Calcium and Strong Bones?

In my first blog, I shared my experiences on cutting dairy off from our diet.  Like many people, I was told drinking milk equals to strong bones.  After we cut off dairy, I bought soy milk and have all my family members drinking soy milk one cup a day so they can have enough intake of calcium (we have now switched to almond milk).  Yet, the “one cup a day is not enough” concept still bothers me a lot.  Am I doing more harm to my family by cutting off dairy?  Right around that time, one of my relatives found out that she had osteoporosis.  She is only 20 years old!  The urge of searching for an answer became more pressing for me.  Luckily, another mom at my children’s school introduced me to a health journalist whose blog I followed faithfully ever since (Kevin Gianni, www.renegadehealth.com).  From there, I found more resources and figured out there are more to bone health than calcium and milk.  Here is a brief summary of what I found,

(1) Human body is slightly alkaline (with a pH value between 7.365 and 7.45, based on Kris Carr http://kriscarr.com/blog/a-little-ph-refresher-course/).  When we eat a lot of animal products, our body turns acidic.  In order to neutralize the acid, our body releases the calcium.  That’s par of the reasons why in a study of 10 countries done by a Harvard professor, Mark Hegsted, it shows that the more calcium intake through dairy foods people have, the higher risk of bone fracture (a sign of osteoporosis) they have (based on China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II).

(2) In order for our body to absorb and utilize calcium, we need vitamin D.  That’s why all the milk and most of the calcium supplement are fortified with vitamin D.  Yet, there is another easy and free way your body can get vitamin D.  That is sunshine.  Everyone is different in how much sunshine they need.  The general rule of thumb is the darker your skin is, the longer you need to be exposed to sunshine.  Showering right after sun exposure or applying sunscreen before sun exposure will block your skin from absorbing the vitamin D through the sun.  Therefore, you need to find the balance between getting enough sunshine and getting sunburned.  If you want to learn more, you can go here http://www.naturalnews.com/rr-sunlight.html

(3) Even if you feel that you’ve got enough outdoor time and sun tanning, it doesn’t mean your body can absorb enough vitamin D to use.  You need to get tested to see your vitamin D level.  If you are low on vitamin D, you need to take supplement.  There are different types and brands of vitamin D.  It’s generally recommended that vitamin D in olive oil capsules is better (more assimilable) than the hard pills.

(4) When choosing calcium supplements, calcium citrate is better than calcium carbonate because calcium carbonate tends to deposit in body tissues, resulting in kidney stones. (http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2011/12/06/keeping-your-bones-healthy-isnt-all-about-calcium)  

(5) Just taking calcium supplement is not enough to have strong bones.  You also need exercise, especially weight bearing exercise, such as yoga, bodyweight exercise. 

(6) The use of bone drugs could increase your bone density but it is at the risk of changing your bone quality.  Your bones might become more brittle and easily get fractured. (http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2011/12/05/osteoporosis-myths-and-bone-breaking-osteoporosis-drugs)

(7) Dark green vegetables contain lots of calcium and they are alkaline.  You need to be careful with cruciferous vegetables, though, if you have low thyroid and iodine level.  

(8) And finally, how is your digestion?  If your body can’t break down the food you eat to get the nutrients, you could be eating the best and the most nutritious food, but you won’t be reaping the benefits.

There are more to bone health than what I wrote here.  You are welcome to check out the resources I cite here or find your own.  Please share down below if you find more useful information.