- Membership & Community
-
Publications & News
- Journals
-
Newsroom
-
The Physiologist Magazine
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
-
Mentoring Forum
- Net Worth
- Take Care
- You … In Charge
- Work. It. Out.
- Working Off-site
- Location, Location, Location?
- Student Support
- Progressing to Postdoc
- Relationship Building
- Let’s Get It Started
- What Do We Value?
- It’s a Postdoc Life
- Coronavirus Contributions
- Creative Communications
- Selection Process
- Conference Connections
- Postdoc Appreciation
- Research Rewards
- Focus on Teaching
- Industry Insights
- Balance Beam
- Post Postdoc
- If You Build It
- Talk It Through
- Forward Bound
- I’ve Earned My PhD. Now What?
- Mentoring Q&A
- The Physiologist Magazine Readers Survey
- Evolution
- Baseline by Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE
- Find Us on Social Media
-
The Physiologist Magazine
-
Professional Development
-
Meetings & Events
-
American Physiology Summit
- Abstracts
- Dates and Deadlines
- Mobile App
- Physical Poster Information
- PhysioHub
- American Physiology Summit Program
- Registration
- Speaker Audiovisual Instructions
- Summit FAQs
- Summit Newsroom
- Liability Waiver
- APS 2024 Call for Proposals
- Industry Partners
- Scientific Integrity Policy
-
2023
- APS 2023 Call for Proposals
- Women in Physiology Networking Mixer Registration
- Career Networking Lunch Form
- NIH Program Officer Panel Discussion Form
- Shocklogic Test
- Team 2023 Task Force
- Summit Industry Partners
- Shaping the Summit
- Schedule at a Glance
- Pre-Summit Events
- Pre-Summit Center for Physiology Education Workshop Registration
- Section & Groups Banquet Tickets
- Undergraduate Program Book
- Travel & Transportation
- Summit Store
- Pre-Summit Center for Physiology Education Workshop
- Press Registration
- Meet the Organizers
- Keynote Speaker—Terrie Williams, PhD
- Keynote Speaker—David Julius, PhD
- Industry Workshop Information
- Important Dates and Deadlines
- Hotel Information
- Game Changers
- Distinguished Lecturers
- Building APS 2023
- Awards at the Summit
- 2023 Summit Information
- Webinars
- Related Meetings
- Future APS Conferences
-
Past APS Conferences
- APS Institute on Teaching and Learning
- Integrative Physiology of Exercise
- Seventeenth International Conference on Endothelin (ET-17)
- New Trends in Sex and Gender Medicine
- APS Institute on Teaching and Learning (2022)
- Control of Renal Function in Health and Disease Conference
- Comparative Physiology: From Organisms to Omics in an Uncertain World
- Experimental Biology
- Conference Policies
-
American Physiology Summit
- Awards
-
Career & Professional Development
-
Career Gateway
-
Resources
- Transcript—Leading Through Conflict and Difficult Conversations
- Transcript—Managing Conflict with Colleagues
- Transcript—Leading a Team Through Conflict
- Transcript—Providing Difficult Feedback
- Transcript—Team Dynamics and Culture Primer
- Transcript—Building a Team
- Transcript—Leading a Team Assigned to You
- Transcript—Creating a Team Culture
-
Resources
- Career Navigator
- Center for Physiology Education
- Job Board
- Professional Skills Training Courses
- Medical Physiology Refreshers
- Mentoring
- APS Graduate Physiology & Biomedical Science Catalog
-
Career Gateway
-
Meetings & Events
-
Advocacy & Resources
- Policy Areas
-
Resources
- Researcher Resources
- Educator Resources
- Trainee Resources
- Student Resources
-
APS Graduate Physiology & Biomedical Science Catalog
- Augusta University
- Brandeis University
- Chatham University
- Des Moines University
- East Tennessee State University
- George Washington University
- Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
- Marquette University
- Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences—Biomedical Engineering & Physiology
- Medical College of Wisconsin
- Michigan State University
- New York Medical College
- Nova Southeastern University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Saint Louis University
- Southern Illinois University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas A&M University Medical Physiology
- Stony Brook University
- The University of Iowa
- The University of Mississippi Medical Center
- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC)
- The University of Texas at Arlington
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University at Buffalo
- University of Colorado
- University of Delaware
- University of Florida
- University of Louisville
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of Missouri-Biomedical Sciences
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- University of New Mexico
- University of Oregon
- University of South Carolina School of Medicine
- University of Texas Health Science Center
- Wayne State University
- Wake Forest University
- Physiology Department Catalog Submission Form
- Career Gateway
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Advocacy
- About APS
Study suggests daily prune consumption may reduce osteoporosis risk after menopause
Philadelphia (April 2, 2022)—A study in postmenopausal people suggests eating nutrient-rich prunes every day may be beneficial to bone health, reducing inflammatory factors that contribute to osteoporosis. The research will be presented this week in Philadelphia at the American Physiological Society’s (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2022.
An estimated 13.6 million people in the U.S. over the age of 50 will develop osteoporosis—a loss of bone strength caused by reduced mineral density of the bones—by the year 2030. Osteoporosis increases the risk of fracture, especially in older adults. People who experience menopause have lower levels of estrogen, which trigger an increase in inflammation in the body, which can also contribute to bone loss.

Previous research has shown that polyphenol extracts—plant compounds that act as antioxidants and reduce inflammation—in prunes promote lower levels of oxidative stress and inflammation in a type of bone cell called osteoclasts. In a new study, researchers from the Integrative and Biomedical Physiology Program and the Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Kinesiology at The Pennsylvania State University explored the effects of prunes on bone health after menopause.
Postmenopausal women with a bone mineral density score that was defined as low—a marker of osteoporosis—were divided into three groups:
- One group ate 50 grams (g) of prunes (about six prunes) daily for 12 months.
- A second group ate 100 g of prunes (about 12 prunes) daily for 12 months.
- A control group ate no prunes.
The research team looked at blood samples taken from all volunteers before and after the trial and found significant reductions in inflammatory markers in both of the prune-eating groups compared to the control group.
“Our findings suggest that consumption of six to 12 prunes per day may reduce pro-inflammatory mediators that may contribute to bone loss in postmenopausal women. Thus, prunes might be a promising nutritional intervention to prevent the rise in inflammatory mediators often observed as part of the aging process,” said Janhavi Damani, MS, first author of the study.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To schedule an interview with a member of the research team, or request the abstract, “A randomized controlled trial of dietary supplementation with prunes (dried plums) on inflammatory markers in postmenopausal women,” please contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more research highlights in our Newsroom.
About Experimental Biology 2022
Experimental Biologyis the annual meeting of five societies that explores the latest research in physiology, anatomy, biochemistry and molecular biology, investigative pathology and pharmacology. With a mission to share the newest scientific concepts and research findings shaping clinical advances, the meeting offers an unparalleled opportunity for global exchange among scientists who represent dozens of scientific areas, from laboratory to translational to clinical research.
About the American Physiological Society
Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.
Related Content
- Announcing Virtual Press Conference for the American Physiology Summit
- Could Loss of Smell from COVID-19 Create Future ‘Dementia Wave’?
- Math Model Shows Climate Change Puts Rainforest Animal’s Survival in Jeopardy
- Discovery, Climate Change and Comparative Physiology
- Diuretics Work Differently According to Biological Sex and Time of Treatment
- Brown Fat May Help Improve Cancer Survival Rates
- Virtual Population Model Predicts and Stops Kidney Damage in Black Americans
Contact Us
Communications Department
844.526.1700