Prunes (dried plums) may be a secret weapon in preventing decreased bone density, a condition known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis affects about 8 million women and at least 2 million men in the United States. Women are most commonly affected after menopause, when hormone production suddenly decreases.
In one study of 95 postmenopausal women, women who ate 10 prunes a day for twelve months finished the year with significantly higher bone mineral density than women who ate a comparable amount of dried apples. Both groups of women also consumed supplemental calcium and vitamin D. Researchers suggested that the improvement in bone density occurred partly because dried plums suppress the rate of bone resorption, or the breakdown of bone, which tends to exceed the rate of new bone growth as people age.