Zinc Supports Bone Health

A recent study indicates that zinc supplementation supports bone density in postmenopausal women with insufficient zinc intake. Zinc is an essential mineral required as a cofactor for approximately 100 enzymes in the body. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) revealed that 35-45 percent of American adults aged 60 years or older had zinc intakes below the estimated average daily requirement of 6.8 mg per day for elderly females and 9.4 mg per day for elderly males.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 224 postmenopausal women between 51 and 80 years of age were supplemented with 600 mg calcium plus placebo daily or 600 mg calcium plus 12 mg zinc and 2 mg copper daily for 2 years. The women were assessed for whole-body bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and T-score (a calculation of bone mineral density) at the beginning of the study and twice per year during the study. The women also completed a 5-day food diary annually.

The study found that whole-body bone mineral content, bone mineral density and T-score decreased after 2 years compared to values at the beginning of the study. The results showed that in women with zinc intake of less than 8.0 mg per day, zinc supplementation supports strong healthy whole-body bone densities and T scores. Furthermore, the study showed that magnesium intake of less than 237 mg per day, copper intake of less than 0.9 mg per day and zinc intake of less than 8.0 mg per day were associated with poorer bone health.

The study authors concluded that zinc supplementation may be beneficial for bone health in postmenopausal women with zinc intake of less than 8.0 mg per day.

Reference:

Nielsen FH, Lukaski HC, Johnson LK, Roughead ZK. Reported zinc, but not copper, intakes influence whole-body bone density, mineral content and T score responses to zinc and copper supplementation in healthy postmenopausal women. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jul 1. Published Online Ahead of Print.