B-vitamins and bone health
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
B-vitamin supplementation was found to produce no consistent effects on bone turnover or body mass index, however, the vitamin may have different effects in patients with hyperhomocysteinemia, Markus Herrmann et al., University of Sydney, conclude in a study published in the Nov. 18 journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. The one-year, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial analyzed the effect of homocysteine-lowering B-vitamins on biochemical bone turnover markers and bone mineral density in osteoporotic patients. The study included 47 subjects ages 55 to 82 who were treated with either a combination of 2.5 mg folate, 0.5 mg vitamin B12 and 25 mg vitamin B6, or placebo; bone mineral density at lumbar spine and hip was measured at base line and after one year. Vitamin B was the focus of a recent Norwegian study that evaluated the effects of vitamin B on cardiovascular events and concluded it is not justified as secondary prevention in reducing risk of death or major cardio events (1"The Tan Sheet" Sept. 10, 2007, In Brief)...