Calcium Rich Foods: Get All The Calcium You Need Without Milk
Yesterday I featured a report on the importance of having the right balance of calcium and vitamin D for heart health and weight maintenance. Every time calcium is mentioned I get lots of emails from people who are confused as to whether milk is a good calcium rich food or not.
Thanks to generations of dairy industry propaganda (and brilliant advertising agencies), we've all been trained to believe that dairy products are our best and primary sources of bone-strengthening-calcium that we all need.
But this just isn't true. The high phosphorus content of milk interferes with the calcium absorption. In fact, numerous studies have demonstrated that milk may actually strip calcium from the bones.
And, according to US HSI Panel member Dr Allan Spreen, there is a long list of reasons why milk is unhealthy or at least not the solution we've been told, including:
- calcium in milk is not well absorbed (and even less so once homogenised);
- there isn't enough magnesium in milk;
- there's evidence that the antibodies the body makes to milk are closely related to the antibodies that destroy islet cells (insulin producers) in the pancreas in cases of juvenile diabetes (!!);
- homogenisation breaks up the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which in its altered (smaller) state can then enter the bloodstream and react against arterial walls, causing the body to protect the area with a layer of cholesterol (!!);
- the fat content of milk is for the accelerated growth of calves; and
- milk contains pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, and Bovine Growth Hormone.
He does, however, add that cultured products (kefir, yoghurt), and enzymatically-altered products (cheese, etc.) are acceptable calcium rich foods in moderation (and possibly butter, too).
I know. It goes against everything we've been told. And if you accept it, it's bad news for those concerned with bone health who thought milk was an easy calcium rich food. But, there are calcium rich foods that far surpass anything you may find in milk. And while it may not be as obvious to most of us, the first place to look for calcium rich foods is the produce section of your supermarket.
Kale, turnip greens, collard greens and other dark green vegetables are all excellent sources of absorbable calcium. Kale has 200 mg per cooked cup, collard greens boasts 300 mg, and turnip greens contain a whopping 450 mg.
If, however, you're like me and consider those more weeds than vegetables (my mother still gets after me about that), there are still other options that are more effective than milk without all the added concerns Dr. Spreen pointed out above.
For example a non-calcium bone-strengthener you can take is the soy isolate, ipriflavone. Over 60 human clinical studies in Europe and Japan have proven that the supplement is readily absorbed into the body and reduces bone loss, bone pain, loss of mobility, and vertebral fractures in patients suffering from osteoporosis. And researchers at both the University of Budapest and the University of Bologna have proven that ipriflavone can actually increase bone density, as well.
So, while the debate over dairy is sure to continue, rest assured that there are other calcium rich foods you can eat to make yourself osteoporosis-proof.
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