Bone and Joint Health

While losing weight can protect you against chronic diseases, it does come with a downside - especially for postmenopausal women: Studies have shown that obese older women who lose weight also lose lean muscle mass and bone mineral density (BMD), particularly if they are inactive, potentially putting them at greater risk of frailty and falls.

Don't count on green-tea pills to help you lose weight or keep your bones strong. A new clinical trial testing year-long supplementation of green-tea extract reports no difference between the pills and placebo in changes in body mass index, total fat mass or percentage of body fat, or bone-mineral density.

Older adults whove been loading up on calcium - either in their diets or in supplement form - to protect their bones recently got a shock on the nightly news: Extra calcium, according to two new headline-making reviews published in BMJ, was not associated with meaningful benefits for improving bone density or reducing fracture risk.

Milk, long touted for helping children and young adults build strong bones, may also help keep the joints connecting those bones working right as you get older. A new study of more than 2,000 patients with knee osteoarthritis reports that greater milk consumption, primarily fat-free or low-fat milk, was associated with reduced progression of the condition. The apparent benefit was seen only in women, however.

If youre taking extra vitamin D or calcium to protect your bones, theres good news about these bone-building nutrients and your cholesterol levels. According to a new analysis of data from the Womens Health Initiative (WHI), supplements of vitamin D and calcium might modestly improve your cholesterol numbers. Previous studies of calcium and cholesterol had produced inconsistent results, while little was known about vitamin Ds effects.

Arthritis sufferers worldwide spend more than $2 billion a year on glucosamine, and more than 1 in 10 US adults use the supplement. But the latest clinical trial of glucosamine has once again failed to find evidence that it does any good.

A. Katherine L. Tucker, PhD, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and adjunct professor at Tufts Friedman School, answers: It has long been...

You might not think that eating smart for your heart would have anything to do with also protecting your bones. But a new study finds that following the American Heart Associations diet and lifestyle recommendations is also associated with better bone health.

With some 50 million Americans afflicted by arthritis, chances are that even if you dont suffer from the disease, your spouse or someone else close to you does. But theres hope for this painful condition. Arthritis patients have a range of medications available, and today most know the benefits of exercise for improving their condition. While once arthritis sufferers were told rest is best, research at Tufts and elsewhere has shown that strength training in particular can help prevent and reduce arthritis symptoms.

From your heart to your bones, picking foods rich in potassium is an easy way to eat for better health. So much nutrition news seems to focus on what not to eat-avoid this, consume less of that