The influence of vegetarian and vegan diets on the state of bone mineral density in humans

Abstract

There are so many literatures about vegetarians being less prone to chronic, noninfectious diseases, which are, however, the main cause of the decline in quality of life and mortality in developed countries.

However, according to various scientific sources, vegetarian and especially vegan diets often contain less saturated fats, protein, calcium, vitamins D and B12, or long-chain ω-3 PUFAs. One of the most common pathology associated with a predominantly plant diet is osteopenia and osteoporosis. An analysis of 13 studies has shown that vegetarians and vegans are at a higher risk of reducing of bone mineral density, thereby increasing the incidence of fractures.

At the same time, plant-based diets are usually richer in many other micronutrients important for bone health: vitamins C and K, carotenoids, potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, or silicon. Moreover, with the deepening of our knowledge about the role of nutrients in the body and the features of the nutritional status of the population, the quality of vegetarian and vegan diets also increases. They are less and less prone to micronutrient deficiencies. Recent studies show that BMD, as well as the risk of osteoporotic fractures, at least in vegetarians, equaled these indicators in omnivores.

Keywords:

• Osteoporosis
• fracture risk
• bone metabolism
• Macro and micronutrients
• acid load

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This paper has been supported by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program.