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Table of Contents
Introduction
What Is Osteoporosis
References
Introduction
On the other side are those who believe that consuming a lot of
milk and other dairy products will have little effect on the rate of
fractures but may contribute to problems such as heart disease or
prostate cancer.
Which view is right? The final answers aren’t in. But here is a
summary of what’s currently known about calcium and its effects on
the body.
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The body gets the calcium it needs in two ways. One is by eating
foods or supplements that contain calcium. Good sources include
dairy products, which have the highest concentration per serving of
highly absorbable calcium, and dark leafy greens or dried beans,
which have varying amounts of absorbable calcium. Calcium
supplements often contain vitamin D; taking calcium paired with
vitamin D seems to be more beneficial for bone health than taking
calcium alone. (Read more about calcium and osteoporosis.)
The other way the body gets calcium is by pulling it from bones.
This happens when blood levels of calcium drop too low, usually
when it’s been awhile since having eaten a meal containing
calcium. Ideally, the calcium that is “borrowed” from the bones will
be replaced at a later point. But, this doesn’t always happen. Most
important, this payback can’t be accomplished simply by eating
more calcium.
Milk and dairy products are not the only sources of calcium. Here is
a list of foods that are good sources of calcium:
Calcium
Food Amount
(milligrams)
Yogurt, plain, low fat 8 oz 415
Collards, frozen, boiled 1 cup 357
Skim milk 1 cup 306
Yogurt, plain, whole milk 8 oz 275
Black-eyed peas, boiled 1 cup 211
Canned salmon 3 oz 181
3 oz (¼
Calcium-set tofu 163
block)
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What Is Osteoporosis?
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There are a number of lifestyle factors that can help with the latter:
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Some other factors may also help lower the risk of osteoporosis:
Take care with caffeine and cola. Although the votes aren’t all in,
there is some evidence that drinking a lot of coffee—about four or
more cups per day—can increase the risk of fracture. Caffeine
tends to promote calcium excretion in urine. Meanwhile, the
Framingham Osteoporosis Study has found that older women who
drink cola every day have lower bone mineral density than those
who drink it less than once a month. (12) This may be due to cola’s
high levels of phosphorous, which may alter the dietary balance
between calcium and phosphorous and thereby weaken bones.
Get enough protein, but not too much. The body needs protein
to build healthy bones. But as your body digests protein, it releases
acids into the bloodstream, which the body neutralizes by drawing
calcium from the bones. Following a high-protein diet for a few
weeks probably won’t have much effect on bone strength. Doing it
for a long time, though, could weaken bone. In the Nurses’ Health
Study, for example, women who ate more than 95 grams of protein
a day were 20 percent more likely to have broken a wrist over a 12-
year period when compared to those who ate an average amount of
protein (less than 68 grams a day). (13) But this area of research is
still controversial, and findings have not been consistent. Some
studies suggest increasing protein increases risk of fractures;
others associate high-protein diets with increased bone mineral
density. It is still unclear what level of protein intake provides the
best protection against osteoporosis, and more research is needed.
Get enough vitamin A, but not too much. Long associated with
good vision, vitamin A has also been found to direct the process of
borrowing and redepositing calcium in bone. However, too much
preformed vitamin A (also known as retinol) can promote fractures.
Choose a multivitamin supplement that has all or the majority of its
vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, a vitamin A precursor, since
beta-carotene does not increase one’s fracture risk. Many
multivitamin manufacturers have already reduced the amount of
preformed vitamin A in their products.
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Lactose Intolerance
One alternative for those who are lactose intolerant but who still
enjoy consuming dairy products is to take a pill containing enzymes
that digest milk sugar along with the dairy product, or to consume
milk that has the lactase enzyme added to it.
Many dairy products are high in saturated fats, and a high saturated
fat intake is a risk factor for heart disease. And while it’s true that
most dairy products are now available in fat-reduced or nonfat
options, the saturated fat that’s removed from dairy products is
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Strangely, it’s often the same people who purchase these higher fat
products who also purchase the low-fat dairy products, so it’s not
clear that they’re making great strides in cutting back on their
saturated fat consumption. (For more information on dietary fats,
read the Nutrition Source article Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the
Bad, In with the Good.)
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References
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10. Booth SL, Tucker KL, Chen H, et al. Dietary vitamin K intakes
are associated with hip fracture but not with bone mineral density in
elderly men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000; 71:1201–08.
11. Booth SL, Broe KE, Gagnon DR, et al. Vitamin K intake and
bone mineral density in women and men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003;
77(2):512-16.
12. Tucker KL, Morita K, Qiao N, Hannan MT, Cupples LA, Kiel DP.
Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low
bone mineral density in older women: the Framingham
Osteoporosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006; 84:936–42.
14. Manson JE, Hsia J, Johnson KC, et al. Estrogen plus progestin
and the risk of coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med. 2003;
349:523–34.
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19. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Platz EA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Risk
factors for prostate cancer incidence and progression in the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study. International Journal of Cancer.
2007; 121:1571–78.
23. Hyman J, Baron JA, Dain BJ, et al. Dietary and supplemental
calcium and the recurrence of colorectal adenomas. Cancer
Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1998; 7:291–95.
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