A Vegan (No Milk) Diet Is Healthy for Bones

A Vegan (No Milk) Diet Is Healthy for Bones
by Dr. John McDougall
Link to full article below

Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in Buddhist nuns by L.T. Ho-Pham published in the April 2009 issue of the journal Osteoporosis International found, “…although vegans have much lower intakes of dietary calcium and protein than omnivores, veganism does not have (an) adverse effect on bone mineral density and does not alter body composition.” This study examined 105 postmenopausal Mahayana Buddhist nuns, and compared them to 105 omnivorous women (average age of women in both groups was 62 years-old). The nuns were randomly sampled from monasteries in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; they had been on a vegan diet, on average, for 33 years. The density of the nuns’ lumbar spine and femoral neck (hip) bones were found to be similar to those of the animal-food-eating women (omnivores)...

Comment: The greater calorie intake of the animal-food-eating women indicates they were much more physically active and that extra activity alone should have caused significantly greater bone mineral density than the less active nuns. But that was not the case. The observation that the bone density was equal in both groups is testimony for the bone-building (bone-preserving) effects of a vegan diet. The greater physical activity in the animal-food-eating women partially compensated for the bone losing effects of the animal protein in their diet. Osteoporosis is primarily due to the rich Western diet. Highly acidic proteins found in animal foods tear down the skeleton over decades.

To read the full article: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/jun/fav5.htm

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Study Shows Grapefruit Pulp May Reduce Risk of Osteoporosis

Study Shows Grapefruit Pulp May Reduce the Risk of Osteoporosis


(NaturalNews) Consumption of red grapefruit pulp may increase bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, according to a study conducted by researchers from Texas A&M University and published in the journal Nutrition.

Researchers castrated 42 male rats as a way to induce oxidative stress and to increase the risk of osteoporosis. One-third of the rats were then fed a normal diet, one-third were fed the same diet plus 5 percent red grapefruit pulp, while the final third were fed the same diet plus 10 percent red grapefruit pulp.

After 60 days, the castrated rats on the normal diet showed significant decreases in antioxidant status, bone mineral content and bone quality when compared with 14 uncastrated male rats. They also demonstrated increased calcium loss and higher levels of urinary deoxypyridinoline, a marker of bone breakdown.

Decreased bone mineral content and bone quality are markers of a heightened risk of osteoporosis, as are increased calcium loss and higher urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations.

Among the castrated rats whose diet was supplemented with grapefruit, urinary deoxypyridinoline levels were lower than in the other castrated rats. While all the castrated rats underwent decreases in the magnesium and calcium content of their bones, this decrease was not as severe among the rats in the grapefruit pulp group.

Among the castrated rats not fed grapefruit pulp, lumbar calcium and magnesium levels decreased 16 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Among the rats in the experimental group, however, the respective decreases were only 10 and 16 percent. Likewise, femoral calcium and magnesium levels dropped by 7 percent each among the non-grapefruit group, but only 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in the grapefruit pulp groups.

The effects of grapefruit pulp were found to be dose-dependent.

An estimated 75 million people in Europe, Japan and the United States suffer from osteoporosis. Four times as many women are affected as men.