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Keep
calcium in context
May 8, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Think
twice — no, three times —
before melting cheese on that broccoli or
ordering double cheese pizza.
Cheese is the single greatest source of
fat in the typical American diet. Along
with red meat, dairy products are the
leading sources of saturated fat. And as
the Institute of Medicine has reported,
even the smallest amount of saturated fat
is associated with an increased risk for
coronary artery disease.
These facts alone make it hard to swallow
the dairy industry’s new $25 million
marketing campaign — "3-A-Day
for Stronger Bones" — as a
health message.
Perhaps you’ve seen the ads.
They’re appearing in major
women’s magazines and promote
cheese, milk and yogurt, many of which
contain hefty quantities of fat,
saturated fat and cholesterol.
The ads have spurred outrage in the
health community, which complains the
campaign promotes confusion and
doesn’t differentiate between
high-fat and low-fat dairy products.
The National Cancer Institute —
holder of the logo for the "5 A Day
for Better Health" campaign, which
encourages Americans to eat more fruits
and vegetables — has filed a
trademark infringement complaint. Three
prominent nutrition researchers and 11
health organizations, including the
American Heart Association, wrote to
Dairy Management Inc. to complain that
the new campaign will lead to consumer
confusion and that it "overstates
the number of servings recommended and
fails to specify low-fat or fat-free
choices." Children between the ages
of 2 and 9 years and adults 18 to 50
years old — half of the population
— need only two servings of low-fat
dairy products per day, according to the
government’s official dietary
recommendations.
Given the U.S. obesity epidemic, critics
charge that it does not serve the
public’s interest to pursue a
marketing effort that promotes
consumption of high-fat foods by
children, teens and adults. Milk and
cheese are top contributors of fat,
saturated fat and cholesterol in the
diets of children ages 2 to 18 years.
Children age 2 to 11 get about 40 percent
of the saturated fat in their diets from
dairy foods.
Americans on average don’t meet
current recommendations for calcium
intake, which are set extra high, in
part, to compensate for calcium losses
caused by eating the typical American
diet. But boosting intakes of fat-rich
dairy products isn’t the answer.
So what to do? First, replace high-fat
dairy products with low-fat or —
preferably — nonfat choices.
Second, cut back on cheese. You may be
surprised how good your favorite foods
still taste.
Third, eat more frequent and bigger
servings of calcium-rich foods that
promote overall good health. Some of the
best choices:
• Calcium-fortified cereals and
juices.
• Calcium-fortified soymilk and rice
milk.
• Broccoli and bok choy.
• Kale, okra and greens —
mustard, collard and turnip.
• Red and white beans, tempeh and
tofu pressed with calcium.
• Dried figs, almonds and sesame
seeds.
• Blackstrap molasses.
These foods are consistent with broad
recommendations for health promotion and
disease prevention — not just for
your bones, but for the rest of your
body, too.
Finally, helping your body to absorb and
retain the calcium in your diet is just
as important as getting adequate calcium.
Two factors play major roles. One is
sodium. Excessive sodium or salt intakes
may cause your body to lose calcium.
The other factor is protein. Excessive
amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids
— the building blocks of protein
— may increase losses of calcium
from bone. Foods high in
sulfur-containing amino acids include
eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy
products, nuts and many grains.
Moderating your protein intake can
minimize calcium losses. A good way to do
that is by — what else? —
greatly boosting your intake of fruits
and vegetables, especially those rich in
calcium.
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