Research Links High Risk of Bone Fractures to Non-Meat Eaters

The popularity of non-meat diets raises concern as recent studies claim it can cause a lack of calcium, vitamin B12, and iron, leading to bone fractures risks.

Non-meat diets or popularly known as a vegan diet, may have many nutritional benefits, but it seems that not everything about it is suitable for your body.

According to WebMD, non-meat eaters face a 43 percent higher risk for bone fractures than meat-eaters. This study was initiated by the University of Oxford in Britain.

According to BMC Medicine, the study consists of nearly 50,000 participants living in the United Kingdom.

The researchers found out that vegetarians and those who ate fish but not meat had a higher risk of hip fractures. However, the risk of fractures was reduced when body mass index, calcium, and protein intake were taken into account.

According to Nutritional Epidemiologist Dr. Tammy Tong, the research was the first comprehensive study conducted to know more about the risks of both total and site-specific fractures in people with different diets.

The results revealed that non-meat eaters had a higher risk of total fractures, close to 20 more cases per 1,000 people over a 10-year period. The dietary information of these participants was collected between 1993 and 2001, and a follow-up was made in 2010.

The test subjects were rigorously monitored via hospital records or death certificates until mid-2016. They analyzed data from a survey of 54,898 participants. There were 3,941 reported cases of fractures which belonged to vegans, vegetarians, and pescetarians.

As an interpretation of the data, Tong stated that low BMI is linked with a higher risk of hip fractures. Also, low calcium and protein intakes have been linked to poorer bone health.

Moreover, he said that non-meat eaters, on average, had lower BMI as well as more insufficient calcium and protein intakes than meat-eaters. That means that they have higher risks of fractures at several sites.

These results were reviewed by Lona Sandon, Department of Clinical Nutrition Program Director at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She said that the study's results were not surprising since non-meat diets were not always considered healthy and may lack several essential nutrients the body needs.

She added that these types of diets were typically associated with lowering body weight, and it can easily be a risk factor for having lower bone density. Additionally, another factor can be lower muscle mass.

Sandon noted that healthy bones also need adequate protein, phosphorus, vitamin K, and magnesium beyond calcium and vitamin D. She said that vegetarians who incorporate milk, eggs, cheese, or yogurt in their diet could get these needed nutrients.

On the other hand, vegans will most likely lack the said nutrients, including essential B vitamins, iron, and zinc. She added that meat is not necessary to achieve a perfectly healthy diet. However, incorporating some meat, poultry, or fish every once in a while can provide the nutrients the body needs.

Meanwhile, Tong recommended a well-balanced and predominantly plant-based diet can result in improved nutrient levels.