[log in to unmask] wrote:

>Calcium is very important as you all know, but the recommended daily
>allowance (I think it is from 1000-1500mg a day now) is for the standard
>American high protein diet. The thing is that protein inhibits calcium
>absorbtion.

We went through all this six months ago, before you joined the list in March.

You should be aware that the studies that correlated calcium loss with high
protein diets used isolated, fractionated animo acids from milk or eggs.(1)
Dr. Herta Spencer, of the VA Hospital in Hines, IL shows that when protein
is given as meat, subjects do not show any increase in calcium excreted, or
any significant change in serum calcium, even over a long period.(2) Other
investigators found that a high protein intake increased calcium absorption
when dietary calcium was adequate or high, but not when calcium intake was
a low 500 mg per day.(3)

(1) Herta Spencer and Lois Kramer, "Factors contributing to osteoporosis",
Journal of Nutrition, 1986 116:316-319

(2) Herta Spencer and Lois Kramer, "Further studies of the effect of a high
protein diet as meat on calcium metabolism", American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, June 1983 37 (6):924-929

(3) HM Linkswiler, et al, "Calcium retention of young adult males as
affected by level of protein and of calcium intake", Trans. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
1974 36:333

> In countries that consume a  non- meat, non-dairy based diet
>such as in Asia, the occurrence of osteoperosis is much lower than in the
>United States. This is with a calcium intake of about 300 mg a day. Most
>Americans eat way to much meat, and that is why the rda is so high in the
>US. I'll see if I can find this article and reference it for you.

The RDA is high because the US dairy industry wants it high. Then they can
try to get you to consume more milk. Really more important than calcium
intake is to reduce the calcium loss. Foremost among things that pull out
calcium is phytic acid, which is found in bran. This has been extensively
documented.

Our ancestors drank no dairy and had no osteoporosis. The ate a meat heavy
diet for 2-2.5 million years, and ate insects before that. Radiological
analyses of stone age bones show high bone mineral density, and large cross
sectional areas - both of which are indicators of strong, powerful bones,
resistant to fracture.

Here are some of the things that are detrimental to calcium absorption:

(1) A diet high in phytic acid, which can be found in whole grains (it's in
the bran). Phytic acid strongly binds to minerals like calcium, iron, zinc
and magnesium to form insoluble salts, phytates. I have 60 references on
this. This article by Staffan Lindeberg uses 29 of them as footnotes:

  http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9706&L=paleodiet&O=T&P=850

(2) A high sodium diet. Dietary sodium levels were extremely low compared
to modern diets and hence renal calcium excretion, despite high phosphorous
intake was still less than that for moderns. Some references can be found
here:

  http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9706&L=paleodiet&O=T&P=2282

(3) Low sunshine. Circulating levels of vitamin D throughout the year would
have been higher in stone age men and women than in moderns, because there
really was no such thing as "indoors" - therefore sunshine exposure and
hence vitamin D synthesis would have been greater.

(4) Low exercise. Daily exercise levels and hence stress on the skeletal
system would have been greater in our stone age ancestors - increased
physical stress on bone tends to increase cross sectional area and perhaps
(equivocal data) bone mineral density.

(5) Inadequate magnesium. It should be in a 1:1 ratio with calcium. As
Ca:Mg is 12:1 in dairy, those consuming dairy have an inbalance in their
diet. I have one friend that increased his bone density by taking magnesium
supplements.

(6) Possibly phosphoric acid in soft drinks, though I have no references
for this.

(7) Undiagnosed celiac disease. 95% of celiacs are undiagnosed. For those
that are there is  malabsorption of the fat soluble minerals and vitamins,
especially calcium and D.

(8) Coffee consumption? This entry comes courtesy of Martin Finne. He
claims coffee would reduce the inositol level in the blood. Inositol is
central as it makes the calcium penetrate the cell walls. But what about
caffeine in general?

Don.