It’s funny that the countries that generally have a high intake of calcium, via lots of animal protein and diary, have the biggest problem of osteoporosis too. Why is that?
To answer that we have to have a look at how the body works.
Your body’s pH is tightly controlled; it is ever so slightly alkaline. Any significant deviation to this and you will die, so it’s really important.
When some foods are eaten to excess, &/or not balanced with other kinds of food, they shift pH towards the acidic side.
High protein diets with lots of meat and dairy cause an acidic shift. This has to be neutralised so your body draws alkaline salts from your bones to do this. If this happens a lot you will draw so much from your bones that they will become weak and you will eventually get osteoporosis.
So your body is forced to deplete one system to maintain balance in another. All due to what you choose to eat, or leave out.
When you eat meat and dairy with lots of vegetables this counteracts the acidic build up, so your bones aren’t robbed.
The conclusion here is to eat less meat and dairy and more fruit and vegetables.
Osteoporosis occurs when your bones lose density and strength. Unfortunately the first you can be aware of it is when you break a bone. Another sign of it is rapid loss of height. It’s normal to gradually lose a bit of height as you get older but if you are noticeably losing height then you may have a problem.
Ideally you don’t want to get into a position of having osteoporosis. Ideally you want to be looking after your bones right from word go. But there is a lot you can do if you do find yourself in this situation, starting with cutting back on your meat and dairy, and increasing (by a lot) your fresh fruit and veg intake.
Next week I’ll be talking about why children today are setting themselves up for dreadful bone health, and what you can do to help safe guard against this.
Until next week, Uber Health 🙂
Very interesting, I didn’t know that eating lots of vegetables counteracted some of the acidity from the meat and dairy, also, is there a way of testing bone density? No matter how much I excercise I never appear to get any stronger so would this suggest I have weak bones and therefore prone to osteoporosis?
Hi Karen
The way to test bone density is to have a scan at a hospital. Better than doing that is doing the right things and looking after your bones the best you can.
Not getting stronger with exercise won’t reflect your bone strength, but obviously it does reflect your muscle strength. I can’t confess to be an expert on training but perhaps you’ve not got the right plan for you. Have you taken advice on this?