People are regularly being exhorted to consume more calcium to prevent osteoporosis. It is practically impossible to comply with the recommendations without large amounts of cow's milk, calcium-fortified foods or supplements.
Because vegans do not consume dairy products, without fortified foods or supplements their calcium intakes tend to be low (around 400 to 600 mg per day compared to the US recommended intake of 1,000 mg per day) .
Traditionally, the vegan community has responded to this by saying that osteoporosis is a disease of calcium loss from bones, not a lack of calcium in the diet. This is based on two ideas.
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The first idea is that ecological studies have shown that countries with the highest consumption of dairy products (northern Europe and the United States) have higher rates of hip fractures than people in Asian and African countries where much is consumed. less milk This, in turn, can be explained by the second idea, which is that studies show that after ingesting animal proteins, people urinate large amounts of calcium.
Therefore, the thought is that, calcium intake is not important to prevent osteoporosis and that vegans are protected due to the lack of animal protein in their diets.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that this is not correct . It turns out that hip fractures are more indicative of the risk of falls than of osteoporosis in some countries, with a recent study from Hong Kong showing that while men and women in Hong Kong had lower rates of hip fracture, they had higher rates of vertebral fractures, and women had higher rates of osteoporosis than Caucasian women.
As for the filtering of protein from bones through urine-it's much more complicated than that. Studies that showed that the calcium that was urinated was carried out using protein isolates, while the protein consumption of whole foods does not result in a calcium imbalance. Population studies and clinical trials show that proteins, including proteins of animal origin, do not have a negative effect on bones.
Where does that leave those who lead a vegan lifestyle?
The bone mineral density of vegan people (a measure of osteoporosis) has been shown in many studies to be a little lower than that of people who are not. Most importantly, the study of Western vegans that measures fracture rates over time found that those who lead a vegan lifestyle in the group that consumes 525 mg of calcium per day have a higher fracture rate than Vegan people in the group that ingests more than 525mg. Vegans in the group that consumed less calcium also had higher fracture rates than those who consumed meat and ovo-lacto vegetarians or vegetarians.
Although it is possible to meet calcium recommendations by ingesting only vegetables, the average vegan person will probably not comply with the recommendations without drinking a glass of fortified drink each day, eating tofu, or taking about 250-300mg (in addition to eating a balanced diet of another way).
Green leaves with higher absorbable calcium include kale, mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, turnip greens, cabbage, and watercress. In addition to calcium, these contain vitamin K, potassium and magnesium, which also contribute to better bone health.
Although spinach, Swiss chard and green beet are rich in calcium, they are not well absorbed because of their high oxalate content, which bind calcium and prevent absorption in the digestive tract.
The research is mixed on whether calcium intake above 1400 mg per day can put people at risk of chronic disease. If you take a calcium supplement, it is best not to overdo it. Most vegans who take 250-300 mg per day would not be close to 1,400mg.
recommendations
For the United States, the recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 mg for adults up to 50 years of age, and 1,200 for adults 51 and older. The recommended intake of the United Kingdom is 700 mg. The evidence to date does not indicate that vegan people have lower calcium needs than those who are not.
Only a few green leafy vegetables are rich in absorbable calcium: kale, mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, turnip greens, cabbage, and watercress. If you are not eating at least 3 servings of these foods a day (one serving is 1/2 cup cooked), then you need to be consuming calcium-fortified vegetable milks, (or other calcium fortified food), calcium-fortified tofu or take a calcium supplement of 250 to 300 mg per day to make sure you are getting enough calcium. Some research indicates that it is prudent to maintain calcium intake of less than 1,400 mg per day. Calcium supplements are taken with meals, especially for those people prone to kidney stones.
Tips for calcium
- Many non-dairy milks are fortified with calcium, vitamin D and / or vitamin B12. Many orange juices are fortified with calcium.
- Calcium-fortified beverages should be stirred well to ensure that calcium has not settled to the bottom of the carton.
- Calcium supplements can inhibit iron absorption if consumed at the same time.
- In addition to calcium in green leafy vegetables, they also contain vitamin K, which is good for bones.