Does protein leach calcium from the bones? Yes, but only if it is plant protein

The thought that protein leaches calcium from the bones has been close to for a while. It is associated to the idea that protein, specially from animal foodstuff, will increase blood acidity. The entire body then employs its principal reservoir of calcium, the bones, to reduce blood acidity. Chris Masterjohn does not concur with this concept. This put up generally supports Chris’s see, and provides a twist to it, associated to plant protein usage.

The “eat-meat-shed-bone” concept has seemingly turn out to be well-liked owing to the position taken by Loren Cordain on the matter. Dr. Cordain has also made several crucial and a must have contributions to our understanding of the diet programs of our Paleolithic ancestors. He has argued in his e-book, The Paleo Diet, and somewhere else (see, e.g., right here) that to counter the acid load of protein 1 must take in fruits and vegetables. The latter are believed to have an alkaline load.

If the notion that protein leaches calcium from the bones is appropriate, one would expect to see a damaging affiliation in between protein consumption and bone mineral density (BMD). This adverse affiliation must be particularly sturdy in men and women aged fifty and more mature, who are more vulnerable to BMD losses.

As it turns out, this thought appears to be proper only for plant protein. Animal protein would seem to be related with an boost in BMD, at least in accordance to a review by Promislow et al. (2002). The review exhibits that there is a good multivariate association amongst animal protein usage and BMD an affiliation that gets to be negative when plant protein intake is regarded.

The study focused on 572 girls and 388 men aged 55–92 several years living in Rancho Bernardo, California. Foodstuff frequency questionnaires ended up administered in the 1988–1992 time period, and BMD was measured four a long time later. The bar chart underneath demonstrates the approximate will increase in BMD (in g/cm^two) for each 15 g/d increment in protein consumption.

The authors described increments in BMD for different increments of protein (15 and 5 g/d), so the outcomes above are adjusted considerably from the original values documented in the write-up. Keeping that in mind, the increment in BMD for gentlemen because of to animal protein was not statistically significant (P=.20). That is the smallest bar on the left.

Does protein leach calcium from the bones? Dependent on this research, the realistic answers to this query are yes for plant protein, and no for animal protein. For animal protein, it seems to be really the reverse.

Even much more interesting, calcium consumption did not seem to be to be much of a issue. BMD gains due to animal protein seemed to converge to equivalent values whether calcium intake was substantial, medium or minimal. The convergence happened as animal protein consumption increased, and the stage of convergence was between eighty five-90 g/d of animal protein consumption.

And large calcium intakes did not seem to be to protect individuals whose plant protein consumption was substantial.

The authors do not examine particular meals, but one particular can guess the principal plant protein that people folks likely eaten. It was very likely gluten from wheat products.

Are the associations above thanks to: (a) the individuals eating animal protein consuming a lot more fruits and veggies than the people ingesting plant protein or (b) something inherent to animal foods that stimulates an increase in the absorption of nutritional calcium, even in modest amounts?

This concern cannot be answered primarily based on this study it ought to have controlled for fruit and vegetable intake for that.

But if I have been to wager, I would wager on (b).

Reference

Promislow, J.H.E., Goodman-Gruen, D., Slymen, D.J., & Barrett-Connor, E. (2002). Protein intake and bone mineral density in the elderly. American Journal of Epidemiology, a hundred and fifty five(seven), 636–644.

Title: Does protein leach calcium from the bones? Yes, but only if it is plant protein
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