by patty » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:50 am Got Osteoporosis?
You may have first heard about osteoporosis from television ads. Perhaps you have seen the one for Boniva, in which Sally Field talks about not getting enough calcium from such foods as yogurt, spinach, and cheese. Little does she know that two out of three of those calcium-rich foods are doing much more harm than good. It is truly incredible that the very advice given by the dairy industry to control osteoporosis (drink more milk) has actually been shown by studies to aid in the promotion of the disease. Americans consume more cow’s milk and its products per person than almost every other population in the world. So Americans should have extremely strong bones, right? Unfortunately, we don’t. A study published in 2000 shows that American women age fifty and older have one of the highest rates of hip fractures in the world. The only countries with higher rates are Australia, New Zealand, and some countries in Europe, where people consume even more milk than people in the United States.[ 76] How is this happening?
Researchers have found that animal protein, unlike plant protein, increases the acid load in the body. The body responds by fighting this unnaturally acidic environment. To neutralize the acid, the body uses calcium, which acts as a base. This calcium is pulled from the bones, and the calcium loss weakens them, putting them at greater risk for fracture.[ 77]
This startling fact bears repeating. Science has shown that drinking cow’s milk and consuming other dairy products is one of the leading causes of osteoporosis. In countries where the percent of calories from animal-based foods approaches zero, this and other chronic diseases are almost completely unknown.
Dr. McDougall cites studies of two different populations that suggest that the higher the level of animal protein intake, the higher the rate of osteoporosis:
Members of the Bantu tribe living in Africa on low-protein vegetable diets are essentially free of osteoporosis. Genetic relatives of the Bantu in the United States consume plenty of meat and dairy and have osteoporosis nearly as commonly as white people in the United States.
Eskimos consume a diet very high in animal protein from fish and very high in calcium from the fish bones, yet these very physically active people have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world.[ 78]
As with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, there is no lack of information on what causes osteoporosis. It’s hardly news that would comfort the American Dairy Association, one of the largest special interest groups in the United States. In Chapter 8, we explore more of the barriers that scientists face in getting out the word about their findings. For now, you should be aware that the link between nutrition and all of these diseases is not based on some isolated study of a mouse population of ten. These studies can be found in numerous medical journals and all over the internet.
Aloha, patty
