Calcium Rich – Health Poor?

It’s taken a couple of years but I finally got around to registering with a Doctor. The reason I’ve changed is because I shifted towns and now live too far away from the previous medical center that I used to go to.

So I picked a center close by and made an appointment to go in to interview the new Doctor. Silly me, I had a wild hope that this guy would be somewhat knowledgeable with the vegan lifestyle.

It wasn’t that he opposed my food choice, but he did admit to not knowing a lot about nutrition. He asked the usual questions about where I get specific vitamins (at least he didn’t ask about protein), then went on to say that the chances were that I’d be lacking in calcium …. the much needed mineral for bones.

He supplied me with a list of all the calcium rich foods which, naturally, had dairy products right at the top.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough to argue the point that if dairy was the best source then how come the rate of osteoporosis has increased in the Western world?

Studies have found that “Osteoporosis is, in fact, a disease caused by a number of things, the most important of which is excess dietary animal protein”. Now I’m not a scientist, I’m not a trained nutritionist but I do have the power of deduction and when I learn that people who live in countries that have no or very little animal products yet have no sign of osteoporosis and are able to live healthier lives than we do, my logical brain does have to wonder why.

So the next time I see this Doctor I just might bring up the topic of dairy, calcium and osteoporosis.