A Plant-based diet is proven to improve bone density and reduce the risk and effects of osteoporosis

An increased risk of fracture is associated with dietary calcium intake (e.g. cow’s milk).

• Long-Term Low Intake of Dietary Calcium and Fracture Risk in Older Adults With Plant-Based Diet: A Longitudinal Study From the China Health and Nutrition Survey  

 

An increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture. 

• A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group 

 

A whole-food, plant-based diet contains critical vitamins and minerals that the body can absorb for healthy bones. 

• Calcium absorption of plant foods is significantly higher than cow’s milk. Leafy green vegetables, like broccoli, kale, and collards, beans, and plant milks are great sources of calcium. 

• Magnesium, like calcium, is an important bone mineral. Studies have shown higher magnesium intakes to be associated with stronger bones. Legumes and green leafy vegetables are great sources of magnesium.

• Vitamin C from citrus fruits, tomatoes, bell peppers, and other fruits and vegetables is essential for making collagen, the connective tissue that minerals cling to when bone is formed.

• Vitamin K, found abundantly in dark leafy greens like kale and spinach, stimulates bone formation. 

• Potassium decreases the loss of calcium from the body and increases the rate of bone building. Vegetables, oranges, bananas, and beans are rich sources of potassium.

• Vitamin D is an important contributor to strong bones. Our skin makes vitamin D when exposed to direct sunlight. Sun exposure of 5-15 minutes can be enough to meet many people’s vitamin D needs. However, having darker skin complexion, living closer to the north/south poles, and even the winter season can make it hard to get sufficient vitamin D from sunlight alone. Therefore, mushrooms, fortified grains, bread, orange juice, and soy or rice milk exist as options for providing vitamin D through the diet.  Milk does not naturally contain vitamin D.

 

Exercise, combined with a predominantly plant-based diet, is one of the most effective ways to increase bone density and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. Its benefits have been observed in studies of both children and adults.

 

Bone density is much higher for plant-based individuals

• Comparison of correlates of bone mineral density in individuals adhering to lacto-ovo, vegan, or omnivore diets: a cross-sectional investigation.

• Potassium, Magnesium, and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes Are Associated With Greater Bone Mineral Density in Elderly Men and Women 

 

Conversely, individuals with high dairy milk consumption experienced a higher rate of bone fractures and mortality.  Studies have shown that women who drank more milk had more fractures than women who drank less or no milk. 

• Bone Mineral Density and Dietary Patterns in Older Adults: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study - PubMed

 

For individuals with osteoarthritis, a whole-foods, plant-based diet significantly improves self-assessed measures of functional status

• Whole-foods, Plant-Based Diet Alleviates the Symptoms of Osteoarthritis 

 

• There is an abundance of research proving the benefits of a plant-based diet for healthy bone density and decreasing the risk of osteoporosis 

  • Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods 

  • Vegan diet supplemented with high-dose vitamin D increases both systemic and autocrine calcitriol production while suppressing PTH secretion, improving bone density and conferring other health benefits

  • A moderately low phosphate intake may provide health benefits analogous to those conferred by UV light - a further advantage of vegan diets

  • Long-Term Low Intake of Dietary Calcium and Fracture Risk in Older Adults With Plant-Based Diet: A Longitudinal Study From the China Health and Nutrition Survey 

  • Consequences of a plant-based diet with low dairy consumption on intake of bone-relevant nutrients 

  • The influence of vegan diet on bone mineral density and biochemical bone turnover markers 

  • Diet-dependent net endogenous acid load of vegan diets in relation to food groups and bone health-related nutrients: results from German Study 

  • The association between high plasma homocysteine levels and lower bone mineral density in Slovak women: the impact of vegetarian diet 

  • Effect of vegetarian diets on bone mineral density: a Bayesian meta-analysis 

  • Bone mineral density of vegetarian and non-vegetarian adults in Taiwan 

  • Serum concentration of biochemical bone turnover markers in vegetarian children 

  • Effects of meat consumption and vegetarian diet on risk of wrist fracture over 25 years in a cohort of peri- and postmenopausal women 

  • Calcaneum broadband ultrasound attenuation relates to vegetarian and omnivorous diets differently in men and women: an observation from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) population study 

  • Low levels of osteocalcin and leptin in serum of vegetarian prepubertal children 

  • Growth and nutrition of Chinese vegetarian children in Hong Kong 

  • Spinal bone mineral density in premenopausal vegetarian and nonvegetarian women: cross-sectional and prospective comparisons

  • Long-term vegetarian diet and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese women 

  • Axial and peripheral bone density and nutrient intakes of postmenopausal vegetarian and omnivorous women 

  • Urinary hormonal concentrations and spinal bone densities of premenopausal vegetarian and nonvegetarian women 

  • Vegetarian lifestyle and bone mineral density 

  • Cortical bone density of adult lacto-ovo-vegetarian and omnivorous women 

  • Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods 

  • A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group 

  • Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies 

  • The role of low acid load in vegetarian diet on bone health: a narrative review 

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