Many people believe that their bones will be so brittle they’ll snap at the slightest touch without their daily milk intake. And who doesn’t want their kids to be “strong and tough” like the Milky Bar Kid?
Unfortunately for the Milky Bar Kid, I’m here to burst his big, milky-white bubble. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),
there is much debate over whether long-term consumption of dairy products even assists in developing strong and tough bones, let alone be the main player.
In a highly cited 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who got the most calcium from dairy products received no benefit and actually broke more bones than the women who got little or no calcium from dairy. An Australian study of elderly men and women in 1994 showed that those who consumed the most dairy products actually had double the hip fracture rate of those who consumed the least.
Of course we do need calcium as part of a healthy diet. However, plant-based calcium is actually more absorbable than the calcium from cow’s milk. In fact, the animal protein that is found in dairy products can leach calcium from the bones as the acidity levels in the body increase. A study at Yale University in the US of the relationship between animal protein intake and hip fractures across 16 countries found that those with the highest meat, fish, egg and dairy consumption had the most fractures. Excess salt, caffeine and smoking will also cause calcium loss.
The best sources of calcium include dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, sesame tahini, beans, calcium-fortified soy or rice milk and calcium-fortified orange juice.
Other nutrients are important in the uptake and use of calcium. Vitamin D controls your body’s use of calcium and is important in building bones. Vitamin D is a hormone produced by sunlight on the skin and is easily absorbed by spending about 15mins a day in the sun. Another useful nutrient is potassium, which decreases the loss of calcium from the body. Potassium can be found in oranges, bananas, potatoes and many other fruits, vegetables and beans.
Vitamins K, C and magnesium are also essential for bone health and can be found in fruits and vegetables.
If you are a parent you need not stress too much about your child’s bone health. Most children have no problem developing normal healthy bones and it has been found that children in Japan, China and other
