Dairy *Causes* bone breaks not prevents them

There is a myth sold to the American public by a multibillion-dollar industry—an industry that has repeated its marketing message so often and for so long that most people now believe that dairy products are essential to bone health, despite extensive evidence to the contrary. The dairy industry has an army of dietitians, public relations consultants, and lobbyists on its payroll but does not have the evidence on its side.

The dairy pushers pay dietitians, doctors, and researchers to endorse dairy products, spending more than $300 million annually, just at the national level, to retain a market for their products. The dairy industry provides free teaching materials to schools and pays sports stars, celebrities, and politicians to push an agenda based on profit, not public health. Dr. Walter Willett, veteran nutrition researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, says that calcium consumption via dairy-product intake "has become like a religious crusade," overshadowing true preventive measures such as physical exercise. To hear the dairy industry tell it, if you consume three glasses of milk daily, your bones will be stronger and you will be able to rest assured that osteoporosis is not in your future. Not so.
After examining all the available nutritional studies and evidence, Dr. John McDougall concludes: "The primary cause of osteoporosis is the high-protein diet most Americans consume today. As one leading researcher in this area said, 'eating a high-protein diet is like pouring acid rain on your bones.'" Remarkably enough, both clinical and population studies show that milk-drinkers tend to have more bone breaks than people who consume milk infrequently or not at all. For the dairy industry to lull unsuspecting women and children into complacency by telling them to be sure to drink more milk so that their bones will be strong may make good business sense, but it does the consumer a grave disservice.

Much of the world's population does not consume cow's milk, and yet most of the world does not experience the high rates of osteoporosis found in the West. In some Asian countries, for example, where consumption of dairy foods is low, fracture rates are far lower than they are in the United States and in Scandinavian countries, where consumption of dairy products is high.

While reading this, please remember that dairy products contain no complex carbohydrates or fiber but are packed with saturated fats and cholesterol and have been linked to heart disease, cancer, Crohn's disease, and a host of childhood illnesses from asthma to diabetes.

Mon. Aug 27, 3:15pm

This is from a study at Yale:

After looking at 34 published studies in 16 countries, researchers at Yale University found that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis—including the United States, Sweden, and Finland—were those in which people consumed the most meat, milk, and other animal foods. This study also showed that African-Americans, who consume, on average, more than 1,000 mg of calcium per day, are nine times more likely to experience hip fractures than are South African blacks, whose daily calcium intake is only about 196 mg. Says McDougall, "On a nation-by-nation basis, people who consume the most calcium have the weakest bones and the highest rates of osteoporosis. ... Only in thoseplaces where calcium and protein are eaten in relatively high quantities does a deficiency of bone calcium exist, due to an excess of animal protein."

Monday, August 27, 2007, 3:16 PM

Harvard's Nurses Health Study:

Harvard University's landmark Nurses Health Study, which followed 78,000 women over a 12-year period, found that the women who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. Summarizing this study, the Lunar Osteoporosis Update (November 1997) explained: "This increased risk of hip fracture was associated with dairy calcium. ... If this were any agent other than milk, which has been so aggressively marketed by dairy interests, it undoubtedly would be considered a major risk factor."

Monday, August 27, 2007, 3:18 PM

NIH Study:

A National Institutes of Health study at the University of California, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001), found that "women who ate most of their protein from animal sources had three times the rate of bone loss and 3.7 times the rate of hip fractures as women who ate most of their protein from vegetable sources." Even though the researchers adjusted "for everything we could think of that might otherwise explain the relationship ... it didn't change the results." The study's conclusion: "[A]n increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture."

Monday, August 27, 2007, 3:19 PM

Disabled World article

The common approach to preventing Osteoporosis has been prescribing large doses of calcium. For years, doctors have been telling people, mostly women, that to prevent bone loss, to increase the amount of calcium in their diet. They suggest dairy as the perfect source of the dairy. However, dairy calcium has two major flaws that actually increases and worsens Osteoporosis!

First, dairy calcium contains little or no magnesium. In order to absorb calcium into the bones, the human body needs an equal amount of magnesium. Dairy products do not have enough magnesium to accomplish this task. However, magnesium is found in abundance is green vegetables (more on this later).

Second, dairy contains too much protein. Dietary protein causes the blood to become acidic. To neutralize this acid, the body uses its largest source of calcium it can find: the skeletal system. The calcium in bones is the perfect neutralizer to the acids in protein. For example, if you take in 1000-1500 mg of high-protein calcium daily, the average person will still lose 4% bone mass each year! The body actually consumes its own skeleton to neutralize the acid found in protein.

So where do we find calcium that is balanced with magnesium and is also low in protein? In green vegetables! Vegetables such as spinach, kale, and broccoli contain large amount of calcium, a good balance of magnesium, and low levels of acidic protein. The molecular structure of chlorophyll, the green blood of plant life, contains the magnesium molecule. And we find that in countries where dairy consumption is low and green vegetable consumption is high, the incidence of Osteoporosis is low. China and Japan for example, have very low rates of Osteoporosis and they consume very little dairy.

Link

Monday, August 27, 2007, 3:21 PM

Interesting information

Once again, you can't believe everything you read. There are studies out there that can support just about any hypothesis. So, since there is so much conflicting data, the answer may just be...

"Everything in moderation!" That means diary, protien, animal products, etc. Even exercise. Too much of anything can be bad for you. Even water. Too much can kill you.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 3:28 PM

Don't you know that propaganda SPAM annoys rather than enlightens the reader-victims? Go away. Shut up. Just worry about your own stupid milk issues.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:05 PM

this is not simply a "stupid milk" issue. The reality is that we are the most obese country on the planet, have terrible health and have high rates of *all* diseases. So the issue is not just milk, but the whole overall diet. The question is what components of our diet do we change, how much do we change. I'd agree that we don't do on an anti-dairy jihad, but it makes sense to add other nutrient sources to the mix other than dairy for calcium.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:23 PM

Thank you, 3:28!

You make a great point that we all need to remember when faced with these "ANTI" kinds of threads.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:25 PM

fat people are called cows for a reason.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:33 PM

Gee, look at the timing of all the milk-hating nonsense including 3:28. Couldn't possibly be the same poster patting herself on the back and then later coming to her own defense, could it.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:36 PM

I think the vegan lobby are a bit crazy, but I definitely think the knee jerk association between milk and calcium shows that marketing works. I eat feta and spinach mixed together, goat cheese sometimes. From a nutritional perspective, you need some veggies to absorb vitamins and minerals. I don't see how these are mutually exclusive.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 4:52 PM

Alright, who's behind the anti-milk campaign?

Monday, August 27, 2007, 6:04 PM

anti milk campaign- Got Osteoporosis?

Gotta agree with the 3:28 poster. You can find a study these days that will say just about anything. It is interesting info though, and I will do some looking into it to see what pans out. It would suck if it were true, as I love milk and cheese.

One request for people who post articles- please post links as well- that way, We can see the source, and parse the information ourselves.

Monday, August 27, 2007, 6:15 PM

Hey 4:52..I'm vegan and I'm not crazy..us normal vegans just don't like to preach 'cause we know we don't like to be preached to. Most of us are a pretty decent group of people and please excuse those of us who aren't (not implying that the OP is!). They are well-intentioned but their approach, well, it leaves much to be desired!

This is an interesting article on dairy--I just posted it on the other dairy thread going right now. I'm off the stuff for good because I feel so much better physically when I don't eat the stuff but that's what's right for me, I can't speak for others.
And as another poster pointed out, you CAN find just about anything to support any point of view on the web. So what's a girl to do except try to figure it out yourself..it's tough with all this conflicting nutritional info and I find my doctor a bit clueless about it.

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/030400pudairyproductsfalsepromises.htm

Monday, August 27, 2007, 9:08 PM

i love dairy!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007, 7:37 AM

Related Content: How To Lose Weight- The Basics Weight Watchers Points System The Fat Smash Diet The Eat To Live Diet The Beck Diet Solution How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight		How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer How To Burn Fat Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Tips On Using PEERtrainer Visit The PEERtrainer Community Diet and Fitness Resources
Fitness Weight Watchers Meetings Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are Writing Down Your Daily Workouts Spending Money On A Personal Trainer? How I Became A Marathon Runner		Preventive Health How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot? Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer? Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy Reversing Disease Through Nutrition
New Diet and Fitness Articles: Weight Watchers Points Plus How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program		Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne: Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough How To Delay Short Term Gratification How To Stay Motivated How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule
Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight? Are Protein Drinks Safe? Nutrition As Medicine?		Everyday Weight Loss Tips How To Eat Healthy At A Party How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight The Three Bite Rule Tips On How To Stop A Binge