Tufts University study related to bone density and Vitamin B12

The Tufts study measured bond density and B12 levels in 2500 men and women who were part of the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. The Tufts study found a direct correlation between low B12 levels and low bone density. Men were lowering in density in the hip and women were lower in density in the spine.

The following is the abstract from a study done at Tufts University. I had a hard time working with the link so decided to show it in full.

Vitamin B12 Linked to Bone Health vs. Osteoporosis

Vitamin B12, found in dairy products, meats, poultry and fish as well as in many fortified cereals, may be an important weapon in your battle against osteoporosis. New research at Tufts' Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) has uncovered a positive association between vitamin B12 and bone health.

The Tufts researchers measured bone mineral density-a gauge of bone quality--and vitamin B12 levels in more than 2,500 men and women participating in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. They found that both men and women with low vitamin B12 levels also averaged lower bone mineral densities than those with higher levels. The men with low vitamin. B12 levels had significantly lower bone density in several areas of the hip, and the women low in B12 had particularly low bone density in the spine. Low bone density puts people at increased risk of the bone-weakening disease of osteoporesis.

"This is the first large-scale study of its kind to show an association between low vitamin B12 and low bone mineral density in men, and it confirms other reports of this association in women," says Katherine Tucker, PhD, director of the HHNRCA's Dietary Assessment an Epidemiology Research Program. "It shows that getting enough vitamin B12 from meats, poultry, fish and dairy products may be important for both men and women in maintaining strong bones."

Some individuals, particularly older people, have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 from foods, however. So, Tucker adds, "inclusion of breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin B12 or use of vitamin B12 supplements offers additional protection."

Exactly how B12 is linked to bone density is unknown, as is the ultimate significance of B12 to bone health.

According to a recent surgeon general's report, some 10 million Americans age 50 and older already have osteoporosis, with another 34 million at risk. As the population ages, those numbers are expected to grow by 2020 to 14 million plus 47 million more at risk-half of all Americans over 50.

"Osteoporosis is becoming a much greater issue now that people are living so much longer," says Tucker, who was the lead author of the study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. "Our study provides support for a way in which people can actively lower their risk of osteoporosis and help to preserve quality of life."

On Your Table

The recommended daily value of vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms (mcg). Good food sources of vitamin B12 include:

• Dairy products (make sure to pick low-fat or fat-free); an eight-ounce container of low-fat vanilla yogurt, for example, contains 1.2 mcg of B12

• Meat (again, opt for lean cuts)

• Fish; four ounces of salmon contain 3.18 mcg of B12

• Poultry

• Eggs

• Fortified breakfast cereals; a fortified wheat-flake cereal such as Total contains 8.56 mcg of B12 in a one-cup serving

Because the body's ability to absorb B12 from food typically declines with age, older people may need to take vitamin B12 in a multivitamin/mineral supplement or in the high levels of fortified cereals.