By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Women who maintain an overall healthy diet may benefit from a slightly reduced risk of hip fractures later in life, according to a new U.S. study. Women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet were about three tenths of a percent less likely to break a hip over about 16 years, compared to women who didn’t follow the diet, researchers found. Since the Mediterranean diet doesn’t emphasize a lot of dairy, which is usually a good source of calcium and vitamin D, it’s noteworthy that it doesn’t actually boost the rate of hip fractures, said lead author Dr. Bernhard Haring, of the University of Wurzburg in Germany.