Calcium

I recently heard about this important article about vegans and calcium from Jack Norris R.D.( registered dietician ) from Vegan Outreach.

In a nutshell, there have been various beliefs in vegan circles over the years that vegans do not need as much calcium as omnivores. A very good study was recently published to the contrary, finding that vegans had worse bone fracture rates than omnivores or vegetarians.

The USRDA for calcium for most adults is 1,000 mg. The UK RDA is 700 mg. Vegans who got 525 mg of calcium had the same bone fracture rate ( still sucky ) as omnivores.

1 cup of cooked, chopped collard greens gives 266 mg of calcium.

1 cup of cooked, chopped, broccoli has 62 mg of calcium.

1 cup of raw, chopped watercress, which is as palatable as lettuce and half the calories, has 40 mg of calcium.

A similar serving of lettuce has only 13mg of calcium.

The Vegan Outreach article by Jack Norris R.D.:
New Study Answers Questions about the Vegan Diet, Calcium, and Bone Health – February 23, 2007 – by Jack Norris, RD

Current information about Calcium & Osteoporosis via veganhealth.org
https://veganhealth.org/calcium

Pritikin vs. Atkins

 

The “low fat vs low carb” debate has been going on for a longer time than I thought.

Nathaniel Pritikin, an inventor, did his own research and came up with the low fat diet in the mid 1950s after he was diagnosed with severe cardiovascular disease. At the time the best doctors told him to keep eating what he was eating. He also had leukemia.

The first low carb diet was written in the late 19th century by a middle aged undertaker who wanted to drop a few pounds. Since then it has come in and gone out of vogue in cycles……almost like women’s fashions.

Atkins and Pritikin debated each other throughout the 70s.

I found this article interesting as it mentioned how both men finished their lives.

http://www.pritikin.com/eperspective/specialissues/pritikinatkins/index.htm

Atkins:

  • died at 72 from slipping on ice and banging his head
  • at his death he weighed 258 pounds, making him clinically obese
  • medical examiners claimed he had a history of heart disease, congestive heart failure, and hypertension
  • Atkins’ widow threatened legal action to avoid a full autopsy.

Pritikin

  • died at 69, from leukemia, which he managed to live with for 35 years
  • a full autopsy revealed that there was no trace of the heart disease he was diagnosed with back in the 1950s
  • medical examiners claimed his arteries were as clean and flexible as a man decades younger.

In my opinion, you can’t blame Atkins’ obesity or heart disease on his age, as many low carb fans have tried to do. Pritikin was only 3 years younger at his death and had neither of those issues.