Ahead of World Menopause Day on Sunday, the California Prune Board emphasized the importance of a balanced diet for bone health in middle-aged women.
During menopause, declining estrogen levels — the female hormone involved in maintaining bone density — can accelerate bone loss. The California Prune Board encouraged women to pay attention to both nutrition and exercise as part of everyday health management.
Prunes, which are dried plums, are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin K, manganese and other nutrients. Vitamin K and manganese are both involved in maintaining normal bone structure.
The California Prune Board has made the relationship between prune consumption and bone health a central focus of its long-term nutrition research. A representative example is a study published in 2022 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which conducted a 12-month randomized controlled trial involving 235 postmenopausal women.
"Clinical research suggests that consuming around five to six prunes a day may help postmenopausal women maintain bone density," said Dr. Annamaria Acquaviva, a nutrition expert at the California Prune Board. "Consistently including nutrient-rich foods like prunes in the diet can support overall health." She added that "bone is not a fixed structure but a living tissue in constant interaction with muscles, hormones and gut microbiota," and that "bone health is something to tend to throughout a person's lifetime."
The California Prune Board has been consistently researching changes around the time of menopause. In 2025, it advanced two multi-year studies through joint research funding with the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The studies, conducted at Pennsylvania State University and San Diego State University, examine the relationship between prune consumption during the menopausal transition and changes in bone density, and will also assess markers related to inflammation and gut microbiota. The board plans to explore the role of prune consumption across different life stages and its connection to bone health through nutrition research over the next five years.
"Bone health deserves attention not only for women going through menopause but at every stage of life," said Esther Ritson-Elliott, vice president of the California Prune Board. "It is important to maintain a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle through nutrient-rich foods like prunes."
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