In Western culture, talking about the contribution of calcium is talking about milk and its derivatives. This is however another of the myths of modern nutrition promoted by the interests of the dairy industry.
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FIRST OF ALL SOME NOTIONS OF COMMON SENSE
- -We are the only mammal that continues to drink milk after teething.
- - We do not know of any other species within mammals that substitute breast milk for the milk of another species.
- -A calf is born and stands up as soon as possible, in the first year of life reaches a weight 180 Kg .; For this fabulous skeletal muscle development, nature has provided cow's milk with the appropriate nutrients: calcium and proteins in abundance. Precisely because of that, cow's milk has been exalted by modern nutrition; but human breeding does not need such a development in its first year of life, the priority is the maturation of its nervous system and its immune system, for this they are the mother's milk and lactation.
THE ADVANTAGES OF MILK AS A SOURCE OF CALCIUM
We can mention 3 reasons why milk has been exalted as a good source of calcium:
- 1) Milk contains important amounts of calcium: it provides 119mg per 100gr.
- 2) The calcium in the milk comes in the form of calcium salts (caseinates and phosphates) which makes it more absorbable.
- 3) Lactose (sugar) in milk improves the absorption of calcium.
For these reasons milk has been widely extolled as a good source of calcium. However, there are several evidences against this assertion.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF MILK AS A SOURCE OF CALCIUM
- 1) The calcium in milk is bound to its proteins, which makes it difficult to absorb it.
- 2) The milk protein generates blood acidification that must be neutralized by extracting alkalizing minerals from the bones, including calcium, which are then eliminated through the urine.
- 3) This process is regulated by the hormone thycalcalcin, which in turn inhibits the absorption of calcium.
- 4) Lactose in milk, in people with intestinal intolerance to it, generates intestinal irritation and absorption problems.
- 5) Calcium is best assimilated when the food containing it has a calcium / phosphorus ratio of 2: 1; milk and its derivatives have a relatively high phosphorus content in correlation with calcium: 119mg. of calcium / 93.4mg of phosphorus per 100gr.
- 6) Milk is poor in magnesium and vitamin C, which improves the absorption of calcium.
HIGH DAIRY CONSUMPTION AND HIGHER INCIDENCE OF OSTEOPOROSIS
The main effect of calcium deficiency in the diet is osteoporosis, but against all forecasts recent studies have shown that, paradoxically, osteoporosis is much more frequent among populations that have high milk and dairy consumption (and in general a high calcium intake in your diet).
For example, the Bantu, a South African ethnic group, which has a low protein diet and a discrete calcium intake (200/300 mg of calcium per day, about half or one third of what an average American consumes) does not They present almost osteoporosis, although women are usually multiparous and breastfeed for several years. But when these women migrate to the United States and adopt the American diet they develop osteoporosis, although not as much as Caucasian or Asian women.
Eskimos, on the other hand, have a diet rich in protein and calcium (2500mg per day) and yet have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis in the world.
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Another well-known case is that of the Chinese: when the Chinese introduce milk into their diet, an increase in the incidence of osteoporosis is generated, this occurs even though Chinese people who drink milk have a higher calcium intake than those who drink milk. they do not drink milk
This paradox can be explained by the loss of calcium generated by the acidity produced by the intake of milk and meat proteins: the body counteracts the acidity by releasing minerals from the bones in the bloodstream and the kidney subsequently excretes them in the urine. This effect has been observed for all people who, without ever drinking milk, suddenly begin to drink it, as shown by the works of Drs Hsiu and Fun, from the universities of Taipei and Los Angeles.
On the other hand, studies with vegetarian populations have shown that meat consumers 65 years of age have 5 to 6 times more bone loss than vegetarians of that age. This may be due to both a high intake of animal protein (acidifier) and a low intake of vegetables.
Dr. William Ellis, a North American physician, states based on the performance of more than 25,000 blood tests, that the lowest levels of calcium were found among those who consumed 4 or 5 glasses of milk per day.
Finally, let's say that babies fed with breast milk develop their bone structure better than those fed formulas based on cow's milk, although the diet of the latter is richer in calcium. The explanation lies in the calcium phosphorus ratio in human milk (2: 1), in comparison with that of cow's milk (2: 1.6), which makes absorption difficult, since phosphorus is linked to calcium and prevents the absorption of calcium.
The issue is therefore the metabolism of calcium and not simply the quantitative contribution of it. The concern for the contribution of calcium as a supposed determining vector for the prevention and / or treatment of osteoporosis, is a concept that has been applied in a mechanistic and erroneous way at present.
Currently, the real problem is not so much the contribution as the loss of calcium, that is, the modern diet provides calcium in abundance but it generates a poor absorption and a high loss of it .
THE ABSORPTION OF CALCIUM
Normally we absorb only 20 to 30% of the calcium in our food.
THE ABSORPTION OF CALCIUM IS DIFFICULTY WITH:
- -The antacids (inhibit stomach acid which decreases the absorption of calcium).
- - Excess fiber (fiber phytates trap calcium).
- -The phosphates of the chemical additives present in the sausages, melted cheeses, potato chips, cream of milk, canned fruits, carbonated drinks, etc. (The following additives contain phosphate: e-442, e450, e338 to e-343).
- -The carbonates (inhibit gastric acidity, which decreases the absorption of calcium).
- -The oxalates, present in some vegetables such as spinach, bind to calcium and prevent its absorption.
- -The prolonged use of laxatives worsens the absorption of calcium.
IMPROVES CALCIUM ABSORPTION:
- -Good heartburn that helps solubilize calcium.
- -The presence of vitamin D that helps absorb calcium (sunbathing improves vitamin D levels).
- -Vitamin C increases the absorption of calcium by 100%.
- -The magnesium improves the absorption of vitamin D, which in turn optimizes the absorption of calcium and its retention in the bones.
- -The consumption of calcium along with a wide range of minerals such as (magnesium, boron, manganese, fluoride, silica, copper, etc.) optimizes its absorption and use. To ensure an ample supply of minerals in the diet, the consumption of vegetables is fundamental.
- -The calcium supplements so usual now really do not solve the problem and can generate calcium deposits in the arteries, kidneys and other organs.
INCREASE THE EXCRETION OF CALCIUM BY RENAL AND OTHER ROUTES:
- -Foods containing refined (acidifying) sugar increase the urinary expulsion of calcium.
- - The acidifying diet (high consumption of animal proteins and low consumption of vegetables).
- -The elevated salt intake. The normal diet contains 10 to 20 times more sodium than necessary, which alters the calcium metabolism.
A study conducted with Dutch students, for example, observed that they eliminated 20% more calcium when they ate 6000mg. of sodium a day when they only ate 3000mg.
- -The high intake of phosphorus through bottled soft drinks, meats and agrochemicals hinders the intestinal absorption of calcium.
- -The coffee and alcoholic beverages: the consumption of alcoholic beverages hinders the absorption of calcium, and the excessive consumption of coffee (8 cups a day) generates loss of calcium.
WHAT TO DO THEN ABOUT CACIO TO AVOID AND / OR COMBAT OSTEOPOROSIS?
According to the above, it is clear that the common recommendation, currently dominant, to combat osteoporosis is wrong and harmful. In fact, consume many dairy products and take calcium supplements, not only does not solve the problem but can aggravate it, because as we saw a diet rich in dairy generates blood acidity and helps increase the expulsion of calcium and other minerals through the urine . For its part, the calcium in the supplements is poorly absorbed and can be fixed in the arteries or clog the kidneys.
The real issue is to understand calcium metabolism and act accordingly. The modern diet provides huge amounts of calcium but the osteoporosis epidemic continues to grow. Remember that milk provides 125mg of calcium per 100gr., And that in the long term the abundant consumption of dairy products generates a negative balance of calcium: the urinary loss of calcium generated by the blood acidification produced by dairy products is greater, than the contribution of calcium offered by them.
OTHER SOURCES OF CALCIUM
There are numerous sources of calcium, and many of them are better than milk:
The richest sources of calcium are seaweeds , which also contain little phosphorus, are rich in minerals, and contain almost all the trace elements that the body needs, which favors the absorption of calcium.
The hiziqui seaweed contains 1300mg of calcium, and the seaweed wakame 1250mg. per 100gr., which represents about 14 times more than milk. You can get them in stores selling Japanese products, and consume them soaked by adding them to salads, or cooked in soups or vegetable stews or other dishes.
Another interesting source of calcium are oilseeds :
The sesame contains 1000mg. of calcium per 100gr., almonds 266mg of calcium per 100gr. but they are rich in phosphorus which decreases the absorption of calcium.
Spirulina algae is also rich in calcium: 100 mg per 100 grams, although it is also rich in phosphorus. However, it also provides important amounts of magnesium, manganese, B complex and other valuable nutrients for bone health.
The other important source are green vegetables such as broccoli, parsley, watercress, nettle, dandelion, cabbage, all contain between 100 and 200 mg. of calcium per 100 grams and are rich in vitamin C and magnesium, which greatly improves the absorption of calcium (spinach and rhubarb because of their high content of oxalates hinder the absorption of calcium.)
On the other hand, green vegetables are the main nutritional source of vitamin K, of whose importance for bone health I spoke in a previous submission.
It is very important to point out that vitamin K does not have coagulant effects in people who do not have vitamin deficiency, that is, that you can consume important amounts of green vegetables without fearing that a high consumption of this vitamin will increase the risk of formation of blood clots.
Other sources of calcium (in parentheses its contribution of calcium x per 100gr.):
chard (119mg.), tortillas (175mg), beans (240mg), soybeans (277mg.), cane molasses (860mg), low-fat yogurt (199mg), sardines (240mg), camembert cheese (388mg), gruyere cheese ( 1.011mg).).
In this link, the previous installments of the series "The natural treatment of osteoporis", in addition to other collaborations of Andrés Sierra in Ecoofera.