Milk has a good reputation because of its high calcium content, and it is considered an extremely healthy drink.
And many people are convinced that eating more dairy products keeps the bones healthy.
But the idea that calcium-rich food alone guarantees a healthy bone density is entirely wrong.
Recent studies show that there is no scientific evidence for these recommendations. And the opposite could be the case.
They’re many myths half-truths surrounding the necessity of calcium and the importance of dairy products and Bone health.
More milk for strong bones? Time to rethink!
So how much calcium do we really need?
And what is the relationship between Calcium Intake And Bones Health And Osteoporosis?
Is Milk A Natural Product For Humans?
Milk consumption is unnatural and not necessary, especially for adults.
Milk consumption is unnatural, and above all, not necessarily. Our adult ancestors didn’t consume milk at all (1).
For our investors, drinking milk as an adult was out of the picture.
But, today, the dairy industry promotes milk as the most natural source of calcium.
Besides, About 2/3 of adults in the world are Lactose intolerance.
They have difficulty digesting milk because they lack an enzyme responsible for digesting milk called Lactase.
All mammals, including humans, typically have Lactase when they’re born to digest breast milk.
But with age, the enzyme activity decreases, especially from the age of five years.
According to anthropologists, 10,000 years ago, all adult humans were lactose intolerant and even had higher calcium intake than modern humans.
Calcium Intake And Bones Health And Osteoporosis:
These are the Normal Recommendation for calcium. (2)
But multiple studies had shown that these recommendations are more than questionable.
Empirical data show that 700 – 800 mg/day for an adult is more than enough for healthy bones.
Now we’re going to explore current studies about the importance of calcium and how much you need per day.
For older people: The Increase In calcium intake is not necessary:
In particular, older people are routinely encouraged to eat a diet rich in calcium and take regular supplements to prevent osteoporosis.
But in 2015, Mark Bolland’s research group was able to show in a large meta-analysis (59 randomized controlled individual studies, over 13,000 subjects over 50 years of age) that the maximum possible increase in bone density is 2{23a935e40810e147a9f2406802bc54b2b4fd42064446c8b6538bcc40c333c187}.
And this value is in no way clinically relevant.
Also, there is no correlation between dietary calcium intake and the risk of bone fractures in older people without osteoporosis (3).
Another large case study (with 76 individual studies and more than 77,000 test persons.) concluded that calcium intake does not affect osteoporosis.
[ads_custom_box title=”SUMMARY:” color_border=”#e87e04″]So the widespread assumption that an increased calcium intake can prevent the development of osteoporosis or prevent bone fractures has been completely refuted.[/ads_custom_box]
Same For in adolescence: The Increase In calcium intake is not necessary:
In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, two studies have now been published that deal with the importance of calcium intake in adolescence.
The first study sheds light on the connection between dairy products’ consumption and the bodyweight of 274 girls from the age of 13- to 14.
At the beginning of the study, the girls’ daily calcium intake was below the standard recommendation.
They monitored these girls, and after one year, there found no differences in weight or body fat between the test and placebo groups.
The second study examined the effect of increased calcium intake in normal and overweight children aged 8-16 years.
And the results were the same. There was no significant difference in bone density or body composition between the two groups.
Other observational studies also showed that dairy intake has no effects on bone health (4, 5).
[ads_custom_box title=”SUMMARY:” color_border=”#e87e04″]The increase in calcium intake has no effect on the health of the bones for adolescences.[/ads_custom_box]
Oversupply of calcium is dangerous:
an excess of calcium also has serious consequences, including kidney stones, kidney failure, and cardiac arrhythmia (6, 7).
According to WCRF, there is an increase in prostate cancer risk for an intake of 1,500 mg/day.
With a wholesome diet, it is not a big problem and can be resolved. But it is impossible if you’re overeating dairy or taking calcium supplements
[ads_custom_box title=”SUMMARY:” color_border=”#e87e04″]An Oversupply of calcium is as risky as undersupply[/ads_custom_box]
