Vegetarian Diet Could Be the Key to Strong Bones

We’ve always been told that drinking milk and eating meat is good for us. But many studies have called conventional wisdom into question, leading many to ask whether we’ve been fed lies all of these years instead of nutrition.

1. High meat and dairy consumption spells bone density disaster

Key to Strong BonesA study titled, A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women published in the US National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health asks serious questions about how much meat and dairy women consume and how that relates to their overall bone health.

They worked with over 1,000 women aged 65 and older, measuring their protein intake and mineral bone density. What they found was that the more animal protein (including dairy, which is high in animal protein) a woman eats, the higher her rate of bone loss.

This association was independent of other factors such as tobacco use, exercise, estrogen use, weight, and calcium supplements or intake. What’s more surprising is that vegetable protein – from beans, lentils, grains, vegetables, and so forth – does not seem to have the same impact. The moral of the story? Eat more vegetable proteins and cut back on meat and dairy to get strong bones.
2. Connection between animal foods and hip fractures

Animal Foods and Hip FracturesGoing further, a study called, Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods examined the hip fracture incidence (HFI) data across 33 different countries as reported by the United Nationals Food and Agriculture Organization and found a similar association between meat and dairy with bone density loss.

The study, which worked with women 50 years and older, found that countries with animal protein intakes lower than vegetable protein intakes had a lower terile of HFI. By contrast, countries where animal protein exceeded vegetable protein had much higher terile of HFI. Further proof that a vegetarian-friendly diet helps create strong bones.

Read the full article at womenhealthzone.com