Soluble Corn Fiber Could Help Women Build and Preserve Bone, Study Reveals

26 Aug 2016 --- A study conducted by Purdue University has shown that by supplementing with soluble corn fiber when young, women could improve bone strength, and by supplementing when older, women could preserve bone strength.

The study claims that by supplementing at these two ‘critical’ points in a woman’s life, adolescence and menopause, women can retain calcium in their bones.

“We are looking deeper in the gut to build healthy bone in girls and help older women retain strong bones during an age when they are susceptible to fractures,” said Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and head of nutrition science.

“Soluble corn fiber, a prebiotic, helps the body better utilize calcium during both adolescence and post-menopause. The gut microbiome is the new frontier in health.”

In the post-menopausal study, calcium retention was measured in 14 women by using an isotope to measure the excretion of 41Ca to measure bone loss. 

The women consumed 0 grams, 10 grams or 20 grams of this nondigestible carbohydrate each day for 50 days. Bone calcium retention was improved by 4.8 percent and 7 percent for those who consumed 10 grams and 20 grams, respectively. These amounts of soluble corn fiber would be found in supplement form.

“If projected out for a year, this would equal and counter the average rate of bone loss in a post-menopausal woman,” explained Weaver.

For the adolescent study, thirty-one girls consumed either 0 grams, 10 grams or 20 grams of soluble corn fiber carbohydrate each day for three weeks while maintaining their regular diets. Both 10 grams and 20 grams led to improved calcium absorption by 12 percent for female adolescents, which would build 1.8 percent more skeleton a year.

In both studies, gastrointestinal symptoms were minimal and the same for the control groups, as well as in those who consumed soluble corn fiber.

“Most studies looking at benefits from soluble corn fiber are trying to solve digestion problems, and we are the first to determine that this relationship of feeding certain kind of fiber can alter the gut microbiome in ways that can enhance health,” Weaver said. “We found this prebiotic can help healthy people use minerals better to support bone health.”

Calcium is considered a shortfall nutrient, and few people meet the recommended intake of 1,300 milligrams of calcium for healthy bone mass.

“The finding doesn’t mean we should diminish our recommendation to drink milk and follow a well-balanced diet,” Weaver added, continuing, “This is a strategy to better utilize your minerals for those not consuming the whole recommendation of dairy.”

“Calcium alone suppresses bone loss, but it doesn’t enhance bone formation. These fibers enhance bone formation, so they are doing something more than enhancing calcium absorption.”

Weaver’s team is looking into the mechanisms of how soluble corn fiber boosts calcium absorption and retention, as well as if the prebiotic fiber benefits the body in other ways.