Any Information on Calcium?

[TITAN]

I was researching a raw food diet for my cat and in my reading it was made very clear that to feed a cat a raw diet properly you needed to be aware of the ratio of calcium to phosphorous. In the wild cats eat bones along with flesh and thus achieve the proper balance of phosphorous and calcium. The solution in feeding domestic cats is to grind whole chickens minus the digestive tract with some vitamins and maybe a small amount of grains.

Is such a balance a concern in humans? Do we get enough calcium in our diets? A protein rich weightlifting diet is going to be high in phosphorous. Is it important to balance this with a calcium supplement?

[Aoife]

Got milk?

[Lost Dog]

We typically get all the calcium we need out diet. The issue is when you don't eat enough fruits and veggies to balance out the PH in your body. Your body responds to the acid by releasing calcium from lean tissue and bones. It's harder to get it back than it is to keep it, so keep lots of veggies (and fruit) in your diet.

[TITAN]

That makes sense. Thanks.

[coach hale]

yes calcium is important

might help you out

excerpt from Protein Essentials by Jamie Hale

Protein and bone health
Many nutritionists have bashed protein, claiming that a high protein diet will cause weak bones because protein can lead to increased urinary excretion of calcium. However, the scientific evidence speaks for itself. One large study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research showed that both elderly men and women who consumed the most animal protein had the lowest rate of bone loss whereas those who consumed little protein had much higher rates of bone loss. Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that postmenopausal women (the group of people at highest risk for osteoporosis) who consumed the highest amount of protein, particularly animal protein, had the strongest bones and were the least likely to suffer from hip fractures. Other studies have shown that low protein diets hamper recovery from fractures (as well as illness in general).

Bone is a living, active tissue, just like any other in the body. It contains large amounts of cells that are made up partially of protein. Many of these cells have functions essential to maintaining bone health. Furthermore, eating low amounts of protein usually puts the body in a catabolic state where muscle is cannibalized for its protein. It could be that in such a state the body is producing lower amounts of anabolic, bone-building hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and growth hormone. Our body isn’t stupid. Feed it a low amount of protein, and it will channel any that it gets towards functions such as keeping essential organs alive at the neglect of your muscles, bones, and immune system. Lastly, it is also known that protein induces an increase in insulin-like growth factor, which promotes bone building.

Robert Heaney, whose team conducted the widely cited study showing a positive correlation between protein intake and urinary calcium loss, has taken it upon himself to revisit his original data in light of all of the evidence pouring forth from prospective studies showing that protein intake is actually beneficial for bone. In his editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, he critiqued his own study, stating that the women in the study were in a metabolic ward receiving abnormally low amounts of calcium. He speculated that under such conditions, protein may have some negative effects. In addition, he blasted the twisting of the scientific evidence by special interest groups such as vegetarians to suit their political agendas.

A growing body of research suggests that eating a high protein diet does not harm bones if adequate dietary intakes of calcium and vitamin D are consumed. Although protein is essential for bone health, high intake of protein, especially purified protein, may increase urinary calcium loss. This calcium loss could potentially cause negative calcium balance, thereby increasing the risk of bone loss and osteoporosis. However, other nutrients in foods or the diet can offset protein's effects on calcium excretion.

Controversy regarding protein's effects on bone health may be explained by other nutrients in food sources of protein or the total diet. Researchers at Tufts Universityin Boston found that adequate dietary calcium helps to promote a favorable effect of dietary protein on the skeleton in older adults. Also, phosphorus (e.g. milk, meat) and potassium (e.g. milk, legumes, grains) reduce urinary calcium loss, thereby offsetting protein-induced urinary calcium excretion.

Protein exists in close association with other nutrients in the diet. For this reason, it is important to consider protein's role in bone health in the context of foods or the overall dietary pattern. Protein in dairy foods such as milk, cheese, and yogurt may be particularly beneficial for the skeleton because the calcium content of these foods is high in relation to their protein content, and they provide other nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, D, and K needed to build and maintain healthy bones. A number of studies suggest that milk’s nutrient package has positive effects on bone health.
Below are a few abstracts examining the affects of protein and bone health:

Dawson-Hughes B (2003) Calcium and protein in bone health. Proc Nutr Soc 62(2):505–9. Calcium and Bone Metabolism Laboratory, The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, 711 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Email: bess.dawson-hughes@tufts.edu
“Dietary protein has several opposing effects on calcium balance and its net effect on bone is not well established. It has long been recognized that increasing protein intake increases urinary calcium excretion. More recently, it has been observed that increasing dietary protein raises the circulating level of insulin-like growth factor-1, a growth factor that promotes osteoblast formation and bone growth. Other effects of protein on the calcium economy have been suggested in some studies, but they are less well established. Several studies have examined associations between protein intake and bone loss and fracture rates. In the original Framingham cohort subjects, lower total and animal protein intakes had greater rates of bone loss from the femoral neck and spine than subjects consuming more protein. In another study, higher total (and animal) protein intakes were associated with a reduced incidence of hip fractures in postmenopausal women. In contrast, a high animal: plant protein intake has been associated with greater bone loss from the femoral neck and a greater risk of hip fracture in older women. Higher total and higher animal protein intakes have also been associated with increased risk of forearm fracture in younger postmenopausal women. In a recent study, it was found that increasing dietary protein was associated with a favorable (positive) change in bone mineral density of the femoral neck and total body in subjects taking supplemental calcium citrate malate with vitamin D, but not in those taking the placebo. The possibility that calcium intake may influence the impact of dietary protein on the skeleton warrants further investigation.”

Dawson-Hughes B (2003) Interaction of dietary calcium and protein in bone health in humans. J Nutr 133(3):852S–854S.
Calcium and Bone Metabolism Laboratory, The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, 711 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Email: bess.dawson-hughes@tufts.edu
“Protein has both positive and negative effects on calcium balance, and the net effect of dietary protein on bone mass and fracture risk may be dependent on the dietary calcium intake. In addition to providing substrate for bone matrix, dietary protein stimulates the production of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a factor that promotes osteoblast-mediated bone formation. Protein also increases urinary calcium losses by several proposed mechanisms. Increasing calcium intake may offset the negative impact of dietary protein on urinary calcium losses, allowing the favorable effect of protein on the IGF-1 axis to dominate. Several, although not all, studies are either compatible with or support this hypothesis. Protein supplements significantly reduced bone loss in elderly hip-fracture patients in a study in which both the protein and control groups received supplemental calcium. In an observational study, total protein intake was positively associated with favorable three-year changes in femoral neck and total body bone mineral density in volunteers who received supplemental calcium citrate malate and vitamin D, but not in volunteers taking the placebos. In conclusion, an adequate calcium intake may help promote a favorable effect of dietary protein on the skeleton in older individuals.“

Ginty F (2003) Dietary protein and bone health. Proc Nutr Soc 62(4):867–76.
MRC Human Nutrition Research, The Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge, CB1 9NL, UK. Email: Fiona.Ginty@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
“The effects of dietary protein on bone health are paradoxical and need to be considered in context of the age, health status, and usual diet of the population. Over the last 80 years, numerous studies have demonstrated that a high protein intake increases urinary calcium excretion and that on average one mg of calcium is lost in urine for every one gram rise in dietary protein. This relationship is primarily attributable to the metabolism of S amino acids present in animal and some vegetable proteins, resulting in a greater acid load and buffering response by the skeleton. However, many of these early studies that demonstrated the calciuric effects of protein were limited by low subject numbers, methodological errors, and the use of high doses of purified forms of protein. Furthermore, the cross-cultural and population studies that showed a positive association between animal-protein intake and hip fracture risk did not consider other lifestyle or dietary factors that may protect or increase the risk of fracture. The effects of protein on bone appear to be biphasic and may also depend on intake of calcium- and alkali-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetables. At low protein intakes, insulin-like growth factor production is reduced, which in turn has a negative effect on calcium and phosphate metabolism, bone formation, and muscle cell synthesis. Although growth and skeletal development is impaired at very low protein intakes, it is not known whether variations in protein quality affect the achievement of optimal peak bone mass in adolescents and young adults. Prospective studies in the elderly in the USA have shown that the greatest bone losses occur in elderly men and women with an average protein intake of 16-50 g day. Although a low protein intake may be indicative of a generally poorer diet and state of health, there is a need to evaluate whether there is a lower threshold for protein intake in the elderly in Europe that may result in increased bone loss and risk of osteoporotic fracture.”

Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS (2002) Calcium intake influences the association of protein intake with rates of bone loss in elderly men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 75(4):773–79. Comment in Am J Clin Nutr 2002 75(4):609–10; Am J Clin Nutr 2003 77(5):1340–41. Author reply 1341.
Calcium and Bone Metabolism Laboratory, Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Email: hughesb@hnrc.tufts.edu
“Background: There is currently no consensus on the effect of dietary protein intake on the skeleton, but there is some indication that low calcium intakes adversely influence the effect of dietary protein on fracture risk. Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine whether supplemental calcium citrate malate and vitamin D influence any associations between protein intake and change in bone mineral density (BMD). Design: Associations between protein intake and change in BMD were examined in 342 healthy men and women (aged > or = 65 y) who had completed a three-year, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Protein intake was assessed at the midpoint of the study with the use of a food-frequency questionnaire and BMD was assessed every six months by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: The mean (+/-SD) protein intake of all subjects was 79.1 +/- 25.6 g/d, and the mean total calcium intakes of the supplemented and placebo groups were 1346 +/- 358 and 871 +/- 413 mg/d, respectively. Higher protein intake was significantly associated with a favorable three-year change in total-body BMD in the supplemented group (in a model containing terms for age, sex, weight, total energy intake, and dietary calcium intake) but not in the placebo group. The pattern of change in femoral neck BMD with increasing protein intake in the supplemented group was similar to that for the total body. Conclusion: Increasing protein intake may have a favorable effect on change in BMD in elderly subjects supplemented with calcium citrate malate and vitamin D.”

thanks
Coach hale
www.maxcondition.com

[rookie]

Since I am lactose intolerant and can't drink milk, or cheese and so forth what are the chances I get enough calcium just from my veggies and odd cup of Lactose milk?

[Espi]

Go nuts