Hi Jean-Louis,

> Hi Alan,
>
> you mentioned he ratio Ca/P. I checked in the USDA database (I know,
> Rex, they are not very reliable), and I found
>
> (Ca and P are expressed in milligrams per 100 grams of food.)
>
>                        Ca    P     Ca/P
> Milk, goat           133.5 110.7    1.2
> Milk, human, mature   32.2  13.7    2.3
> Milk, indian buffalo 169.0 117.4    1.2
> Milk, sheep          193.4 158.0    1.2
> Milk, cow            100.8  85.5    1.2
>
> Broccoli              48    66       .7
> lettuce, romaine      36    45       .8
> celery                40    25      1.6
> parsley              138    58      2.4
> Grapes, american      14    10      1.4
> type (slip skin)
> figs                  35    14      2.5
> bananas                6    20       .3
> cucumber              14    20       .7
> tomato                 5    24       .2
> ---
>
> Thus, I don't see any evidence that cow's milk has a lower Ca/P ratio
> than fruits or vegetables.
>
> I think that the main causes of osteoporosis in women are: menopause,
> lack of vitamin D, and lack of exercise; total calcium intake is less
> important.
>
>
Your figures roughly tally with mine...but this is not the point.
We need both calcium and phosphorus to build healthy bones and we
do indeed need vitamin D to help with the resorption of phosphorus.
As phosphorus is a calcium antagonist we need to take in both
simultaneously and with the right foods and this is generally not a
problem. The problem starts when cow's milk is used as a calcium
(or phosphorus) source. The calcium is bonded to casein and only
a baby produces enough of the enzyme rennin to split this bond and
utilize the calcium. After weaning off most people produce much less or
none at all (as is the case with most Africans, for example). The
result is therefore a high dose of mostly phosphorus alone..which the
body counteracts by drawing calcium from the bones. The same goes
for calcium supplements which are not taken together with phosphorus
and vice versa. Mammals past the baby stage do not drink milk of any
kind and it can often be fatal for the smaller animals to do so
(hedgehogs, cats to some degree). Surplus EC milk powder is often
being used to feed cattle (which is unnatural but less of a problem
as the animals are eventually slaughtered and bone mass is not of
interest).

Best regards,

Alan