From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

Eating nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables can protect elderly men from bone loss, which can lead to hip fractures. While calcium is a important to maintaining proper bone health, it is only one of the nutrients that the body needs. Vitamin C is a key nutrient for bone health in elderly men. It protects against inflammation, which contributes to bone loss. Vitamin C is also essential for the creation of collagen, which helps strengthen bones. Unfortunately, the study that showed the benefits of vitamin C intake for elderly men did not find the same results for women. Elderly women are more prone to osteoporosis and tend to experience bone loss at a younger age than men, but women do not appear to reap the same benefits from nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables as men do. However, the study was based on a small sample size, and further studies may prove otherwise. Another unexpected finding was the impact of smoking on the study. Men who were smokers were less protected by vitamin C than non-smokers. Researchers are having difficulty finding financing for further clinical trials because vitamin C cannot be patented, thus drug companies are uninterested in pursuing this finding.

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