Orange juice ‘halves the risk of hip fracture’

DRINKING a couple of glasses of orange juice a day can nearly halve the risk of hip fractures, scientists claim.

A study of more than 10,000 people found it strengthened bones and protected against breaks. The secret appears to be vitamin C.

Researchers at Zhengzhou University in China compared the vitamin C intake of 2,899 hip fracture patients with 7,908 healthy volunteers of a similar age.

They found that for the juice of every medium-sized orange, the risk of a fracture dropped by 5 per cent.

It means an average-sized glass containing 8fl oz of juice could potentially reduce the risk by 20 per cent and two glasses by up to 40 per cent.

They researchers conclude: ‘Our results strongly support the idea that increasing dietary vitamin C can decrease the risk of hip fracture.’

The NHS spends about £4.6million a day treating fractures resulting from falls, and hip fractures alone cost hospitals over £1billion a year.