Milk. It does a body...good??

As I mentioned before my mom just watched Forks Over Knives recently. I was telling her about my recent doctor's appointment, where I told them I was a vegetarian and was of course inundated with questions about my diet and my ability to get all the nutrients I need. (I always want to ask these people, "When was the last time YOU ate Kale? Have you had a dose of DHA today? You're so worried about my protein intake...do YOU know how much protein I need in a day, and how different foods fulfill that amount? I DO!!! I made a conscious decision to eat a healthier diet and I'm doing just that! Stop worrying about my nutrition! Isn't it obvious it's a top priority for me? Why don't you ask me when the last time I drank Coke was or ate at McDonalds???? These are REAL dietary concerns. And my rant is over. Thanks for hanging in there!) I told the nurse that I was not vegan and I was getting enough calcium because I still drink milk. My mom reminded me what FOK said about milk, that it actually robs our bones of calcium, doing exactly the opposite of what we've always been told. So I thought I'd do a little research and see what I could find on the topic. Turns out, and here's a shocker, there's conflicting research! One side says, "First of all, calcium appears to be ultimately pulled from bones to escort digested animal protein from any source -- not just dairy products -- on its trek through the body. Since the average American's diet is protein-heavy to begin with, some experts say that eating lots of dairy foods may actually cause people to lose calcium. "When you eat a protein food, such as milk, you may be swallowing calcium, but you turn around and excrete calcium in your urine," says Donna Herlock, MD, spokeswoman for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit advocacy group opposed to milk consumption." Of course the other side says, " "For every gram of protein you eat, you lose 1.75 milligrams of calcium." Using this calculation, since each glass of milk provides 8 grams of protein, you'll lose 14 out of 300 milligrams of calcium per glass -- which doesn't seem so bad. In fact, because the average American consumes approximately 75 grams of animal protein a day (though of course not all from milk), you'll still take in more calcium than you lose by drinking just one glass of milk (you'll consume 300 milligrams of calcium and only lose 131 milligrams).

Robert Heaney, MD, a professor of medicine at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., who specializes in bone biology, also shrugs off dairy dissenters. "The reason why dairy products work is that they contain not only calcium and protein but also phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, potassium, and other things associated with good bone health," he says. "It's the logical way to go.""

So, that REALLY helps me! My thinking is that as long as milk/dairy isn't my ONLY source of calcium I'll probably be ok. I looked up alternative sources of calcium, and I found another source that says, "Calcium is more poorly absorbed by folks eating a high protein diet, or high phosphorus foods (such as soda pop and milk). Calcium also is not well absorbed from sesame seeds unless they are ground or pulverized. A recent study(1) compared the absorption of calcium from kale with the absorption from milk revealing absorption of calcium from kale was 40.9%, compared with 32.1% from milk." Another point for kale!!