Myth busted: drink milk, eat dairy products and take calcium supplements to improve bone health and prevent osteoporosis. Nope, writes Univ of NC health and wellness professor Amy Lanou in a new book co-written with Michael Castleman titled "Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis." d
The book shows why eating low-acid foods and taking daily walks are the most effective ways to prevent bone loss.
Recommendations: eat six to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables and no more than one or two servings of high-protein foods. Why? Because protein is composed of amino acids. As the body digests high-protein foods, the blood becomes more acidic, leaching calcium from the bones. That can eventually cause osteoporosis, the authors say.
Fruits and vegetables also contain some protein, but less than meat, dairy and eggs. And fruits and vegetables also contain a great deal of alkaline material, which neutralizes the acid. So the body does not have to draw calcium compounds out of bone.
Lanou and Castleman found that since 1975, 140 clinical trials have explored calcium's effects on osteoporotic fracture risk. Overall, the clinical trials dealing with fracture prevention run two-to-one against calcium, the authors noted. They found that the consensus of bone/exercise research shows that 30 to 60 minutes of daily walking is enough to build strong bones. So: Walk Every Day.
