Frequency of food intake and natural dietary components are potent modulators of bone resorption and bone mass in rats

Prevention of low bone mass is important to reduce the incidence of osteoporotic fractures. In this report evidence is provided that feeding habits per se, that is, increased frequency of food intake as well as a diet containing soy and other raw components, decrease bone resorption and increase bone mass in growing rats. Interim results after 6 weeks indicate that food fractionation and natural dietary components are both capable of inhibiting trabecular bone loss in aged rats. These interim results indicate that the effect of both dietary interventions are additive and together are capable of nearly completely blunting the age-dependent loss of trabecular bone mineral density. These dietary manipulations are, however, only partially effective in inhibiting the strongly increased loss of trabecular bone mineral density induced by estrogen deprivation. The fact that the natural dietary components are not more effective in ovariectomized rats as compared to intact females confirms our contention that these components may not operate by mimicking the effect of estradiol. Whether bone mass in humans is also under the control of dietary habits is not known. If so, an increased frequency of meals of appropriate composition may be used to prevent osteoporosis.