Tuesday, March 8, 2011

How Do You Get Your Calcium?

Boy, if I had dime for every time someone asked me that.  It's true, I don't eat dairy or drink milk.  I grew up consuming tons of it.  I talk to so many people who tell me they love cheese and could never give it up, as well as how they drink milk for their bones.   I just smile and don't say a word because I don't think folks want to hear that it's disease-producing and fattening.  A study funded by the National Dairy Council itself discovered that the high protein content in dairy actually leaches calcium from our bones.

**I get calcium from dark green vegetables, beans, soy, tofu, seeds and raw nuts.  Also, I eat calcium-fortified foods, such as orange juice, soy/almond milk, and "yogurt."  This is the wonderful "yogurt" I eat, which is fortified with calcium and live & active cultures. It is made with coconut milk instead of cow's milk. I threw some granola on the top. You can find it at Sprouts or Whole Foods.  Amazingly Good!


10 bullet points to make you go, hmmm?  This is what I've read from various sources (not You Tube):

*We are the only species on the planet who drinks the milk of another species
*Past nursing, we do not need any more milk as adults
*Dairy products produce mucus and often our bodies develop a cold or "allergies" to fight the invasion
*Tons of people are lactose intolerant
*High protein content in dairy can actually leach calcium from your bones
*Dairy products have been linked to a host of diseases and problems such as acne, arthritis, heartburn, headaches, fibromyalgia, joint pain, allergies, obesity, heart disease, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers, to name a few
*Dairy's "it does a body good" campaign is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars and is not based on actual nutrition
*Milk has puss, blood and bacteria in it (don't get me started on factory farming) and the process of pasteurization creates pathogens that are linked to Crohn's Disease 
*Milk is not a reliable source of minerals-You get much more from fruits and veggies
*Virtually all cheese has detectable pesticide residue

There's more, but I will stop.  Have I had a bite of cheesecake and crème brulée in the last few years? Yes. But I've discovered food taste delicious without the grease, calories and vein-clogging saturated fat.  I urge you to read up on the actual nutritional value of dairy.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hear hear Tracy!

Calcium deficiencies in Americans are typically due to all the crap we eat in the SAD (Standard American Diet). It’s not that we don’t get enough calcium, it is that our bodies don’t absorb enough calcium. Caffeine, sugar (in all forms), and alcohol all prohibit the absorption of calcium. This includes when processed foods turn to high amounts of glucose in our systems. Also the foods we eat are much more depleted of the nutrients than of yesteryear, and so we don’t get enough nutritional catalysts (e.g., vitamin D, magnesium) to assist the calcium absorption.

So when you hear ads on TV to eat more yogurt because some high number of women in the US have calcium deficiencies, just remember all the sugar in the yogurt is going to prohibit the absorption of the calcium, and thus take away the benefit. Sugar-free isn’t much better, as you now pouring chemicals (aspartame) into your body that it doesn’t know how to process, putting a strain on you liver and pancreas.

Anyway, eating dairy for more calcium or to help lose weight is a bunch of BS propaganda from the Dairy Association to sell you more stuff your body doesn’t need.

Eating Smart (Tracy) said...

Thanks Drew!

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