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Veganism, Vegetarianism, Carnivores and Bone Loss:

I have heard for years that meat and protein was bad for your bones and that eating only plants was the best thing for you as far as osteoporosis is concerned. Well, wrong, but again, could this be yet another example of conflicting studies with the possible twisting of data to please a certain group? I dug up some old information from the old and venerated and oft-quoted Framingham Study and read an article entitled The Effect of Dietary Protein on Bone Loss in Elderly Men and Women: The Osteoporosis Study (online publication Dec. 1, 2000). I will try to be brief, but, bottom line, I don't think there was any nefarious fooling around with the data; I think the study is valid.

615 people (301 women and 224 men) with a mean age of 75 (ages 66-91) and the protein intake varied from a modest 14 grams (that would be two eggs or a 4 oz. piece of salmon) to a whopping 175 grams (A dozen eggs PLUS 1½ lbs. salmon!). Here are the surprising results: The people who consumed the most protein had the least bone loss. It is still true that eating protein will cause your body to become more acidic and (theoretically) remove calcium from your bones to buffer the blood to its very narrow working range of pH 7.35-7.45 and its also true that the urine of the high protein consumers spilled more calcium, but, this didn't matter, as the protein eaters seemed to absorb the calcium better.

Here is the caveat on vegan and vegetarianism: You have to answer this question: It's your very own personal body  not mine  so, what do you want to treat most of all? For example, if you have had heart trouble or cancer or come from a family history of the same and happen to have a robust and muscular body, then for you, the vegan/vegetarian way of life may just save your life and to hell with bone loss. Look at Bill Clinton as a prime example. If on the other hand, you have no heart issues or cancer predispositions and are fair and slight of build, then the vegan/vegetarianism thing may just be the worst possible way for you to eat. This is gross over-simplification, but you get the gist: You must weigh risk vs. benefits when you are deciding how you want to eat.

You just can't compartmentalize food and say one meal fits all, because it doesn't. Life and the way we choose our ways to stay healthy and do our life as successfully as possible, is not a simple process  it remains and will always be so highly personal. Furthermore, your lifestyle needs will fluctuate from month-to-month and from year-to-year so I don't think that you can get on one horse and ride it forever. Of course I am not denying that there are wonderful things about not eating meat  helping the planet, not being cruel to animals, the general awfulness and toxicity of all meat today, blah, blah, blah  but the bottom line for you and me is this: What do we need to do, to eat and to think about in order to remain as healthy as possible for as long as we possibly can?

Of course it's a no brainer to eat tons of vegetables and fruits of all different colors along with that piece of fish or chicken. In fact, that's why I like the Mediterranean Diet  it just seems to cover all the bases. You have your bit of light animal protein in the form of a nice healthy trout you caught from your dock, some good Gorgonzola that you got from the cheesemaker next door, your good olive oils that you buy specially stone ground across town, your ferments (yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha) that you make yourself and then all the good plant foods that you grow on your one acre organic farm. And on the Med Diet, you are even encouraged to have a nice glass of Chianti (from your own vineyard in the Napa Valley) with that lovely 3 oz. portion of grass fed beef steak (Yes, from your very own herd in Sterling, Colorado.) What?

The top Anti-aging supplements are: Lipoic Acid (300 mgs daily) Astaxanthin (4 mg, twice daily) Curcumin (500-750 mgs. daily) MSM( 1,000-2,000 mgs. twice daily) NAC (250 mg. daily) pterostilbene  found in blueberries and grapes  (50 mg once daily) and trans-resveratrol (100-250 mgs daily) And I agree  this list is a great start.

What you should see on the label of your whey: All natural grass-fed, hormone free, cold processed (most whey is heat processed and cheaper), acid-free processing (most expensive), whey protein concentrate, sweetened naturally, maximum biological value, easy to digest, contains MCT's and branched chain aminos, free from toxic metals. Now you see why my whey is pricey.

Check out this website: It's fascinating: www.chiroone.net/whychiropractic.

Most medicated nation on earth: That's us. Here is the top ten of what we are currently slopping down to keep ourselves healthy. 1) Hydrocodone. Dangerous because all hydrocodone is made with acetaminophen which can kill your liver. 2) Zocor for cholesterol. Does nothing for your risk of heart attack or stroke which is what it is being given to you for. Lies. 3) Lisinopril for blood pressure. 4) Synthroid for hypo-thyroidism. 5) Norvasc, another anti-hypertensive. 6) Prilosec for indigestion. 7) Zithromax, a powerful antibiotic. 8) Amoxicillin, another powerful antibiotic. 9) Metformin for diabetes. 10) Hydrocholorothiazide, a diuretic to help you with your high blood pressure. We are spending 2 TRILLION on drugs every year, keeping the Big Pharma Fat Cats in their Escalades. Spend ridiculously far less with me and find out WHY you are taking all these things  what's at the bottom of it all  and let's see if we can't get rid of some of them.

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