Osteoporosis and Milk

American women have been consuming an average of two pounds of milk per day for their entire lives, yet thirty million American women have osteoporosis. Drinking milk does not prevent bone loss. Bone loss is accelerated by ingesting too much protein, and milk has been called “liquid meat.”

In order to absorb calcium, the body needs comparable amounts of another mineral element, magnesium. Milk and dairy products contain only small amounts of magnesium. Magnesium is the center atom of chlorophyll:

• Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein.” Science 1986;233(4763)
• Countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis, such as the United States, England, and Sweden, consume the most milk. China and Japan, where people eat much less protein and dairy food, have low rates of osteoporosis.” Nutrition Action Healthletter, June, 1993
• What appears to be important in bone metabolism is not calcium intake, but calcium balance. The loss of bone integrity among many post menopausal white women probably results from genetics and from diet and lifestyle factors. Research shows that calcium losses are increased by the use of animal protein, salt, caffeine, and tobacco, and by physical inactivity. “Neal Barnard, M.D., Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, Understanding Health, December, 1999
• Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1995; 61 (4)
• About 50,000 Americans die each year of problems related in some way to osteoporosis.” Osteoporosis International 1993;3(3)
• Even when eating 1,400 mg of calcium daily, one can lose up to 4% of his or her bone mass each year while consuming a high-protein diet.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1979;32(4)
• Increasing one’s protein intake by 100% may cause calcium loss to double.” Journal of Nutrition, 1981; 111 (3)
• The average man in the US eats 175% more protein than the recommended daily allowance and the average woman eats 144% more.” Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health, 1988
• Calcium intake demonstrated no protective in preventing bone fractures. In fact, those populations with the highest calcium intakes had higher fractures than those with more modest calcium intakes.” Calif Tissue Int 1992;50

There is no significant association between teenager’s milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. Data indicate that frequent milk consumption and higher dietary calcium intakes in middle aged women do not provide protection against hip or forearm fractures… women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods had significantly increased risks of hip fractures, while no increase in fracture risk was observed for the same levels of calcium from non-dairy sources.” 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women American Journal of Public Health 1997;87

Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures… metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium.” American Journal of Epidemiology 1994;139

Do you know of a friend or family member with one or more of these milk-related problems? Do them a huge favor and forward this entire file to them.