Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane

staying healthy in the fast lane

the highest calcium intakes have the highest hip fracture rates and
those with the lowest calcium intake have the lowest. Fracture risk
is associated with higher protein intake, which can cause more cal-
cium spill in the urine.^3 Dr. Lanou has co-authored (with Michael
Castleman) an easily read and incredibly well-referenced book on
this very topic, which I highly recommend (Building Bone Vitality,
2009) if you are fearful of your bones falling apart by not eating
dairy products.
To be balanced on the protein and urine loss of calcium debate,
a counter to this argument was expressed in an interview I did
with Dr. Loren Cordain, author of the Paleo Diet (2011). He states
that while higher animal protein intakes can increase calcium
loss in the urine, higher meat diets also increase calcium absorp-
tion, thereby resulting in a net increase in calcium absorption. He
further states that increased meat consumption enhances IGF-1
which can increase bone formation by stimulating the bone form-
ing cells called osteocytes.^4
Of course, there are successfully aging cultures that eat natu-
ral dairy products and do fine. Take for instance the “Blue Zone”
Sardinian (Italy) goat and sheep herders. Because these are natu-
rally free-ranged animals, they probably have a more anti-inflam-
matory fatty acid profile (more omega-3 fatty acids), and goats in
particular consume a plant (dwarf curry) rich in a powerful anti-
inflammatory compound called arzanol. The popular goat milk
and cheese products consumed by Sardinians may have healthful
anti-inflammatory properties from the good fatty acid profile and
arzanol.^5
Generally speaking, healthy aging cultures from around the
world consume small quantities of dairy products. Eating dairy
naturally and locally is considerably different from eating mass-
produced, pasteurized dairy products from factory farming in
which the animals are given hormones and antibiotics, live in
crowded conditions, and are kept in nearly a year-round state of
lactation. Also, the diets of these healthy aging cultures are gener-
ally not high animal protein diets. They are generally low to mod-
erate in animal protein with lots of vegetables, beans, and a staple
starch, fruit, some nuts and seeds, virtually no processed foods,