Red wine and grape compound could help treat osteoporosis

A chemical found in red wine and grapes may offer previously unknown bone health benefits for men at risk of osteoporosis says research from Denmark.
Resveratrol has previously been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, protecting against bone loss in mice and rats. So experts decided to look at the bones of 66 middle-aged men to see what impact taking resveratrol would have.
All of the men had metabolic syndrome, which is linked to inflammation that can cause bone loss. For a 16 week period some men were given daily doses of 100mg resveratrol, others took 150mg of resveratrol every day and a third group took a placebo (pretend treatment).
The men receiving the higher dose of resveratrol had a 2.6% increase in bone mineral density towards the base of the spine compared to the placebo group.
And the highest group also experienced a 16% increase in levels of a marker called bone alkaline phosphatase, which means that this is the first study to show resveratrol’s potential in taking on osteoporosis in humans.

The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Image credit: Per Salomonsson