Myths about calcium intake

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A man comes to see a doctor.
– Doctor, I'm so worried, my wife is cheating on me, but for some reason the horns do not grow.

Doctor:
– And they should not grow, this is a figurative expression.

Man:
Thank you doctor, you put my mind at ease! And then I started to worry, I thought maybe there was not enough calcium in the body.

(From the practice of a therapist)

For the simple reason that most kidney stones contain calcium oxalate, until recently, physicians believed that calcium-rich foods could cause them to form. However, scientists at Harvard University managed to prove that this is not true.

For four years, they followed 45 patients, investigating the relationship between the disease and diet. The result was amazing: calcium-rich foods, on the contrary, reduce the risk of kidney stones. Experts explain this conclusion by the fact that this substance, contained in foods, reduces the absorption of oxalate by the body – and destroys the kidneys. Interestingly, calcium, which is part of food supplements and vitamin complexes, does not have this wonderful property.

And now for another myth related to the use of calcium. It is believed that the risk of developing a chronic bone disease such as osteoporosis (one in six women and one in eight men over 50 suffer limb fractures due to brittle bones) is reduced by taking additional doses of calcium, drinking increased amounts of milk. However, not all experts agree with this. So, for example, Walter Willett, a professor at Harvard Medical School, sees no reason to introduce shock doses of milk into the diet:

“The dairy industry is trying to convince us of the need for calcium, but in America, osteoporosis is a very common disease, although calcium intake is one of the highest in the world.”

It has been established that the additional intake of this substance increases bone mass. But it was also found out that this happens only once and only by 2%. When calcium intake is stopped, bone mass returns to its previous state.

Myths about calcium intake

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How dairy products help prevent fractures, Colin Campbell, a well-known biochemist at Cornell University, decided to find out. He turned to world statistics. Studying nutritional and disease data collected in the 80s in virtually vegetarian China, Dr. Campbell was struck by the low rate of osteoporosis in that country, five times lower than in the West. But most Chinese receive calcium only from vegetables and fruits, and almost half as much as recommended to Americans.

After researching the dairy-free vegetable diet of the Chinese, Campbell concluded that although calcium from milk promotes bone growth, the remaining components of dairy products, some proteins and especially sodium, leach calcium from bones. As for the Chinese themselves, they have enough calcium, which they get from dark green vegetables and legumes, since it is not washed out of the body.

Myths about calcium intake

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The American scientist also noted the fact that the relationship between an increase in calcium intake and osteoporosis is observed throughout the world. Where diets are high in dairy products (North America and northern Europe), where two to three times more calcium is ingested, people are twice as likely to break bones than in countries with the lowest calcium intakes (Asia and Africa)).

Campbell's conclusion: it is desirable to obtain calcium not from dairy products, but from vegetables and legumes.