A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests eating leafy green vegetables like spinach and broccoli, which are rich in vitamin K, may help strengthen bones. The findings suggest the little-understood protein osteocalcin may play a significant role in bone strength.
Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute conducted the study that details how fractures in healthy bones begin with the creation of incredibly tiny holes, each measuring only about 500 atoms in diameter, within the bone’s mineral structure. In the case of a slip, trip or fall, the force of the impact on a bone physically deforms a pair of joined proteins, osteopontin and osteocalcin, and results in the formation of nanoscale holes.
The holes, called dilatational bands, function as a natural defense mechanism, and help to prevent further damage to the surrounding bone. However, if the force of the impact is too great—or if the bone is lacking osteopontin, osteocalcin, or both—the bone will crack and fracture.
“This study is important because it implicates, for the first time, the role of osteocalcin in giving bone the ability to resist fracture," the researchers said. “Since osteocalcin is always the point of fracture, we believe that strengthening it could lead to a strengthening of the overall bone."
The findings may lead to new strategies for strengthening the bond between osteocalin and osteopontin.
Augmenting the body’s natural supply of osteocalcin, for example, could be one possible strategy for treating osteoporosis and other conditions leading to increased fracture risk, the researchers said. Osteocalin must be in its carboxylated form to get absorbed into bone, and the protein is carboxylated by vitamin K. Future studies could investigate the relation between vitamin K intake, osteocalcin and bone strength.
“Currently, all of the advice for treating osteoporosis is related to calcium.
We believe there’s more to the story than just calcium, and the results of this new study raise an important question about vitamin K. Leafy green vegetables are the best source of vitamin K—wouldn’t it be great if eating spinach and broccoli was not only healthy, but also good for your bones? We plan to investigate this link in future," they said.
