Calcium & Osteoporosis

Sun Jul 8 02:44:24 EDT 2001

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C10760.47AC17C0
Content-Type: text/plain;
        charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Some interesting information from:

http://www.wholesome.com.au/nutlife.html

Q. What should women (or men or children) eat to obtain
calcium if they don't drink milk?  I am concerned about
osteoporosis.

A. The orthodox nutritional view is that we need a lot of
calcium daily. The recommended daily allowance for women
is 800 milligrams, for men 1,000 mg and for pregnant and
lactating women 1,500 mg.

However some interesting facts make a mockery of these
figures - if the diet is healthy.

1. Eskimos who consume between 1000 mg and 2000 mg of
    calcium daily suffer rampant osteoporosis.

2. Japanese women who consume only 300 mg daily rarely
    suffer osteoporosis.

3. Bantu women, consuming 200-300 mg of calcium daily
    have the lowest incidence in the world.

Osteoporosis, in which bones become porous through loss
of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, is less common
in populations in which dietary intake of calcium is low than
it is in high-calcium milk-drinking affluent societies such
as ours.

So how can this be?

Our bodies tend to recycle calcium and need only 200-300 mg
daily, UNLESS WE HAVE A RELATIVELY HIGH PHOSPHORUS
INTAKE.  Excess phosphorous has to be eliminated in the
form of calcium phosphate and to obtain the calcium for this
it is leached from the bones. Hence high phosphorous intake
greatly increases the calcium loss from the body and sets up
the need for an artificially high dietary intake.

High phosphorous levels are found in red meat, canned meats,
very salty foods, processed cheeses and cottage cheese, soft
drinks (phosphoric acid is added), breads, cereals and grain
products, instant soups and puddings, baked products and
many others. Affluent societies like ours consume a lot of
these foods, so we need a very high calcium intake. Even then
there is still a lot of osteoporosis. In contrast, the Japanese,
Bantu and other populations consume less processed foods
don't get a lot of phosphorous, don't need excessive calcium
and don't suffer the osteoporosis that we do.

While dairy products are high in calcium, the plant foods in
a healthy non-dairy diet normally provide adequate calcium
without all the saturated fat, cholesterol, etc. Here are some
calcium contents per 100 g of food (including cheese and milk)
from the richest down:

 Sesame seeds unhulled (1160 mg)
 cheddar cheese (860 mg)
 blackstrap molasses (684 mg)
 torula yeast (420 mg)
 carob powder (354 mg)
 linseed/flax seed (270 mg)
 parsley (260 mg)
 dry soya bean (230 mg)
 hazelnuts and Brazil nuts (210 mg)
 goat's milk (130 mg)
 broccoli and sunflower seeds (120 mg)
 cow's milk (115 mg)
 sesame seeds hulled and spinach (110 mg)
 pure maple syrup (100 mg)

You'll see that the cow's milk is quite low on the list
compared to nuts and parsley. By having a balanced diet
of natural, unprocessed foods, there should be a minimal
risk of osteoporosis.

This article and others about whole foods and nutrition
can be found at:

http://www.wholesome.com.au/nutlife.html

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C10760.47AC17C0
Content-Type: text/html;
        charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2919.6307" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>Some =
interesting=20
information from: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.wholesome.com.au/nutlife.html">http://www.wholesome.co=
m.au/nutlife.html</A> Q.=20
What should women (or men or children) eat to obtain calcium if they =
don't=20
drink milk?&nbsp; I am concerned about osteoporosis. A. The =
orthodox=20
nutritional view is that we need a lot of calcium daily. The =
recommended=20
daily allowance for women is 800 milligrams, for men 1,000 mg and for =

pregnant and lactating women 1,500 mg. However some =
interesting facts=20
make a mockery of these figures - if the diet is healthy. 1. =
Eskimos=20
who consume between 1000 mg and 2000 mg of &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; calcium =
daily=20
suffer rampant osteoporosis. 2. Japanese women who consume only =
300 mg=20
daily rarely &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; suffer osteoporosis. 3. Bantu =
women,=20
consuming 200-300 mg of calcium daily &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; have the =
lowest=20
incidence in the world. Osteoporosis, in which bones become =
porous=20
through loss of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, is less =
common in=20
populations in which dietary intake of calcium is low than it is in=20
high-calcium milk-drinking affluent societies such as ours. So =
how can=20
this be? Our bodies tend to recycle calcium and need only 200-300 =

mg daily, UNLESS WE HAVE A RELATIVELY HIGH =
PHOSPHORUS INTAKE.&nbsp; Excess=20
phosphorous has to be eliminated in the form of calcium phosphate and =
to=20
obtain the calcium for this it is leached from the bones. Hence high=20
phosphorous intake greatly increases the calcium loss from the body =
and sets=20
up the need for an artificially high dietary intake. High =
phosphorous=20
levels are found in red meat, canned meats, very salty foods, =
processed=20
cheeses and cottage cheese, soft drinks (phosphoric acid is added), =
breads,=20
cereals and grain products, instant soups and puddings, baked =
products=20
and many others. Affluent societies like ours consume a lot =
of these=20
foods, so we need a very high calcium intake. Even then there is =
still a lot=20
of osteoporosis. In contrast, the Japanese, Bantu and other =
populations=20
consume less processed foods don't get a lot of phosphorous, don't =
need=20
excessive calcium and don't suffer the osteoporosis that we =
do. While=20
dairy products are high in calcium, the plant foods in a healthy =
non-dairy=20
diet normally provide adequate calcium without all the saturated fat, =

cholesterol, etc. Here are some calcium contents per 100 g of food =
(including=20
cheese and milk) from the richest down: &nbsp;Sesame seeds =
unhulled=20
(1160 mg) &nbsp;cheddar cheese (860 mg) &nbsp;blackstrap molasses =
(684=20
mg) &nbsp;torula yeast (420 mg) &nbsp;carob powder (354=20
mg) &nbsp;linseed/flax seed (270 mg) &nbsp;parsley (260 =
mg) &nbsp;dry=20
soya bean (230 mg) &nbsp;hazelnuts and Brazil nuts (210 =
mg) &nbsp;goat's=20
milk (130 mg) &nbsp;broccoli and sunflower seeds (120 =
mg) &nbsp;cow's milk=20
(115 mg) &nbsp;sesame seeds hulled and spinach (110 mg) &nbsp;pure =
maple=20
syrup (100 mg) You'll see that the cow's milk is quite low on the =

list compared to nuts and parsley. By having a balanced diet of =
natural,=20
unprocessed foods, there should be a minimal risk of=20
osteoporosis. This article and others about whole foods and=20
nutrition can be found at: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.wholesome.com.au/nutlife.html">http://www.wholesome.co=
m.au/nutlife.html</A> </DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C10760.47AC17C0--