Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Animal Protein Detrimental To Bones

At least that's what this study found:

The Association Between Dietary Protein Intake And Bone Mass Accretion In Pubertal Girls With Low Calcium Intakes, British Journal of Nutrition, March 2010

A 5-year study in Beijing, China involving 757 girls, average age of 10 years. The intervention was cows milk for the first 2 years of the study.
"Negative associations were observed between protein intake (55.9–61.0 g/d on average) and BMC accrual at TB, PF or DF (β = − 1.92, − 10.2 or − 4.82, respectively, P < 0.01) after adjustment. When protein intake was considered according to animal or plant food sources, protein from animal foods, particularly meat, had significant negative effects on bone mineral content accrual at DF or PF after adjustment. It was concluded that higher protein intake, especially from animal foods, appeared to have a negative effect on bone mass accrual."
The more meat and eggs the girls ate, the lower their bone density.

The recommended protein intake for a 120 pound adult is 44 grams/day. Although some recommend no more than 30 grams/day.

Related posts:
The More Protein You Eat, The More Calcium You Excrete
High Prevalence of Osteoporosis Among Alaskan Eskimos
Dairy Producer Underwrites Study: Finds Vegan Diets May Harm Bones (The same authors found vegan diets didn't harm bones before they were funded by a group with dairy ties.)
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2 comments:

Angela and Melinda said...

Very interesting post, and good links too!
Did you see the ND post on veggies & cancer? I don't know how to interpret it, but it is surprising.
http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2010/04/surprising-news-on-fruits-veggies-and-cancer.html

Bix said...

I saw news reports. I haven't seen the study. I'll definitely have a look!

Maybe it's more what we don't eat than what we do eat.