Vegetarians Have Healthier Bones
Scientific evidence suggests that animal protein—found in meat, eggs, and dairy products—tends to leach calcium from the bones and encourages it to pass into the urine. Plant protein does not appear to have this effect. The most healthful calcium sources are calcium-rich legumes and green leafy vegetables—including broccoli, collards, kale and most other greens—which are loaded with highly absorbable calcium and other healthful nutrients.
Milk and other dairy products do contain calcium, but they also contain lactose sugar, animal growth factors, occasional drugs and contaminants, and a substantial amount of fat and cholesterol in all but the defatted versions. Again, dairy products contain animal protein, which encourages calcium to pass into the urine instead of staying in the bones. Calcium is important for bone health, but the calcium must actually be absorbed and stay in the bones instead of passing through the kidneys into the urine.
In a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk. Similarly, a 1994 study of elderly men and women in Sydney, Australia, showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased fracture risk. Those with the highest dairy product consumption had approximately double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the lowest consumption.
In fact, the World Health Organization has two sets of calcium intake recommendations: a higher recommendation for cultures that consume substantial amounts of animal protein, and a lower one for those that consume little or no animal protein.
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I've fallen down plenty of stairs and I've never broken a bone. Likewise, I've fallen off platforms, off skateboards, off sleds, etc. and I've never broken a bone.
I've had at least 2 glasses of milk a day since I was a child. It does a body good!
Vitamin B12 Deficiency—the Meat-eaters’ Last Stand
By Dr. John McDougall, M.D., drmcdougall@drmcdougall.com
Since the usual dietary source of vitamin B12 for omnivores is the flesh of other animals, the obvious conclusion is that those who choose to avoid eating meat are destined to become B12 deficient. There is a grain of truth in this concern, but in reality an otherwise healthy strict vegetarian’s risk of developing a disease from B12 deficiency by following a sensible diet is extremely rare—less than one chance in a million.
I knew forty years ago that vitamin B12 would become the last bastion for meat- and dairy-lovers (and the industries that profit from them), because this is the only criticism with any merit that could be lodged against the McDougall Diet. In order to avoid that condemnation and the small risk of harming anyone, I have recommended and printed in the beginning of my books and DVDs the following advice:
If you follow the McDougall Diet for more than 3 years, or if you are pregnant or nursing, then take a minimum of 5 micrograms of supplemental vitamin B12 each day.
Avoid B12 Deficiency; Get Heart Disease and Cancer
You could choose to eat lots of B12-rich animal foods and avoid the one-in-a-million chance of developing a reversible anemia and/or even less common, damage to your nervous system. However, this decision puts you at a one-in-two chance of dying prematurely from a heart attack or stroke; a one-in-seven chance of breast cancer or a one-in-six chance of prostate cancer. The same thinking results in obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, constipation, indigestion, and arthritis. All these conditions caused by a B12-sufficient diet are found in the people you live and work with daily. How many vegans have you met with B12 deficiency anemia or nervous system damage? I bet not one! Furthermore, you have never even heard of such a problem unless you have read the attention-seeking headlines of newspapers or medical journals.
Sensationalism Surrounds B12-Deficient Vegetarians
Rare cases of B-12 deficiency suspected to be caused by following a vegetarian diet make media-selling banners, because “people love to hear good news about their bad habits.” However, in depth research reveals that many of these “vegetarians” also suffer from generalized malnutrition—not just isolated B12 deficiency from a diet based on plant foods. For example, the March 23, 2000 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published a letter (not a scientific article) with the provocative title, “Blindness in a Strict Vegan.”1 The letter described a 33-year old man who was found to have severe loss of vision (bilateral optic neuropathy). He had started a strict vegetarian diet at age 20. Tests showed he suffered from deficiencies of vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, B12 and folic acid, as well as zinc and selenium. All combined, these deficiencies clearly indicate severe malnutrition. B12 injections corrected his anemia, but not his visual loss.
Do you see the disconnection between the case history and the headlines? Starches, vegetables, and fruits are very rich sources of folic acid and vitamin C (as well as A, E, B1, zinc and selenium). His malnourished condition most likely was caused by an intestinal disease and/or an unhealthy “vegetarian” diet.2 The headlines published worldwide that followed this letter reassured meat- and dairy-lovers that becoming a vegetarian was an unwise decision. Examination of many reported cases of B12 deficiency connected to a vegetarian diet in both children and adults reveals their health problems are not simply due to avoiding animal foods.
Vegan diet alleviates ®bromyalgia symptoms
K. Kaartinen1, K. Lammi1, M. Hypen2, M. Nenonen3, O. HaÈnninen1, and A.-L. Rauma1
1Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, 2Rehabilitation Centre for Rheumatic Patients, Kangasala, 3National Research and
Development, Centre for Welfare and Health, Helsinki, Finland
The effect of a strict, low-salt, uncooked vegan diet rich in lactobacteria on symptoms in 18 ®bromyalgia patients during and after a 3-
month intervention period in an open, non-randomized controlled study was evaluated. As control 15 patients continued their omnivorous
diet. The groups did not differ signi®cantly from each other in the beginning of the study in any other parameters except in pain and urine
sodium. The results revealed signi®cant improvements in Visual analogue scale of pain (VAS) (p~0.005), joint stiffness (p~0.001), quality
of sleep (p~0.0001), Health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) (p~0.031), General health questionnaire (GHQ) (p~0.021), and a
rheumatologist's own questionnaire (p~0.038). The majority of patients were overweight to some extent at the beginning of the study and
shifting to a vegan food caused a signi®cant reduction in body mass index (BMI) (p~0,0001). Total serum cholesterol showed a statistically
signi®cant lowering (p~0.003). Urine sodium dropped to 1/3 of the beginning values (p~0.0001) indicating good diet compliance. It can be
concluded that vegan diet had bene®cial effects on ®bromyalgia symptoms at least in the short run.