We all know that calcium is really good for our bones and for children's growing bodies. I wanted to tell you about my calcium intake yesterday.
Yesterday, I didn't do so hot on hitting my calories for the day. I was around 300 calories under my goal. That is mostly because I burned 301 calories on the eliptical machine. Anyways, even with my low calories, I still got 69% of my daily dose of calcium, yet I did not consume one single dairy product. I obviously did not hit 100%, which I need to work on, but I definitely don't need to consume dairy to do it. In the coming weeks I am going to work on tracking my calcium intake and what I'm eating to help myself (and maybe you) be sure that I'm hitting what I need, and to see what it takes to do so. My guess is that by adding more spinach to my salad and having a glass of soy or almond milk, I will be just fine.
I'm not planning to go back to being 100% vegan, even though I have been on the cleanse. (day 9 out of 10, by the way) But I also do not plan to start buying milk or dairy products on a regular basis. More to come.
Not sure if you've seen it, but Forks over Knives is definitely something that you would enjoy. I watched it this weekend, and wasn't overly surprised or shocked by what it said regarding calcium and dairy products/milk. A study in China and consumption statistics of calcium from dairy in the US was interesting. US consumes a significantly higher amount of dairy products, yet we place first in the amount of hip fractures per year. Some of the people on the government's nutrition board who support dairy as 'perfect' foods have ties to the dairy industry... Coincidence that this is being constantly shoved in our face...?
ReplyDeleteHere's a few links to check out:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study
Osteoporosis
The authors state that osteoporosis is linked to the consumption of animal protein because animal protein, unlike plant protein, increases the acidity of blood and tissues. They add that to neutralize this acid, calcium (a very effective base) is pulled from the bones, which weakens them and puts them at greater risk for fracture. The authors add that "in our rural China Study, where the animal to plant ratio [for protein] was about 10 percent, the fracture rate is only one-fifth that of the U.S."
2. Review by someone who watched it - Calcium part is toward the bottom of the page:
http://www.ultrarunningsite.com/2011/09/forks-over-knives-movie-review/
Just some interesting points I'd thought I'd share. Again, excellent movie to check out - It sounds like you would enjoy it and likely agree with most of the information they share. :-)