Dietary Silicon Intake of Korean Young Adult Males and its Relation to their Bone Status

Abstract

To investigate the dietary intake status and to examine the potential role of dietary silicon intake in bone status of men, a total of 469 healthy Korean adult males aged 19–29 were observed for their diet intake and calcaneus bone density using the 3‐day 24‐hr recall method and quantitative ultrasound, respectively. Critical markers reflecting bone metabolism such as blood total alkaline phosphatase, N‐mid osteocalcin, and 1CTP concentrations were also analyzed. For quantitative data on the intake levels of silicon, we analyzed the silicon content of 363 typical Korean foods and the mean value for each food was adopted. Silicon intake of the subjects was estimated at 47.4±31.1 mg/day. The silicon intake level turned out to be higher than that in the western world (37±23 mg/day). Major sources of dietary silicon in the Korean male were vegetables (21.1% of total silicon intake), cereals and their products (19.8 %), oils and fats (18.3%), and beverages (17.4%). Silicon intake correlated positively with age and negatively with 1CTP. After adjusted with age, BMI, and intake of Ca and energy, silicon intake had no correlation with calcaneus bone density and the bone metabolism markers. These findings show that the relation between dietary silicon intake and the bone status of Korean young adult males is not clear, and further analysis is needed.