What about calcium?
Where do vegans get it?
Most of us have been conditioned to believe that without the constant consumption of cows' milk our bones would be brittle and weak. As things turn out however, this really isn't the case.
We can see this pretty easily just by observing 'non-dairy' cultures around the world. Being so fixated on the 'dairy for strong bones' myth means we often fail to notice that many places outside of the west consume little or no dairy at all (though it's sadly on the rise thanks to western influence) and that seventy percent of humans worldwide are to some degree allergic to dairy - a fact that really shouldn't put it into consideration as a fitting global calcium source.
In parts of East Asia for example there was, up until recently, no culture of dairy consumption at all. Whilst this has begun to change in recent years (due to globalisation) dairy consumption is still incredibly low by western standards. Yet bone health in these countries is not only comparable to that of the west, in many cases it's notably better. That's because standard diets in this part of the world contain a lot more leafy greens than
western diets and one of the common staples there (dried seaweed) is also a great calcium source.
Like all of the nutrients found in meat and dairy products, calcium is only there to begin with because the animals first ate plants. By going directly to the source we can forgo the unnecessary step of filtering our nutrients through the body of an animal. Dark, leafy greens are an exceptional source of calcium and also the reason cow's milk contains calcium in the first place - because the cows eat grass.
On a healthy, plant-based, whole foods diet our bodies get all the calcium they need and even those who don't eat their greens are covered anyway thanks to the fortification of vegan staples such as plant-based milks.
The videos below from nutritionfacts.org cover a range of topics relating to calcium and bone health and are well worth a little of your time.
We can see this pretty easily just by observing 'non-dairy' cultures around the world. Being so fixated on the 'dairy for strong bones' myth means we often fail to notice that many places outside of the west consume little or no dairy at all (though it's sadly on the rise thanks to western influence) and that seventy percent of humans worldwide are to some degree allergic to dairy - a fact that really shouldn't put it into consideration as a fitting global calcium source.
In parts of East Asia for example there was, up until recently, no culture of dairy consumption at all. Whilst this has begun to change in recent years (due to globalisation) dairy consumption is still incredibly low by western standards. Yet bone health in these countries is not only comparable to that of the west, in many cases it's notably better. That's because standard diets in this part of the world contain a lot more leafy greens than
western diets and one of the common staples there (dried seaweed) is also a great calcium source.
Like all of the nutrients found in meat and dairy products, calcium is only there to begin with because the animals first ate plants. By going directly to the source we can forgo the unnecessary step of filtering our nutrients through the body of an animal. Dark, leafy greens are an exceptional source of calcium and also the reason cow's milk contains calcium in the first place - because the cows eat grass.
On a healthy, plant-based, whole foods diet our bodies get all the calcium they need and even those who don't eat their greens are covered anyway thanks to the fortification of vegan staples such as plant-based milks.
The videos below from nutritionfacts.org cover a range of topics relating to calcium and bone health and are well worth a little of your time.
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Plant vs Cow
Calcium |
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Vegan vs
Omnivore Bone Health |
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Is Milk Good
for Our Bones? |
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Dairy and
Hormonal Imbalance |
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Calcium
Absorbtion: Soy vs Cow Milk |
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"The most ethical diet just so happens to be the most environmentally
sound diet and just so happens to be the healthiest."
Dr. Michael Greger
sound diet and just so happens to be the healthiest."
Dr. Michael Greger
