

So say Italian researchers including Francesco Squadrito, M.D., of Italy's University of Messina, who studied 389 postmenopausal Italian women with osteopenia, in which bone
mineral density is less than ideal but not as severe as osteoporosis.

First, the women got DEXA (dual X-ray absorptiometry) bone mineral density
scans of their upper thigh bone (femoral neck) and lower (lumbar) spine. Next, they followed a low-fat, healthy diet for a month. Then the researchers split the women into two groups.

One group of women got pills containing genistein, calcium carbonate, and vitamin D. The dosage was "similar to that in vegetarian Asian diets," write the researchers.

The other group received similar pills without genistein (placebo). The women took their pills daily for two years without knowing if the tablets contained genistein.

During that time, the women got annual DEXA scans of their femoral neck and lumbar spine. They were evaluated every three months for problems, including breast tenderness, hot flashes, depression, gastrointestinal symptoms, irritability, insomnia, and vaginal bleeding.

After two years, the DEXA scans showed increases in bone mineral density in women taking genistein. Bone mineral density dropped during the same period in women taking the
placebo pills.

The researchers didn't gather information on fractures, so they're not sure if genistein's effects mean fewer fractured or broken bones.

Genistein's chemical structure resembles estrogen, the female sex hormone that protects bones and fades after menopause, the researchers note in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Because of those estrogen-like properties, "caution is needed when administering genistein, especially in patients at high risk for endometrial or breast cancer," write Squadrito and colleagues.

However, the study shows that the uterus lining (endometrium) wasn't thicker in women taking genistein than in those taking the placebo.

Gastrointestinal side effects caused 37 women taking genistein and 15 taking the placebo to quit the study.

Based on the results, Squadrito's team calls for studies testing genistein against osteoporosis.


By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
©2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved

[alphaa10-2009]

The woman is glancing over her shoulder, raising the scapula a bit in this photo. There is probably no air-brushed artistry, here.

[neenga]

Can't figure out the photo. Looks like a woman with her head on backwards?

[drinuk]

Major food retailers inc Asda Walmart and Marks and Spencer in the UK are to BAN ASPARTAME !!!! This follows a report from the UK Food Standards Agency. This will help everyone's bones, not to mention obesity nation wide. Where do the FDA stand on this news?? still sucking up to Big Pharma.

[alphaa10-2009]

The quality of bone is probably as important for fracture prevention as the over-all volume of bone in so-called bone density measures.

Certain drugs like Osteomax and Fosamax claim to build bone density but in fact, do so by short-circuiting the body's natural "harvesting" of old, poor-quality bone. The old bone is left in place and not replaced with new bone-- for a net "increase" in bone volume but not necessarily an increase in bone strength and fracture resistance.

For those women convinced only hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) will do, bio-identical human hormones provide a relatively safe, uncomplicated approach, and one already clinically proven.

With HRT becoming increasingly popular with both men and women, the use of bio-identical hormones should be given serious consideration, especially by comparison with the "better living through chemistry" offered by the pharmaceutical industry.