The China Study by Thomas Campbell

210 THE CHINA STUDY

the larger society." The "currents" he was referring to were the animal

rights activists opposed to the use of dairy foods.

Much of the debate regarding osteoporosis, whether it is conducted

with integrity or otherwise, resides in the research concerning the de-

tails. As you shall see, the devil lurks in the details, the primary detail

being that of bone mineral density (BMD).

Many scientists have investigated how various diet and lifestyle fac-

tors affect BMD. BMD is a measure of bone density that is often used to

diagnose bone health. If your bone density falls below a certain level,

you may be at risk for osteoporosis. In practical terms, this means that

if you have a low BMD, you are at a higher risk for a fracture.I6-18 But

there are some devilishly contradictory and confUSing details in this

great circus of osteoporosis research. To name a few:

• A high BMD increases the risk of osteoarthritis. 19


• A high BMD has been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.20, 21


• Although high BMD is linked both to increased breast cancer risk
  and decreased osteoporotic risk, breast cancer and osteoporosis
  nonetheless cluster together in the same areas of the world and
  even in the same individuals. 22


• Rate of bone loss matters just as much as overall BMD. 23


• There are places where overall bone mass, bone mineral density
  or bone mineral content measurements are lower than they are in
  "Western" countries, but the fracture rate also is lower, defying ac-
  cepted logic of how we define "big, strong bones."24--26


• Being fat is linked to greater BMD,H, 27 even though areas of the
  world that have higher rates of obesity also have higher rates of
  osteoporosis.

Something is wrong with the idea that BMD reliably represents os-
teoporosis and, by inference, indicates the kind of diet that would lower
fracture rates. In contrast, an alternative, but much better, predictor
of osteoporosis is the dietary ratio of animal-to-plant protein. I, 13 The
higher the ratio, the higher the risk of disease. And guess what? BMD is
not significantly associated with this ratio.13
Clearly the conventional recommendations regarding animal foods,
dairy and bone mineral density, which are influenced and advertised by
the dairy industry, are besieged by serious doubts in the literature. Here
is what I would recommend you do, based on the research, to minimize
your risk of osteoporosis: