Alison Whitwood posted this:
>>This is such a common argument.... why do people still insist on milk bei=
ng
the only source of calcium? Because the dairy industry pay for
advertising
that's why.
>>Just so I can give a convincing argument back.... what is the best source=
 of
paleo calcium? I told him leafy greens and broccoli, sardines with the
bones. He didn't look convinced.

------------------------------
Hi Alison,
Here is something my husband wrote for an article on the down side of
dairy
a couple of years ago.  I am printing only part of the artilcle here.
I
hope my computer doesn't make for strange symbols where letters are
suppose=
d
to be.  I hope this helps.  It's a very emotional topic, but
references do
help bring it out of the ethers and down to earth!
=20
But What About Calcium?
It is not necessary to use cows=B9 milk or milk products to maintain
good
teeth, bones, and calcium status.  Dietary calcium has shown
practically no
effect on blood calcium levels.  This is because you absorb more of
the
calcium you ingest when you eat less calcium, and you absorb less of
what
you ingest when you eat a lot of calcium. Consequently, calcium
balance can
be maintained on intakes as low as 200-400 mg per day1 , an amount
easily
achievable without use of dairy products.  According to the National
Academ=
y
of Sciences, research has found no relationship between bone loss and
calcium intake.  Intakes above 1500 mg per day have not proven to be
protective, and intakes below 300 mg per day have not been proven to
cause
bone loss.2=20
   =20
Studies also indicate that osteoporosis was and is unknown among truly
primitive preagricultural groups.3  The recent Iowa Women=B9s Health
Study
suggests that a high intake of animal protein--in the range found
among
hunter gatherers-- protects against osteoporosis.4   In this study of
32,
050 women aged 55 to 69, women who suffered hip fractures ate an
average of
74 g of protein per day, 51 g from animal products, while healthy
women ate
an average of 82 g or protein per day, including 60 g from animal
sources.
The difference between women eating the least and most animal protein
was
most marked--those eating less than 49 g animal protein per day had
five
times the hip breaks as those eating more than 70 g.  In this study
calcium
intake had no relation to hip fracture risk.

Drinking Milk May Actually Cause Osteoporosis.
Studies paid for by the dairy industry have actually shown that
increasing
intake of milk to 24 ounces per day does not reduce urinary loss of
calcium.5   Data from the Nurses=B9 Health Study involving 77, 761
women foun=
d
no evidence that milk reduced hip fracture risk, but did find that
women wh=
o
drank two or more glasses of milk daily had a 45% greater risk for hip
fracture compared to women who had only one glass or less per week.6
   =20
Some solid evidence suggests that loss of bone integrity may be a
result of
auto immune disorder similar to that causing some rheumatoid
arthritis.7
Patients with osteoporosis commonly also have rheumatoid arthritis.
It has
been shown that patients with rheumatoid arthritis have high levels of
antibodies to bovine serum albumin (BSA), a protein from cows=B9 milk,
and to
gluten, from wheat.  The collagen that is the foundation of joint
tissues
and bones contains amino acid sequences homologous to those of BSA and
gluten.  Therefore, the same auto immune reaction to cows=B9 milk
proteins
(and wheat protein) that is implicated as a cause of joint tissue
degeneration8  could cause bone tissue degeneration.

REFERENCES:
1-- Recommended Dietary Allowances (ninth edition) 1980, National
Academy o=
f
Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 128.

2-- Recommended Dietary Allowances (ninth edition) 1980, National
Academy o=
f
Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1980, p. 128.

3--  Eaton, et al., The Paleolithic Prescription, p. 56.

4--  Munger R, American Jouranl of Clinical Nutrition 1999m Jan;
69:147-52.
=20
5- Feskanich D, Et al., =B3MIlk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures
in women=
:
A 12 year prospective study=B2, Am J Public Health (1997) 87: 992-997.

6-  This list is taken from McDougall JA and MA, The McDougall Plan
(Clinton, NJ:  New Win Pub., 1983), Chapter 5. Dr. McDougall provides
over
35 references documenting the ill effects of dairy consumption.

7-  Germano C and Cabot W, =B3The Bone-Immune Connection,=B2 in The
Osteoporosi=
s
Solution (New York, Kensington Books, 1999), pp. 16-20.

Healthfully yours,
Rachel Matesz
Chef Rachel, The Healthy Cooking Coach