Nutritonal Guidance
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This list was last updated June, 21. 2008
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News › Milk, Calcium and Our Bones
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The thinning of bone mass or osteoporosis is now referred to as an epidemic in
the Western industrialized nations. Up to 25% of the female population of these
countries have osteoporosis, even though most of the women have consumed a
generous portion of milk and dairy products, such as cheese and yoghurt, daily
throughout their lives.
The dairy industry has succeeded well in convincing almost everyone (including
medical doctors) that calcium-rich milk products are essential to prevent the
loss of bone calcium. Few people realize that there is no valid scientific
research to support these claims. The powerful dairy lobby however wields a
strong influence on the political system and effectively insures the continued
success of its marketing strategy.
Pasteurized, homogenized cow milk is promoted as the perfect food for everyone,
especially growing children. The truth is quite the opposite, as the consumption
of cow milk products is linked to a wide range of health problems, including
allergies, asthma, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, intestinal bleeding and
diarrhea, sinusitis, arthritis, ear infections, multiple sclerosis, non-Hodgkin
lymphoma and ironically osteoporosis.
The solution to the increasing incidence of fragile bones is most certainly not
the consumption of even more milk and dairy food, as the following comparison
illustrates. Japan and Western European countries such as Germany and
Scandinavia have high rates of osteoporosis, but the Japanese consume very
little dairy food, while the Europeans eat lots. The Japanese however live the
longest of all the industrialized nations. The dairy-loving Finns and Swedes on
the other hand are plagued by high mortality rates from heat attacks and
strokes. Most people in Central America and Asia consume practically no dairy
products and have no problem with osteoporosis.
To add to the confusion, the various national and international health
authorities have very different recommendations for daily calcium intake.
Germany recommends 900 mg per day, the highest in the world, followed by the USA and Scandinavia with 800 mg. Great Britain and Italy are satisfied with 500 mg,
while the WHO (World Health Organization) claims that 450 mg are enough. Since
they all base their recommendations on current scientific information, the
subject of calcium is obviously much more complex than generally assumed.
Indeed, the role of the high calcium content of dairy food is usually overstated
in the discussion of how to maintain a proper calcium balance, as several
factors determine the absorption and maintenance of calcium. As with other
degenerative maladies, poor nutrition in general and an unhealthy lifestyle
contribute more to the loss of bone mass than the lack of high-calcium foods.
Calcium-rich vegetables such as broccoli and leafy greens cannot neutralize the
destructive effect of calcium-depleting fast foods, cola and coffee.
The phosphoric acid in cola robs calcium so effectively that it has become a
major threat to the bone health of the cola-fixated young generation. The most
important prevention of osteoporosis is the building of a solid bone mass during
youth, as we all tend to lose calcium as we get older. Many soft drinks also
contain caffeine, which even in small amounts blocks calcium absorption. Of
course the unstoppable popularity of coffee and black tea among the majority of
adults results in the consumption of more than moderate amounts of caffeine. The
average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine and black tea about 50
mg, which means that even one cup of coffee disrupts the calc ium balance and
more than that insures osteoporosis in the long run. Caffeine namely provokes
the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which upsets calcium and creates
the well known harmful stress factor in the development of disease.
Many medications cause bone loss and especially corticosteroids deplete calcium.
Long-term use of cortisone by asthmatics for example devastates the bone mass,
where 99% of the body's calcium is stored.
Alcohol indirectly blocks calcium absorption by disrupting the function of
vitamin D, which is absolutely necessary for the body to take up calcium.
Smokers consistently show thinner bones than non-smokers when tested, but
researchers do not yet fully understand how nicotine contributes to
osteoporosis.
The wide-spread use of HRT (hormone replacement therapy) to preserve bone mass
in post-menopausal women has lost much of its appeal, since the associated risk
of cancer can no longer be denied. A major study of HRT in the USA created a
storm of attention during the summer of 2002, when it was confirmed that the
risks far outweighed the possible benefits. Aside from the increased incidence
of breast and female cancer, a woman taking HRT will continue her monthly
menstruation into old age. It surely makes more sense and makes life more
enjoyable, if women preserve their bone calcium through healthy eating and
living.
A key factor in the developing epidemic of osteoporosis is the lack of
weight-bearing physical exercise, which has become so common in the era of TV
and computers Bedridden patients lose huge amounts of calcium as they lie
immobile, as do astronauts in the weightless state in space. To optimally
prevent osteoporosis one should devote about two hours daily to brisk walking or
other vigorous weight-bearing exercise. This moderate approach is much more
beneficial, as extremely strenuous athletic activity such as long-distance
running breaks down calcium. |
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