Protein and Those Bones
Eating a very high protein diet might eventually increase your risk of osteoporosis. that`s what a study from Tokyo`s Kasei Gakuin University suggests. Researchers comparing the amount and type of protein eaten with the amount of calcium lost in urine in 406 females and 349 males found that as protein intake increased, so did the amount of calcium lost.
Half of the protein the participants consumed came from animal sources, half from plant. For each gram of animal protein eaten over and above the individual`s RDA (which varies depending on size and activity level). 1-2 miligrams of calcium were lost, estimated the authors, whose findings were published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The same correlation was not found for plant protein. It seems that eating about twice the recommended amount of animal protein may result in a 50-100 miligrams calcium loss.
Women who take the recommended 1,000 miligrams of calcium daily need not worry about such losses. But most women don`t get enough calcium daily. Says the U.S. Departement of Agriculture, and should watch their protein intake.
Julie Walsh, in Shape, October 1998
