Mark Feblowitz wrote:

>If you do something as extreme as taking your whole family off of dairy
>products, you'll have to work quite diligently to see that they get their
>required calcium. Virtually no foods are rich enough in calcium that they
>can be consumed in sufficient amounts to satisfy a growing child's need for
>calcium. You'll have to find a good, milk-free supplement.

Except that this emphasis on calcium is brought to you courtesy of the
dairy producers. Money is made by adding something, not taking something
away. What people ignore is the osteoporosis problem is a problem of
civilization. Our ancestors drank no dairy and had no osteoporosis.
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. But where does this all this high
calcium consumption go? No one looks at just what is pulling it out. 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. Most 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 is a last minute addition 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?