Ipriflavone is marketed as a natural way to prevent bone thinning appears ineffective, according to results of a 3-year study in Denmark. Researchers even found some women who took the supplement experienced a drop in their white blood cell counts, a condition that can impair the immune system.
Ipriflavone, is a synthetic version of one of the isoflavones, which are plant-based compounds with estrogen-like effects. While ipriflavone is sold in health-food stores in the US, it is used as a prescribed osteoporosis treatment in Europe and Japan.
All of the women in the study took calcium supplements.
By the end of the study, there was no difference in bone density between the ipriflavone supplemented and placebo groups.
And about 13% of women on the ipriflavone developed lymphocytopenia, a drop in white blood cells that, in most of these cases, resolved after the women stopped taking ipriflavone.
Although earlier studies have suggested ipriflavone does fight bone thinning, these findings suggest that compared with other osteoporosis treatments, ipriflavone offers little benefit.
The Journal of the American Medical Association March 21, 2001;285:1482-1488
I repeat my comments from last fall:
Contrary to popular belief, Ipriflavone is not a natural substance. It is a synthetic isoflavone similar to the soy isoflavone, daidzein. Most regular readers of this newsletter are well aware of my negative attitude toward soy. If you are not familiar or would like more information on soy, please visit my Soy Information Page. (/article/soy/index.aspx)
Building bones is far more complex than just taking calcium or any other supplement. Many minerals are required, such as magnesium, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, phosphorus and others. However, if you are consuming large quantities of high quality organic vegetables it is highly likely you will obtain most all of the mineral base you will need to build your bones.
Exercise and eating plenty of whole vegetables are the most profound ways to build bones.
Don't forget that vitamin D is essential to absorb the minerals and unless you have good sun exposure, particularly in the winter, you will need a supplement to prevent bone loss. Even if the warmer months, if you are indoors all day long you will likely be vitamin D deficient as well.
Another article this week discusses the importance of vitamins D and K in bone health, particularly in postmenopausal women. Vitamin K is mostly found in green leafy vegetables, eggs, and is also produced by bacteria in the intestines.
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