Let me drop some knowledge on you! Hehe jk. I just wanted to start off with an “attention grabber” as all of my English teachers used to push. I do have a point though. I want to discuss calcium- calcium and milk to be precise.
I often hear, “Where do you get your calcium from if you don’t drink milk?” This question makes me think two things. First, something like “wow those dairy advertisers have done their jobs well.” They have created an international frenzy over milk and calcium. I am sure they are well compensated. Second, I think something along the lines of “let me drop some knowledge on you.” I don’t know why milk commercials are immune to the skepticism that all other products on tv get. They are advertisements! They are trying to sell you something so they make unfounded claims or twist the truth a bit. For some reason dairy commercials are treated as scientific facts. Yes it is true that milk contains a lot of calcium. But it is not true that milk’s calcium helps you to build strong bones and teeth.
Your body can’t use most of the calcium in milk. You are much better off getting calcium from other sources- like leafy greens and soy. (Tofu has 4 times the calcium of milk of an equal volume.)
Have you ever wondered why the more calcium from milk we take in, the more osteoporosis we see in this country? You probably haven’t thought too much about it, but if you had you would have noticed a trend. Throughout the world, the countries with the highest per capita milk intake also have the highest per capita incidence of osteoporosis. America is right up there with the Aussies and New Zealanders for milk intake. On the other end of the spectrum you have the Asian countries that eat very little milk. Most people in China have never had any significant intake of milk, yet osteoporosis is relatively unheard of in that country. This holds true for most of Asia. When Asians start drinking milk like Americans, they start getting osteoporosis at the same rates as Americans too. So osteoporosis isn’t genetic- it is directly related to milk intake.
Here is the working theory as to why the milk actually leaches calcium from the bones. This theory is supported by studies that show that the kidneys of milk drinkers excrete more calcium in the urine than the milk drinker actually takes in by drinking milk. In other words the output of calcium is greater than the input when drinking milk. The kidneys do this directly following the intake of milk. Here is the proposed mechanism of action:
- Intake of Animal protein causes an acidic environment in the body (blood pH is lowered.)
- Calcium is released from the bones into the blood to stabalize the pH.
- This calcium is, in part, excreted by the kidneys (and then you pee it out!)
Studies have shown that this acidic environment and the calcium being excreted by the kidneys happens with any animal protein intake. Because drinking milk always means taking in animal protein with calcium there is no way to get ahead of this cycle! The good news is that studies done on vegans showed that even if they were taking in less calcium than the average milk drinker, they had stronger bones and blood levels of calcium that were comfortably in the range of normal. I had my blood work done recently and my calcium levels were a-okay! So thanks for the concern everyone, but I am good letting cow milk be for cow babies.
Milk is nasty for a number of other reasons. There are a number of websites and books out there on the subject. I have also listed, briefly, some of the biggest complaints with milk intake on the ‘For Health Nuts’ page.
I want to address one more thing! I recently had a broken 5th metatarsal in my foot. A small bone, a small fracture. I can’t tell you how many people said to me, “this happened because you don’t drink milk.” They usually said it jokingly, but were somewhat serious. To these people I say that I have had 5 broken bones in my life! The first 2 happened while growing up on an all American normal intake of milk diet. The second 2 broken bones happened while in my I-am-a-vegetarian-replace-all-missing-meat-protein-with-milk-products-diet. During this time I was eating more milk than the average American. So this last bone breaking is really an improvement. It was a far less serious break than the previous 4, and when I went back to the doctor my wearing-a-cast-sentence was shortened for good behavior! I was healing better than average. So there…
My family members also have a history of feet injuries….we have weird hyper-flexible feet that get out of place and break or sprain a lot…. No one else in my immediate family eats like me but most of them have hurt their feet and ankles multiple times.
It's Spelled D-A-I-N-A 