Dried Plums Prevent Inflammation And Improve Bone Health in Osteopenic Men

Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy men, between the ages of 55 and 80, whose lumbar spine BMD t-score is between 0.1 and 2.5 SD below the mean will be included. Participants who are not on testosterone and/or other pharmacological agents known to affect bone, or who have initiated an exercise program within the past 12 months known to influence bone (e.g. resistance training exercise), will be enrolled in this proposed study. Exclusion Criteria: * The subjects who will be recruited for the study should not be receiving endocrine (e.g. prednisone, other glucocorticoids) or neuroactive (e.g. dilantin, phenobarbital) drugs or any drugs known to influence bone and calcium metabolism. Men who have initiated regular exercise regimens known to influence bone within the past 12 months prior to the study, e.g. resistance exercise training will also be excluded. Men whose BMD t-score at any site that falls below 2.5 SD of the mean will be excluded from the study. Furthermore, subjects treated with calcitonin, bisphosphonates, denosumab, raloxifene, anabolic agents, e.g. PTH and growth hormone, or steroids within a year prior to the start of the study will be excluded. In addition, subjects with metabolic bone disease, renal disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, gastrointestinal disease, liver disease, or other chronic diseases will be excluded. Potential subjects with a body mass index (BMI) \< 18 and \> 40 will be excluded to avoid extremes in …