Misconceptions about calcium intake: a scientific perspective

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A man goes to see a doctor.
— Doctor, I'm so worried, my wife is cheating on me, but my horns are not growing.

Doctor:
— They are not supposed to grow, it's a figurative expression.

Man:
— Thank you, doctor, you reassured me! I was starting to worry, thought maybe I was lacking calcium in my body.

For the simple reason that most kidney stones contain calcium oxalate, doctors not long ago believed that calcium-rich food could cause their formation. However, Harvard University scientists have proven this to be false.

For four years, they observed 45,000 patients, studying the link between the disease and diet. The result was surprising: calcium-rich food, on the contrary, reduces the risk of kidney stones. Experts explain this finding by the fact that this substance, found in food, reduces the body's absorption of oxalate — which also damages the kidneys. Interestingly, calcium in dietary supplements and vitamin complexes does not have this wonderful property.

Now, let's talk about another myth related to calcium intake. It is believed that the risk of developing such a chronic bone disease as osteoporosis (one in six women and one in eight men over 50 suffer bone fractures due to bone fragility) decreases if additional doses of calcium are taken by consuming large amounts of milk. However, not all experts agree with this. For example, Walter Willett, a professor at Harvard Medical School, sees no reason to introduce large doses of milk into the diet:

“The dairy industry strongly convinces us of the need for calcium, but in America, osteoporosis is extremely common, even though calcium intake is one of the highest in the world.”

It has been established that additional calcium intake increases bone mass. But it has also been found that this occurs only once and by only 2%. After stopping calcium intake, bone mass returns to its previous state.

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To determine how effective dairy products are in preventing fractures, renowned biochemist from Cornell University Colin Campbell turned to global statistics. Studying the nutrition and disease data collected in the almost vegetarian China of the 1980s, Dr. Campbell was amazed by the low level of osteoporosis in the country — five times lower than in the West. Most Chinese get their calcium from vegetables and fruits, quantitatively almost half of what Americans are recommended.

After studying the Chinese dairy-free vegetable diet, Campbell concluded that, although calcium from milk does promote bone mass growth, other components of dairy products, certain proteins, and especially sodium, leach calcium from bones. As for the Chinese, they get enough calcium from dark green vegetables and legumes, so there is no leaching from the body.

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The American scientist also noted that the link between increased calcium intake and osteoporosis is observed worldwide. Where there is a lot of dairy in the diet (North America and Northern Europe), where people consume two to three times more calcium, people are twice as likely to break bones as in countries with the lowest calcium intake (Asia and Africa).

Campbell's conclusion is this: it is preferable to get calcium from vegetables and legumes rather than dairy products.