Don't lose Your Calcium!

Here are some important facts on Calcium and Dairy!

Dairy might not be as healthy as you think it is. Most of us are told, while growing up, to drink our milk and we will grow up strong and healthy. This statement doesn’t hold ground with all the dairy consumption research at our fingertips today. Looking at this research we have a better understanding of how dairy truly affects our bodies.

Many people think they need Milk/Dairy to protect themselves from Osteoporosis or bone loss. In order to understand Osteoporosis one has to look at a process called negative Calcium balance – this is when more calcium is excreted in the urine, than absorbed through digestion. Some published data clearly links increased urinary excretion of calcium with animal-protein but not with vegetable protein intake. Animal protein ingestion releases a heavy acid load into the blood creating a reaction in the body where calcium is released in the bones to help neutralize the acid from the animal protein.

• A Nurses and health Study found that women who consumed 95 grams of protein a day had a 22 percent greater risk of forearm fracture than those who consumed less than 68 grams.

• A comprehensive epidemiological survey involving hip fractures was done in 1992 and the survey revealed that diets high in animal protein had the highest correlations with hip-fractures.

• Vegetables are alkaline, not acid-producing, so they do not induce urinary calcium loss. Vegetables have calcium-absorption rates of over 50 percent, compared with about 32 percent for milk.

• A majority of the American diet consists of animal foods, refined grains, and sugar consumption, which all are devoid of calcium. Fruits and vegetables strengthen bones while providing potassium, magnesium and other nutrients essential for bone heath. Researchers have found that those who consume more fruits and vegetables have denser bones.

• Dietary factors that induce negative calcium balance are:

Animal Protein
Salt
Caffeine
Refined sugar
Alcohol
Nicotine
Aluminum-containing antacids
Drugs such as antibiotics, steroids, thyroid hormone
Vitamin A supplements

• The way to prevent Osteoporosis is to exercise regularly and to stop the causes of high urinary calcium excretion.

Here are some new statistics on Dairy – it is best to keep milk to a minimum. There is a clear association between high-growth promoting foods such as dairy products and cancer.

• A Nurses and Health study, sampling 80,326 Women, (performed by Dr. Kathleen Fairfield and her associates) revealed the more women that consumed higher amounts of lactose (milk Sugar), had a 44 percent greater risk for contracting invasive ovarian cancer. Women, who ate lower amounts, 3 or fewer dairy servings monthly, decreased their chances considerably. Skim milk and low-fat milk were the largest contributors.

• In April 2000 a Harvard study reported that having 2.5 servings of dairy (cow’s milk) each day boosted prostate cancer risk by more than 30 percent.

• Another controlled study in Greece reports a strong association between dairy products and prostate cancer.

• There is a strong association between dairy lactose and ischemic heart disease.

• Dairy fat is loaded with a toxin called dioxin which is a highly toxic chemical compound that the U.S. environmental Protection Agency admits is a prominent contributor to many types of cancer.

Dairy alternatives:

• Rice Milk – this is a great dairy alternative and the Vanilla flavor tastes wonderful with everything – on cereal, in oatmeal, in coffee or tea.

• Soy Milk – it has a strong taste. It works for some people and not for others.

• Soy Cheese

• Tofu cream cheese - it is called Tofutti cream cheese and it comes in many flavors. You would not know the difference between regular cream cheese and tofu cream cheese. Per serving it has 85 calories, 9 carbs, and 45 calories from fat.

You don’t need to consume dairy to get sufficient calcium in your diet. Many vegetables have a higher percent of calcium than dairy products.

Check out this comparison: Calcium in 100 calories

Bok Choy 1,055
Turnip greens 921
Collard greens 559
Kale 455
Romaine lettuce 257
Tofu 236
Milk 194
Broccoli 182
Sesame seeds 170
Soybeans 134
Cucumber 108
Cauliflower 88
Carrots 63
Fish 38
Eggs 32
T-Bone Steak 5
Pork Chop 2


* Much of the above information and research statistics came from Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman