Bone up on Calcium for World Osteoporosis Day (October 20)

| 29 May 2015
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Viva!Health believes the best thing anyone can do to increase valuable calcium levels to help prevent the disease, is to move towards a nutritious plant-based diet instead of relying on dairy products. As part of World Osteoporosis Day, people can download their factsheet Boning Up On Calcium from their website vivahealth.org.uk/bones/calcium-fact-sheet for free. Osteoporosis (meaning porous bones) occurs when calcium is lost from the bones and they become more fragile and prone to fracture. Viva!Health health campaigner Veronika Charvatova says: “Although dairy products are high in calcium, it is bound with other minerals so that our bodies can’t digest it properly. On top of that, digestion of animal protein releases acids into the blood which the body attempts to neutralise by drawing calcium from the bones. This calcium is then excreted in the urine. Rather than wasting our calcium this way, we should change our eating habits.” “You can get enough easily digestible calcium from plant sources such as nuts and seeds (almonds, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts), dried fruits (figs and dates), green leafy vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage, watercress, etc.), lentils, beans, calcium-set tofu, olives, molasses and other calcium enriched foods such as soya milk. Plant-based foods are also high in nutrients and free from the cholesterol found in dairy,” adds Veronika. For more information about the advantages of gaining calcium through a plant-based diet, visit vivahealth.org.uk, or email info@vegetarian.org.uk. 

For more information about this media release call press officer Helen Rossiter or Veronika Charvatova on 0117 970 5190 or email vvfpress@vegetarian.org.uk or veronika@vegetarian.org.uk. Out-of-hours media mobile: 07939 051351.

Notes to Editors

A number of scientific studies have revealed that dairy consumption is not helping in the prevention of osteoporosis and can in fact increase the risk of this disease. Viva!Health. Registered charity 1037486

References

Lanou A.J., Berkow S.E., and Barnard N.D. 2005. Calcium, Dairy Products, and Bone Health in Children and Young Adults: A Re-evaluation of the Evidence. Pediatrics. 115 (3) 736-743.

Gibbons M.J., Gilchrist N.L., Frampton C., Maguire P., Reilly P.H., March R.L., Wall C.R. 2004. The effects of a high calcium dairy food on bone health in pre-pubertal children in New Zealand. Asia pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 13 (4) 341-347.

Frassetto L.A., Todd K.M., Morris R.C. Jr and Sebastian A. 2000. Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 55 (10) M585-92.

Feskanich D. Willett W.C. Stampfer M.J. and Colditz G.A. 1997. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. The American Journal of Public Health. 87 (6) 992-7.

Marsh A.G., Sanchez T.V., Michelsen O., Chaffee F.L. and Fagal S.M. 1988. Vegetarian lifestyle and bone mineral density. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 48 (3 Supplement) 837-41.

Sellmeyer D.E., Stone K.L, Sebastian A. and Cummings S.R. 2001. A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 73 (1) 118-22.

Frassetto L.A., Todd K.M., Morris R.C. Jr and Sebastian A. 2000. Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 55 (10) M585-92.

Abelow B.J., Holford T.R. and Insogna K.L. 1992. Cross-cultural association between dietary animal protein and hip fracture: a hypothesis. Calcified Tissue International. 50 (1) 14-8.

Campbell T. C. and Campbell T. M. II. 2004. The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Dallas, Texas, USA. BenBella Books.

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

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