Vitamin D for young bones

What do healthy bones need? Calcium is most likely the first thing to come to mind. But a new study reinforces the evidence that vitamin D also plays an essential role in bone health. Researchers from the Children’s Hospital Boston report that a higher level of vitamin D intake may protect girls against stress fractures.

The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, assessed the dairy, calcium, and vitamin D intake of over 6,700 girls aged nine to 15. Researchers followed the participants for seven years, tracking the occurrence of stress fractures, which often result from sports activities. About 4 percent of the girls developed a stress fracture over the course of the study, but those girls who had the highest level of vitamin D intake were 50 percent less likely to have a stress fracture than girls with the lowest vitamin D consumption. Contrary to what one might expect, higher calcium intake was actually linked to an increase in stress fracture risk: Those girls with the highest intake were twice as likely to develop such a fracture, a finding unexplained by the authors.

ACSH’s Dr. Ruth Kava notes that this study reminds us of the importance of vitamin D to bone health. “It doesn’t matter how much calcium you consume,” she says, “If you don’t have enough vitamin D, your body won’t be able to absorb it.” Aside from sunshine, fortified dairy products and breakfast cereals, some fish, and supplements are also good sources of vitamin D.

Mouse Study Suggests Vitamin E May Weaken Bones

SUNDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin E may stimulate cells that result in bone loss, a new study suggests.

Researchers led by Shu Takeda of Keio University in Tokyo said their findings could have implications for people who take vitamin E supplements.

The researchers explain that maintaining a balance between bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and bone-degrading cells (osteoclasts) keeps bones strong. Although prior studies had suggested that vitamin E could be beneficial for bone health, the Japanese researchers found the opposite may be true, since the nutrient seems to trigger the production of bone-eroding osteoclasts.

A U.S. expert agreed with the hypothesis.

"Bone health is a dynamic tissue and issue," said Dr. Robert Graham, an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It is in a constant struggle between osteoblasts ... and osteoclasts."

Understanding this cellular battle "is crucial in understanding how vitamin E may affect our bone health," Graham said.

The new study, published online March 4 in Nature Medicine, revealed that mice deficient in vitamin E actually have higher bone mass because there is less bone breakdown. Meanwhile, healthy mice that were fed a diet with the amount of vitamin E found in typical human supplements lost bone mass.

The study has revealed "the opposite of what was traditionally believed," Graham said. "This is intriguing, because previous in vitro