Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis and Kidney Stones:
Diets that are rich in protein, especially animal protein,1 are known to cause people to excrete more calcium than normal through their urine2 and increase the risk of osteoporosis. Countries with lower-protein diets have lower rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures.3

Increased calcium excretion increases risk for kidney stones. Researchers in England found that by adding about 5 ounces of fish (about 34 grams of protein) to a normal diet, the risk of forming urinary tract stones increased by as much as 250 percent.4

1.     Zemel MB. Calcium utilization: effect of varying level and source of dietary protein. Am J Clin Nutr 1988;48:880-3.

2.     Sherman HC. Calcium requirement in man.
J Biol Chem 1920;44:21.

3.     Hegsted DM. Calcium and osteoporosis. J Nutr 1986;116:2316-9.

4.     Robertson WG, Heyburn PJ, Peacock M, Hanes FA,
Swaminathan R . The effect of high animal protein intake on the risk of calcium stone-formation in the urinary tract. Clin Sci 1979; 57:285-8.


High protein diets contribute to osteoporosis -


“Eskimos have the highest protein consumption of most any culture yet also have the highest rate of osteoporosis.”          

          Reference:  The McDougall Plan, page 102


Osteoporosis & Milk – it doesn’t really do a body good


A 12 year Nurses’ Health study , involving 78,000 women, found no evidence at all that higher intake of mil reduced osteoporosis or bone fracture incidence.  Women who drink 2 or more glasses of milk per day had 1.45 times higher rates than those who drink one glass or less per week.
          P. 97-98, The Food Revolution, John Robbins

In January 2001, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study that reported a dramatic correlation between the ratio of animal to vegetable protein in the diets of elderly women and their rate of bone loss.  Out of 1,000 women aged 65 – 80, those in the top 1/3rd  of eating the most animal based diet, had 3 times the rate of bone loss and 4 times the rate of hip fractures as the women in the lowest 1/3rd.
          p. 103, The Food Revolution, John Robbins
 

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