UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Feb. 19 Plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have a protective effect on bone health, says a Pennsylvania State University study.
Most omega-3 fatty acids in the diet are plant-derived and come mainly from soybean and canola oil, but other sources are in flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil as well as marine sources of fish and algae.
Omega-3 is believed to have an anti-inflammatory effect and may play an important part in heart and bone health.
The unique thing about this study is that we know exactly what the participants ate because we closely controlled their food, says Dr. Rebecca Corwin. These people are really dedicated to spend a total of 24 weeks in the study with 18 weeks eating only what was supplied to them.Previous studies of omega-3 on bone health used oil supplements rather than whole food sources.
Supplement studies typically do not involve control of the background diet, and it is possible that differences across studies could be explained by failure to control for other nutrients that affect bones, the researchers said in the report published in Nutrition Journal.
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