Friday, May 02, 2008

May Is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month

May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, which means that the National Osteoporosis Foundation is rolling out the heavy calcium for an awareness campaign.

Dairy products are the primary source of calcium in our culture. So how are the lactose intolerant, the dairy allergic, and the vegans among us supposed to cope?

Spine-Health.com conveniently offers 10 ways to get enough calcium if you're lactose intolerant.

  1. Quit drinking soft drinks.
  2. Get enough Vitamin D.
  3. Don’t forget that sunlight also helps the body naturally absorb vitamin D.
  4. Eat your beans (baked).
  5. Canned Salmon.
  6. Calcium fortified foods.
  7. Oatmeal isn't just for breakfast. One cup of oatmeal not only provides 100–150mg of calcium.
  8. Eat your veggies... especially spinach, broccoli and dark green leafy vegetables.
  9. Go Nuts. Almonds and brazils nuts contain about 100mgs of calcium per serving.
  10. Take an Over-the-Counter Calcium Supplement.

The original article provides more extensive comments on each of these, of course.

What happened to #10? They recommend drinking lattes made with soy milk. Or adding soy milk to regular coffee for those with sense. The problem with this advice is that soy milks vary enormously in the amount of calcium they contain. Some have more than cow's milk; some almost none. If you're making coffee at home you can control what brand you get to ensure that it contains sufficient calcium. You can't be sure of this in a store.

Why they don't just recommend drinking soy milk and skipping the coffee, which isn't good for you in a dozen different ways, is a mystery.

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