RESEARCH ON FOODS THAT HELP HEAL BROKEN

BONES
Summarized by Rosemary Fisher
Nutrition's Role In Increasing The Speed Of Bone Healing

The most important influences on fracture healing are nutrition and overall health, including
bone health, before the injury, says orthopedist Martin Yahiro, M.D., a consultant to FDA.
"That's why it's so important all your life to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking and get
enough calcium and vitamin D, so you lay down as much bone as possible during growth and
keep as much as you can later on."

The healing time for broken bones is influenced by a number of variables that nutrition can
impact including blood supply. For example, the ends of long bones are vascular so they heal
faster than the center.  Certain types of food and exercise foster increased blood supply and
hence time it takes to heal.    Mobilization, i.e. weight bearing exercises and isometric exercises
stimulates healing. 

High Calcium Foods For Bone Healing

There are number foods that are high in calcium to consider. The following chart should serve as
a guideline.

Calcium content of different foods

Milligrams
Type of food Amount
of Calcium
Non fat yogurt 1 cup 415
Sardines (Atlantic with bones) 3 oz 372
Collard Greens 1 cup 355
Pink Salmon (canned with bones) 6oz 334
Skim Milk 1 cup 302
Calcium Fortified Orange Juice 1 cup 302
Bok Choy 1 cup 250
Almonds 3 oz 198
Turnip Greens 1 cup 200
Soy Beans 1 cup 180
Broccoli 1 cup 180
Mustard Greens 1 cup 150
Black Molasses 1 tbsp. 140
Great Northern Beans 1 cup 140
Non fat Baked Beans 1 cup 130
Tofu 1 cup 130
Navy beans 1 cup 130
Corn Tortilla 1 tortilla 120
Kidney Beans 1 cup 115
Okra 1 cup 90
Acorn Squash 1 cup 90
Spinach (Cooked) 1 cup 74
Orange 1 med. 60
Raisins 1/4 22
Peanut butter 2 tbsp. 18

The key to better usage of your calcium intake is not just increasing the calcium but also
increasing your ability to absorb the calcium. The recipes in all my books are very high in
calcium rich foods and are specifically designed to increase your ability to absorb calcium. For
additional information, see my research section on ways to increase absorption of calcium in my
latest book Recipes and Research on Dementia, Heart Disease, Osteoporosis and Cancer 

Lysine To Increase Calcium Absorption

Lysine is an amino acid that helps in the absorption of calcium. Lysine a protein building block,
can increase the amount of calcium absorbed into the matrix according to Peter Furst, M.D.,PhD.
in the Jan./Feb. 1993, Nutrition (9: 70-2).    It is an essential amino acid necessary for the
regeneration of tissues, and the building and healing of broken bones. Research studies show that
lysine can increase the amount of calcium absorbed into the bone matrix. The amount in one
particular study was 800 mg. As lysine promotes the formation of muscle protein, it may be
important in healing after operations and injuries. There are a number of foods that can add
lysine to your diet, such as low fat milk, fish, yeast, and soy products. I find that defatted soy
flour is the best source of Lysine because there are 3300mg of lysine in 3 1/2 ounces of defatted
soy flour. This is an important reason to use defatted soy flour in the foods you eat. In my latest
book I have many recipes using defatted soy flour.

Vitamin C As A Bone Healer

Vitamin C is essential nutritionally to make the collagen that helps the body form healthy bones.
It also promotes wound healing. You also can get numerous additional benefits from Vitamin C.
For example, researchers at New Mexico Medical School found that adults with high blood
levels of vitamin C scored higher on mental tasks than those with low levels of vitamin C. Many
of my recipes are high in vitamin C. 
Aspirin And Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Can Retard Bone Healing

When you break a bone or tear a muscle and are on pain medication, you may want to try to stop
taking the pain medication as soon as possible so you do not delay healing.  A study in May 1995
issue of The Journal of Orthopedic Trauma shows damaged cells in a fracture release large
amount of chemicals called prostaglandins.  These chemicals cause the pain and are blocked by
the pain medication.  However prostaglandins are also very important in the first stage of tissue
repair.  So decreasing the use as soon as possible is helpful to the healing process. 

Furthermore a study in the October 1995 issue of the Journal of Rheumatology found that
continued use of anti-inflammatory drugs over several months can increase the rate of
cartilaginous breakdown in joints of people who have osteoarthritis.   The drugs mentioned in the
studies include Aspirin, Anaprox, Lodine, Meclomin, Motrin, Naprosin, Pensile, Relafen,
Toreador, Tolectin, Indocin and Ibuprofen.

Vitamin K To Promote Bone Healing

Vitamin K, also called Menadione, is a very important fat-soluble vitamin that plays a key role in
the regulation of normal blood clotting functions. We get vitamin K from several sources in our
diet including dark leafy vegetables. Vitamin K also assists in converting glucose into glycogen
for storage in the liver. Numerous studies indicate that it plays a role in forming bone formation
and preventing osteoporosis. If you want to help bones heal faster, consider increasing your
intake of Vitamin K rich foods. I have numerous recipes for these in my books. 

Smoking Slows The Healing Of Broken Bones

Many studies have shown that broken bones tend to take longer to heal if the injured person has
been smoking. Cigarettes can also increase the risk of blood clotting, which may further reduce
blood flow. Breakdown products of cigarette smoke include carbon monoxide, formaldehyde,
nitrosamines and benzenes which can damage the cells that form the bone itself and can interrupt
the healing process after a fracture or bone injury. [Hadley MN et al. Smoking and the Human
Vertebral Column: A Review of the Impact of Cigarette Use on Vertebral Bone Metabolism and
Spinal Fusion. Neurosurgery (1997); vol. 41, pp. 116-122]. 

Boron's Role In Bone Healing

Boron is important in bone healing because studies how show it reduces urinary excretion of
calcium and magnesium and significantly increases blood levels of both estrogen and
testosterone. The are many food high in boron. Apples are the highest. You will find many
recipes in my books that use apples and other high boron foods. 

Avoid bone robbers

To maximize the rate of healing it is helpful to avoid bone robbers such as sugar, salt, alcohol,
caffeine, red meats etc.  See detail descriptions in the osteoporosis sections of my books 
Role of silica and zinc

Both silica and zinc are important for the repair of tissues.  Silica is also important also in
helping the calcium to be absorbed.    Ensuring that these are in you diet is a another way to
potentially decrease the time it takes to heal from a fracture

Simple comfort tips

If you are in a wheel chair or bed, be sure to get the convoluted mattress pad for your bed and
wheel chair.  If you have a leg cast or brace, consider using side zippered ski pants for easy on
and off of your pants. 

If you have bruised a muscle in your break, and need some pain relief,  be sure to explore the use
of the T.E.N.S unit.  You can try it out at most physical therapy sessions. If it works for you, you
can get your doctor to give you a prescription for it and in many cases your health insurance will
pay for the cost rental or purchase.  You can also just purchase it yourself for as low as $99-$150
U.S on the web. 

I have personally used the T.E.N.S in my last fall, and it was a life saver.  It gave me the pain
relief I needed to be able to do the exercises to heal my bruised muscle.  Be sure when you use it,
not to overuse it. Just use it so you can get the relief you need to be able to to the physical
therapy you need for a permanent solution. 

Be sure to also visit  Foods that speed healing of Broken Bones as a guide to specific foods
suggested by the research. 

Links to research on the web.

There are many very valuable sources of information on fractures on the web.  One of my
favorites is

http://www.oandp.org/jpo/

It is the web site for the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics and its source of research articles is
excellent.

Best of luck for a fast recovery!  I personally know what it is like to suffer broken bones, and
how important a fast recovery is. 

Rosemary Fisher   rcfisher@rpa.net

This index provide a list research and recipes on many other ways foods can help prevent or
reverse specific conditions. 

HEALTHY EATING SITE INDEX

(Home)   (Description of books for prevention of osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and dementia) (Low fat
recipes) (Research studies on osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and dementia from the books) (Nutritional
Research on Osteoporosis Prevention)   (Foods to eat or avoid to help prevent or reverse Osteoporosis)
(Nutritional Research on Cancer) (Foods to eat or avoid to help prevent or reverse Cancer)  (Nutritional
Research on Alzheimer's Prevention) (Foods to eat or avoid to help prevent or reverse Alzheimer's) (Nutritional
Research on Overcoming Heart Disease)   (Foods that speed healing of Broken Bones) (Foods to help prevent or
reverse Heart Disease) (Research on Foods to eat or avoid for helping to Prevent Kidney Stones) (Research on
Foods for Helping To Heal Broken Bones) (Rosemary's story)  (Rosemary's talks)  (Links other nutrition
research resources on the net) (Order form for books on preventing or reversing osteoporosis, heart disease,
cancer and dementia )

 Copyright 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006   by Rosemary C. Fisher.

For permission to reprint e-mail rcfisher@rpa.net