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02.01.2023

Vitamin B for stronger bones

Not only supplementation with calcium, vitamin D and magnesium can contribute to a healthy and strong skeleton. Supplementation with B vitamins can also contribute to bone health.

Study
Irish researchers, affiliated with the University of Ulster, published a trial in 2022 in which they gave 87 over-50s a supplement with a frankly modest dose of B vitamins every day for 2 years. Daily, the supplement provided 200 micrograms of folic acid, 10 micrograms of vitamin B12, 10 milligrams of vitamin B6 and 5 milligrams of vitamin B2.

The supplement was made by Canadian Advanced Orthomolecular Research (AOR). AOR made the supplements available for free, but did not sponsor the study. The money for the research came from the Irish taxpayer. Certainly in this gloomy period, there are certainly worse ways to spend taxpayers' money than the research we are now discussing.

A control group of 80 subjects took an 'active placebo', which was was a vitamin D pill that provided 10 micrograms of vitamin D3 daily.

It goes without saying that vitamin D3 is important for strong bones. Less known is that epidemiological studies have also found associations between B vitamins and bone quality.

For example, in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study, epidemiologists reported in 2005 that study participants with a good vitamin B12 status had more bone mass than study participants with a less good status. [J Bone Miner Res. 2005 Jan;20(1):152-8.] In a Dutch study conducted among residents of Rotterdam, study participants who consumed relatively high amounts of vitamins B2 and B6 had more bone mass than study participants with a lower intake. [Bone. 2007 Dec;41(6):987-94.] In 2007, Scandinavian researchers discovered a similar relationship between bone mass and folic acid. [J Bone Miner Res. 2007 May;22(5):747-56.]

According to an older theory, an optimal intake of B vitamins such as B2, B6, B12 and folic acid ensures that cells can attach methyl groups to crucial molecules. As a result, the concentration of the potentially toxic amino acid homocysteine remains low, and bone tissue remains in better condition. [BMC Geriatr. 2011 Dec 2;11:80.]

Most studies on the effect of supplementation with B vitamins such as folic acid and B12 on bone mass have reported disappointing results. [JBMR Plus. 2018 Mar 24;2(5):295-303.] But there are actually no studies in which subjects were given vitamins B2 and B6 in addition to folic acid and vitamin B12. This is what makes the Irish research so interesting.

Results
Before and after the administration period, the researchers made scans of the subjects' bones. Initially, the researchers saw no effect of supplementation. The test subjects lost bone mass and supplementation did not change that.

When the researchers focused on the subjects who initially had a suboptimal B12 status, they noticed that supplementation with B vitamins slowed down the decline in bone mass.

Conclusion
"Given the high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among older populations, the current results, if confirmed, could have important implications for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis", resume the Irish.

Source:
J Bone Miner Res. 2022 Dec;37(12):2443-55.

More:
Gelatin makes intensive exercise even more effective against bone loss 18.12.2017
Diet with lots of olive oil, fruit and fish protects against osteoporosis 16.08.2017
Yoghurt is better weapon against osteoporosis than milk 06.07.2017

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