Goren Matt   Consultant
Most cases of osteoporosis have nothing to do with inadequate calsium intake. Rather, they are caused by overly rapid calcium loss, which is primarily due to:

Animal protein: Protein from fish, poultry, red meat and eggs leach calcium from the bones. This calcium passes into the bloodstream, then filters through the kidneys and urine. A 1994 report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed, that when volunteers shifted from typical American diet to vegetarian diet, their calcium losses were reduced by one half.

Sodium: Sodium also tends to encourage calcium to pass through the kidney. Avoid salty snack foods and canned goods with added sodium, and keep salt use low on the stove and at the table.

Caffein: Its diuretic effect causes water to be lost via the kidneys, and calcium goes away with it. If you have more than two cups of coffee per day, have decaf.

Tobacco: A study of identifical twins showed that if one twin had been a long time smoker and the other had not, the smoker had more than 40% higher risk of a fracture.

Inactivity: Active people keep calcium in their bones, while sedentary people tend to lose more calcium.

Other factors are sugar,which encourages calcium losses as well, although this has not been studied extensively. Vitamin D is also important as it controls how body absorbs and retains calcium. A few minutes of sunshine a day on your skin produces all the Vitamin D you need.


Better Calcium Sources.

Certainly, your body needs, calcium, but adding calcium to your diet does little, if any, good if you are not controlling your calcium losses by avoiding animal protein and paying attention to the other factors above. Actually, countries with higher calcium intakes have higher risk of osteoporosis compared to countries with lower calcium intakes. Obviously, because these countries are also those with large dairy industries and large consumers of animal proteins.

It is easy to get plenty of healthful calcium without animal protein. The most healthful sources are green leafy vegetables and legumes, "Greens and Beans" for short.

Brococoli, brussels, sprouts, spring greens, kale, mustard cress, Swiss chard, and other greens are loaded with highly absorbable calcium.

Beans are humble foods, but you might not know that they are loaded with calcium. Actually, more than 100 mg of calcium are in a plate of baked beans. Oatmeal and figs are also good sources of calcium. If you are familiar with chickpeas, tofu or others beans or bean products, you will find plenty of calcium there, as well.These foods also contain magnesium, which your body uses along with calcium to build bones.

Concentrated calcium source can be found in calcium-fortified orange juice with roughly 300 mg of calcium per 240 ml. Dairy products do contain calcium, but they are accompanied by animal proteins, lactose sugar, animal growth factors , drugs and contaiminants and substantial amount of fat and cholesterol.

When you control calcium losses, you need much less calcium in your diet. Even so, you do need some. According to WHO, we should get 400-500 mg of calcium per day.  


Condensed from: Foods that Fight Pain
Mar 4th 2010 07:19