Diet Prevents Osteoporosis

(all quotes below excerpted from

Joseph Keon's Whole Health, 1997)

"Osteoporosis is a disease that results in an increasing narrowing and frailty of the bones, ultimately resulting in fractures. It is a significant problem for Americans, particularly women. Each year, approximately 1.5 million osteoporosis-related bone fractures are reported, about 500,000 of which occur in postmenopausal women. While osteoporosis has traditionally been associated with inadequate calcium intake, substantial evidence implicates as strong causes excessive protein and phosphorous consumption, caffeine consumption, smoking, and sedentary living. In the second part of this book, we will see how weight-bearing exercises decrease the risk of this disease." . . . (55)

"Scientific studies document that an excessively high-protein diet (particularly animal protein) leads to a negative calcium balance, and, in turn, serious risk for osteoporosis. Yet Americans keep hearing the same message, ‘Drink your milk, eat yogurt, enjoy more cheese.’ Beyond this, the business of selling calcium supplement tablets is booming. In 1995, over $200 million worth were consumed by Americans who hoped to prevent a calcium deficiency.

"The truth is, it is important to look at how much calcium one retains, rather than what one consumes. When we compare worldwide rates of osteoporosis, we see that the disease is relatively rare in places where protein is consumed in moderate amounts. Conversely, countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) also have the highest intakes of animal proteins. Why is this? High levels of protein result in more acidic blood. In an effort to buffer this acid and achieve a more appropriate blood balance, the body utilizes calcium, eventually drawing on the calcium stored in the bones, a process known as ‘calcium leaching.’

"In one study, individuals consuming excess protein were found to have a negative calcium balance of 137 mg per day. Estimates were that, at this rate, the annual rate of loss could reach 50 grams of calcium with the potential for a skeletal mass loss of 4 percent a year. Another important finding in this study was the fact that, regardless of how much dietary calcium was increased (through calcium-rich foods or supplements), it could not compensate for the calcium losses as long as subjects remained on an excessively high-protein diet (emphasis mine)." . . . (56)

"To illustrate this further, consider the native Inuits. Their diet, composed primarily of fish, walrus, and whale, provides them with enormous amounts of calcium (upwards of 2,000 mg a day) because of the bones contained in the fish meat they eat. Such a calcium intake is over twice the United States RDA. Therefore, if more calcium is better, we should expect osteoporosis to be unheard of among the Inuits. Unfortunately, the truth is just the opposite. The Inuits have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world; correspondingly, they also have one of the highest intakes of protein in the world (300-400 grams a day)." Obviously, more calcium in one’s diet is not necessarily better." (56)

"Animal Protein and Osteoporosis

"Two factors make animal protein more calcium-costly than plant protein. As mentioned, excessive protein intake leads to greater urinary calcium losses. With excess protein the blood becomes more acidic. To buffer this acid rise the body relies on calcium, which it may leach from the bones. Compounding the problem is the fact that animal protein has more sulfur-containing amino acids which tend to increase calcium losses. Further, animal foods contain higher levels of phosphorus that may interfere with calcium absorption. Phosphorus in an important component to health, but in levels disproportionate to calcium (such as in cow’s milk), it may bind with calcium in the digestive tract and sharply reduce its absorption. Numerous studies confirm that this process of "calcium leaching" is more likely to occur with the consumption of animal protein than with vegetable protein." . . . (57)

"Plant-based foods have more moderate levels of protein, less sulfur-containing amino acids, and a better calcium to phosphorus ratio, making their calcium easier to absorb and their protein less of a threat to the body’s calcium stores (bones).

"Many people fear that if they don’t drink milk and consume milk products, they will not be getting enough calcium, protein, or vitamin D, their bones will disintegrate, and their teeth will fall out. It’s no accident that this fear exists. A great deal of advertising on the part of milk producers, as well as advice from misguided healthcare professionals, has played a big role in reinforcing this fear. After all these years of being told that we must drink the milk of another species to maintain strong bones, the reality is that no legitimate research supports this myth. On the contrary, volumes of research have continued to demonstrate that those who ingest large amounts of milk are at higher risk of osteoporosis, obesity, elevated cholesterol, heart disease, and kidney stones. (57)

"Several studies have been conducted on societies that do not consume any dairy products to see if their members are at any greater risk for a calcium deficiency and subsequent weak bones and teeth. In one such study, elderly African women who consumed no milk or dairy products were examine. While conventional wisdom would predict that these women would be frail and at heightened risk for bone fracture, the reality was very different. All of them had strong bones and teeth and not one showed a calcium deficiency. While the average American consumes in excess of 1,000 mg of calcium a day, the African women consumed approximately 500 mg daily and only from vegetable, grain, and legume sources. These women have a positive calcium balance because they retain the calcium they consume. Contrary to what one might have heard, leafy vegetables, legumes, raw nuts, and seeds contain plenty of calcium.

"Although the current recommended daily intake for calcium is actually 800-1,200 mg, it is based upon a diet that is excessive in protein. When protein intake is reduced to modest levels, and protein is derived from vegetables, legumes, and grains, an intake closer to 500 mg of calcium becomes adequate." . . . (59)

"[T]hose who are most likely to influence our health—physicians and other healthcare providers—are themselves mostly uninformed about nutrition. Like the patients they treat, most medical doctors have adopted the common food myths and prescribe eating habits that will likely ensure that their patients continue to return. Yet medical doctors cannot be blamed entirely for their ignorance. It has been found that of the 125 medical schools in this country, only 30 require anything more than three hours in basic nutrition for their graduates. Unfortunately, the emphasis in medical school is placed on treating illnesses once they have developed rather than on preventing them from occurring." . . . (59)

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Jock Doubleday

Director

Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.

http://www.GentleBirth.org/nwnm.org

http://www.SpontaneousCreation.org

director@spontaneouscreation.org