[661] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
Re: Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard J. Barbalace)
Mon Sep 18 12:22:15 1995
To: Lewis Haddow <9235367@arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>
Cc: vsg@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: Your message of Mon, 18 Sep 1995 15:30:51 -0000.
<1CA69DC6C32@arran.sms.ed.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 12:19:09 EDT
From: "Richard J. Barbalace" <rjbarbal@MIT.EDU>
> I'd like to know more about vegetarianism and calcium balance. I was
> having an argument / discussion with a friend (like me, she is a
> veggie and a scientist) who said that vegetarian diets increased the
> risk of osteoporosis due to the lower intake of calcium and vitamin
> D.
Well, I know of no vegetarians who have osteoporosis, although I know
several people who do have the condition. Men usually are not at
risk for osteoporosis, but check with your doctor if you are concerned.
Vitamin D is almost never a problem. I learned in a biology class
once that a person can make enough Vitamin D in one day at the beach
to last an entire year. This is because Vitamin D is fat-soluble,
unlike most vitamins which are water-soluble (and thus are constantly
lost in sweat, urine, etc.). Vitamin D can be stored up in fat cells
for extended periods of time and does not need to be consumed on a
daily basis; the US RDA is, I think, the average amount that should
be consumed.
A person can get sufficient calcium from dark green leavy vegetables,
or vitamin supplements (usually made from seashells) if really
necessary.
> If we are at risk of low calcium, where are we to get it from if
> dairy and eggs are so desperately unhealthy?
Dairy products are not "desperately unhealthy," but "excessive"
consumption of them (and anything else) is. If you're not vegan,
you can get sufficient calcium from occasionally having eggs or
yogurt, or adding cheese to foods.
+ Richard
