Nelie:

What are doing for calcium?

I also take synthroid for hypothyroidism, and my understanding was that I need to avoid soy within four hours of taking my pill because it interfered with absorption. Are there other reasons as well?

I have also heard that those of us with low thyroid hormone should limit cruciferous vegetables because they suppresses the hormone further. Has anyone else heard this? And are the other things to avoid?

Sorry to go OT here!

Originally Posted by Jasmine31:
Nelie:

What are doing for calcium?

I know I'm not nelie but I thought I'd just note that many dark green vegetables have a fair amount of calcium, especially collard greens, turnip greens and kale. So if you're eating vegetables in the amounts prescribed in the "Eat to Live" plan it's pretty easy to get enough from vegetables. Soy products like fortified soy milk, tempeh, and tofu processed with calcium sulfate are also good plant-based sources of calcium.

I know this is somewhat controversial, but I think the dairy industry propaganda about consuming dairy for bone health is just that, propaganda. In countries where little if any dairy is consumed, like China, incidence of osteoporosis and hip fractures are actually lower. The excessive animal protein in dairy can potentially raise the pH level (acidify) the blood and cause leeching of calcium out of the bones to restore pH balance. Not a recipe for happy bones, IMO.

shananigans

Well it is always good to hear from you to. I just stopped by your blog. lol Anyhow I know what you are saying I have heard similiar stuff too. Then you hear that some of the calcium from the veggies isn't as readily absorbed. Then you got the whole raw milk stuff where they think the reason dairy is bad for you is cause of what the cows are fed. They are supposed to eat grass, not corn. The fact that it is pasteurized and homogenized and on and on.

What I keep thinking is to get back as close as we can to how God made the food. In the Bible milk and cheese and butter is fine. Vegetables are fine. SO is meat. What isn't fine is all the pesticides and hormones and antibiotics and etc.

Soy actually scares me. I do agree with what some people are saying about everything in moderation. What irks me is this: How did people hundreds of years ago survive so well. They just ate what their parents fed them and was close to them and on and on. Now it is like a science, ya know what I mean. And we still wonder if we are getting it right or wrong. One day eggs are bad, the next day they are good.

And on and on.......

Originally Posted by :
The excessive animal protein in dairy can potentially raise the pH level (acidify) the blood and cause leeching of calcium out of the bones to restore pH balance.

I also wonder if it is the excessive amount of meat Americans eat. I do think we need to eat a ton more veggies and fruits than what most people do. Over here it is the meat first, and no veggies or a little bit of veggies.

We need ALOT of veggies. So I hear what you are saying and I am still in the middle. *sigh*

Just a quick google search to somehow throw a reference out to what concern I was trying to bring up:

Phytates

Originally Posted by :
10. You may read that vegans run the risk of calcium deficiency because the calcium in vegetables, like iron, is bound by the fibers and phytates (mineral-building chemicals in plants) in the vegetables and may interfere with calcium absorption. The theoretical worry may be balanced out by the lower phosphate content of vegetables, which improves calcium absorption, and by the fact that most people have the enzyme phytase, which breaks down the phytic acid in vegetables.

11. Couch-potatoism, or lack of exercise, may contribute as much, or more, to osteoporosis than lack of calcium. Weight-bearing exercise (just about any exercise except swimming or cycling) not only builds muscle, it builds bone.

Okay I won't even try to pretend to understand all that. (#10) I know it trys to make an excuse saying but it should work...cause.....but that is the kind of stuff you just wonder about. I know there are alot of other countrys which are healthy. I do think mediterasian is a good path to follow but still haven't completely wrapped my head around any ONE way to eat.

Actually people hundreds of years ago, didn't always survive so well. Malnutrition was actually fairly common. In the middle-ages, the wealthy were actually MORE likely to be malnourished than the peasants, because many if not most vegetables, lentils and other legumes, as well as whole grain breads and porridges were considered "lowly," and fit only for consumption by animals and peasants. Spices, salt and herbs were often used to cover the taste of spoiling meat. (The peasants would have access to local herbs to flavor their food, but would normally eat very little meat).

When you think of it, milk is not designed to be eaten by adults, and the only milk designed by nature for human consumption is human milk. The only reason every human on the planet isn't lactose intolerant, is that some of us were never "weaned" from it. Omniverous critters often get much of their calcium and other minerals from the organ meat, skin, and bones. Substances we don't generally include in the american diet very often, if ever.
I've heard the theory that calcium defiiciency may be the reason rabbit moms often eat their young (they will eat deformed or still born young, but sometimes will eat apparently healthy babies, occasionally the whole litter).

I think humans are so far removed from the "original" diet of our species (whether you believe in creation or evolution), that to an extent we do have to make it a science.

Even a teeny, tiny amount of soy as an ingredient in something results in spectacularly vile gas for me, so I prefer to avoid it at all costs!

Rainy