Plant-based Diets Increase Bone Fracture Risk

There are very few things in the wellness arena that come as unalloyed good or bad. Most things present as tradeoffs that we have to evaluate and decide what is best for us. Even aspirin, as close to a miracle drug as there is, can cause stomach ulcers and internal bleeding with long-term use.

Plant-based diets justifiably have many vocal advocates. A plant-based diet reduces your risk for many cancers, reduces overall levels of inflammation, provides high levels of anti-oxidants, helps maintain a healthy weight, reduces your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even some mental health illnesses.

But there is no free plant-based lunch. Being vegetarian or vegan requires more attention to what you eat, particularly to ensuring a diet with all the essential amino acids required to synthesize proteins. Many would consider that a small price to pay for the many benefits.

Now a recently completed study of 55,000 people in the UK has concluded that vegans, vegetarians and pescatarians (its a thing, Google it) are at much higher risk of bone fractures as they age. This study builds upon previous research revealing that plant-based diets can often fail to adequately support bone health. For example, vegetarians suffer from far more cavities and other tooth problems than those who eat meat. The 18 year long study found that vegans, vegetarians, and even fish-eating pescatarians all exhibited higher risks of fractures than meat-eaters, in some cases, astronomically so according to lead author Tammy Tong, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Oxford.

While plant-based diets are associated with lower body weight, one of the reasons they are so popular, adjusting for BMI did not remove the stubbornly high risk of fractures for those who do not eat meat. In particular, vegans suffered from a higher specific risk for broken legs and hips.

Specifically, the study found that vegetarians suffered 4.1 more fractures per 1,000 people than meat eaters, while the increase for vegans was 19.4. The study adjusted for BMI, socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and medical history. Researchers theorized that calcium is more bioavailable in a diet that includes meat. 

If you are consuming a plant-based diet, this is certainly not a reason to stop or to add meats to it. There are many demonstrated benefits to avoiding meat. But you may want to pay particular attention to bone density and health as you age.