Raw Food Vegans Have Thin But Healthy Bones

A team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found raw food vegans had many of the signs of strong bones.

Dr. Luigi Fontana, who led the study, said they had thin bones but none of the other signs of osteoporosis.

"We think it's possible these people don't have increased risk of fracture but that their low bone mass is related to the fact that they are lighter because they take in fewer calories," Fontana said in a statement.

He said he would continue to follow them to see if they develop osteoporosis later.

"Raw food vegetarians believe in eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked, processed, or otherwise altered from their natural state," Fontana's team wrote in this week's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Fontana's team studied 18 strict raw food vegans aged 33 to 85. All ate a diet that included unprepared foods such vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sprouted grains. They had been on this diet for an average of 3.6 years.

The team compared them to 18 more average Americans.

Fontana expected the vegans to have low vitamin D levels because they avoid dairy products, which are fortified with the vitamin. But in fact their vitamin D levels were "markedly higher" than average.

Vitamin D is made by the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight and is key to keeping strong bones.

"These people are clever enough to expose themselves to sunlight to increase their concentrations of vitamin D," Fontana said.

Fontana does not advocate a raw food diet. But he said that to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease people should eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Steve - This was a very small study, so one must be cautious.

Although, as we say to our clients often, and mention in our Healthy Bones Protocol, it is not about quantity, but quality of bone. This is why I say that most of the bone-enhancing medications are ineffective because they concentrate only on increasing bone mass, not quality. One could have immense, but unhealthy bones, while the next person may have thin, but healthy bones.

We do not adovcate raw food diets, because for those who have done well, we have seen more who have done poorly. Although, it makes sense that those on raw food diets have bones that are thin but healthy. Raw food dieters do not consume dairy, but eat plenty of nuts, seeds, and vegetables, which are high in calcium. They also consume a diet that is low acid, one of the major factors in protecting bone quality. What it does show yet again is that one does not need to consume milk to have healthy bones.