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Date: | Tue, 9 Feb 1999 21:31:12 +0100 |
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Hi Jean-Louis,
>
> > Quite apart from the obvious question (i.e. When you see a cow do you
> > feel the natural urge to suck on her udder?), where is the evidence
> > that most humans are able to gain calcium from raw (cow) milk? Or
> > to put it another way..which enzymes do we possess (after weaning) which
> > enable us to utilize this rather unnatural calcium source?
>
> The rate of calcium absorption is 25% for milk, and about the same for
> mineral water (1). Probably the mechanisms of absorption are the same
> in both cases (no need of an additional enzyme). Of course, dark green
> vegetables are also rich sources of calcium which have less
> inconvenients than dairy (no lactose, no allergenic proteins) --if one
> likes them.
>
>
> (1) Couzy F et al. Calcium bioavailability from a calcium- and sulfate-rich
> mineral water, compared with milk, in young adult women. Am J Clin
> Nutr 1995 Dec;62(6):1239-44
>
The calcium in bovine milk (as in human milk) is bonded to casein..and
bovine milk contains 300 times more casein than human milk. The enzyme
rennin is produced by babies to break this bond. Most human babies and
calves cease to produce this enzyme after being weaned off. Milk is
thus a very poor source of calcium (quite apart from the extremely
high levels of casein that the body has to deal with) for children
and adults. In rural China BTW, where milk was never used until fairly
recently, osteoporosis was unknown.
Best regards,
Alan
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