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Why Is America So Obsessed With Calcium?

For years ethical scientist unaffiliated with the dairy industry have said that westerners believe there is such a thing as calcium deficiency disorder. Many research studies not affiliated with the dairy industry says that not all calcium in food is absorbed in the body, especially the calcium in milk. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that people ages 19 to 50 consume a whopping 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, and that those age 50 or over get 1,200 milligrams per day. In countries such as India, Japan, and Peru where average daily calcium intake is as low as 300 milligrams per day (less than a third of the U.S. recommendation for adults, ages 19 to 50), the incidence of bone fractures is quite low. Yet in countries where dairy is high/common, the rate of osteoporosis highest. One in three British women now suffers from osteoporosis. An estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older. Several recent reviews and meta-analyses have shown that increasing children’s calcium consumption doesn’t not have an appreciable effect on children’s bones. Almost none of these scientific findings has been reflected in mainstream nutritional advice, which continues to emphasize the need for calcium. The recommendations on calcium are now so high that it is difficult to devise practical diets that meet them. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsou…
It is estimated that only 20-30% of the calcium in the average diet is absorbed from the intestinal tract and taken into the bloodstream. Calcium absorption is dependent upon the calcium needs of the body, the type of food, and the amount of calcium, the type of food, and the amount of calcium ingested.
What about osteoporosis and our need for calcium? Surely if we don’t eat dairy products we’ll become brittle-boned and frail, destined for the dowager’s hump? Mark Hegsted, a retired Harvard professor of nutrition, has said, “To assume that osteoporosis is due to calcium deficiency is like assuming that infection is due to penicillin deficiency.” In fact, the bone loss and deteriorating bone tissue that take place in osteoporosis are due not to calcium deficiency but rather to its resorption: it’s not that our bodies don’t get enough calcium, rather that they excrete too much of what they already have.

No Responses to “Why Is America So Obsessed With Calcium?”

  1. James says:

    Yeah, when I’m in America that’s all I hear people talking about.
    It’s a bit ironic, because no one really cares about calcium, but you, who has a problem with people caring about calcium, obviously seems to care about it a great deal.

  2. Cessna 421 says:

    Thank You Doctor!

  3. Mr.Blue says:

    I dont know anyone who obsesses over calcium.

  4. Lag Indicator says:

    Dairy products do have large amounts of calcium, but as you mentioned the body can excrete the excess. A good alternative for dairy free calcium is spinach. For maximum absorption the trick is to spread calcium intake throughout the day because a human body is unlikely to absorb more than 500 milligrams at once. There are also vitamins that are essential to calcium absorption such as D and C. We should consider that several types of intestinal flora are necessary for calcium absorption. Americans use a lot of flora killing antibiotics.
    But the biggest problem of all is that for the body to send calcium to the bones exercise is required. There has to be some load on those bones, and that means exercise. Many Americans don’t get enough exercise to strengthen their bones.

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