The association between protein intake and bone health is controversial. Previous studies have found that excess protein can cause calcium loss and bone loss, while low protein intake has been associated with low bone mineral density (BMD).
The relation of dietary calcium to protein intake and BMD is also unclear, as some studies have found that calcium influences the association between protein and BMD while others have found the opposite.
To further explore these issues, researchers examined whether dietary protein intakes affect bone metabolism in postmenopausal women between the ages of 65 and 77 years. The role of dietary calcium was also explored.
Researchers found that women who consumed the most protein had 7.5 percent to eight percent higher BMD in the spine, 5.5 percent to seven percent higher BMD in the midradius, and five percent higher BMD in the total body than women who consumed less protein.
When the effect of dietary protein intake was examined in relation to dietary calcium intake, when calcium intake was greater than 408 mg per day positive associations between protein intake and BMD were observed.
The results suggest that a higher protein intake is associated with higher BMD when there is adequate calcium intake. Researchers noted that in the elderly, who are most at risk of osteoporosis, it seems that a higher protein intake is important to maintain good bone health.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2003;77(60:1517-1525)
It has been known for over 80 years that increasing protein will cause your body to excrete calcium into your urine. Many have translated this to mean that eating meat will cause osteoporosis.
Nothing could be further from the truth, which is that one needs adequate protein to build strong bones. The calcium that is lost in the urine is more than easily compensated for by making sure one has adequate dietary calcium intake.
This study found that 500 mg of calcium daily was sufficient to compensate for the increased protein intake.
However, the study completely ignores the issue of metabolic type. There are clearly some people who absolutely thrive on low-fat and low-protein diets. Generally, these individuals do not like beef and commonly state that when they eat beef it feels "like a brick" in their stomach.
These individuals will thrive on low-protein, no-red-meat diets. It is likely that their bones are also designed to thrive on low-protein diets.
The high-protein, high-fat nutritional types, however, require up to 300 percent more protein than a vegetarian/carb type.
With respect to calcium, the best calcium is not coral calcium but calcium from real unpasteurized raw milk.
Once you have the calcium though, you need to absorb it, which is why you will want to get plenty of sunshine in the summer and high-quality cod liver oil with healthy vitamin D in the winter.
However, please remember that once the calcium is absorbed with the help of vitamin D it still needs to be plugged into your bone matrix. Vitamin K is absolutely essential here, and if you have osteoporosis you will want to make sure you are on a high-quality vitamin K supplement to optimize your bone density.
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