The dairy industry has been lying to you. Dairy is unhealthy. Here are ways you can up your calcium intake using healthier foods. 

Vegans are soooo lucky to get free medical advice from people who haven’t the slightest clue what they’re talking about! All you have to do is tell someone you don’t eat dairy and watch as they play physician, demanding to know where you get your calcium.

Of course, many real doctors know better than that. They acknowledge that dairy consumption is linked to higher instances of bone fractures as you age. Studies confirm that fracture rates are significantly higher among populations with dairy-rich diets, compared to those that consume little or no dairy. In the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, researchers tracked nearly 78,000 women between the ages of 34 and 59 for 12 years. One of the results? Those who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk.

It’s startling that even now, some people are still amazed that vegan bones don’t crack under the weight of your skin when you reveal that you don’t consume the milk of lactating cows.

These concerns are completely misguided, of course. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that calcium from leafy greens was absorbed at significantly higher rates than that of dairy. For instance, the calcium in Brussels sprouts was absorbed at a rate of 64% while calcium in cow’s milk was absorbed at only 32%.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the recommended dietary allowance for adults 18 years and older is 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium per day. Here’s a sample menu of a calcium-rich vegan meal plan that contains about 1,200 mg of calcium. (The amount of calcium in each ingredient is in parentheses.)

  • Breakfast: Chia seed pudding made with 2 Tbsp. raw chia seeds (177 mg) and Edensoy organic soy milk (100 mg), topped with 1 Tbsp. almond butter (40 mg), 1/4 cup dried figs (57 mg), and 1 oz. hazelnuts (56 mg)
  • Lunch: A grain bowl made with 1 cup kale (53 mg), 3 oz. tofu (150 mg), 1/2 cup chickpeas (80 mg), 1/2 cup cooked amaranth (58 mg), and 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (88 mg)
  • Dinner: Roasted veggies atop 1 cup mustard greens (64 mg) with 1/2 cup tempeh (92 mg), 1/2 cup cooked black beans (40 mg), 1/2 cup cooked broccoli (31 mg), 1 oz. almonds (75 mg), and 1 oz. tahini sauce (42 mg)

The next time your pseudo-doctor friend berates you about your supposed calcium-deficient vegan lifestyle, tell them this: Animal proteins have high sulfur-containing amino acid content—two to five times the amount found in plant foods—which has an acidifying effect on the blood. To correct the pH imbalance, the body responds by dumping calcium (an alkaline mineral) into the blood to neutralize the acid. Calcium is largely stored in the bones, so eating a lot of animal protein triggers the body to dissolve its own bones just to get a quick hit of calcium into the bloodstream. By eating animal-derived foods, you are essentially leaching calcium from your bones. Most fruits, veggies, whole grains, raw nuts, beans, and lentils are naturally alkaline, as are tofu, tempeh, and seeds, thus making them superior sources of absorbable calcium. Mic drop.

Original source: https://prime.peta.org