Tag Archives: calcium

Sunday Reading 02-22-15 #24

February 22, 2015

Lots of people are complaining about the cold weather, but I’m loving it. I’ve been snuggling under blankets at the apartment, and finally getting to relax. My apartment controls the heating, so I am usually too hot, and opening windows in the winter. Not now. It is finally so cold, it is creating the perfect temperature inside.

I also mentioned in my other 365 project post that my work is moving, and it pretty much happened during the coldest time during the whole winter. I am fine with that. It made moving kind-of nice, and sometimes I got TOO hot. The only downside is that once I stopped moving around, all I wanted to do was curl up in a blanket.

Your Healthy Eating Habits Are Pummeling The Packaged Foods Industry

Here’s an interesting article that gives me a little hope with my generation- we are eating less packaged foods! I started to notice this when I started working with my bosses that were late fifties and sixties. I noticed that in some ways they were completely cool with eating packaged goods, even being health conscious. But the article also notes the decline in sales is also because there are just more competition.

The Best Exercises for Healthy Bones

I found this old article when looking up something for Alexa Asks about calcium post. The article talks about which exercises really helps strengthens bones. It is interesting as it talks about how scientifically it makes a difference.

Guide to Gluten-free Ancient Grains

One thing I like about the Gluten-free movement is that it forces people to vary their grains. Variation is an important part of a healthy diet. Sadly, I think we are all guilty of eating some of the same foods over and over again. I mean this week I think all I ate was rice! So this blog post is cool since it talks about other grains, and leaves links to recipes! I know I will check out a few for teff, I got a whole bag of it sitting in the cupboard.

The Science of Anti-Vaccination

I am not thrilled by all the articles people are sharing on Facebook about vaccinations. Almost all articles write in a demeaning voice, and pretty much always has a voice of “just vaccinate your kids dumbass!” This isn’t going to change people’s opinions. Viewpoints like Saywards’ are important to convince people to vaccinate children. This SciShow video is great since it explains the logic about the anti-vaccination movement, and doesn’t paint a picture that these people are simply stupid. Watching the video I sat there thinking about how I follow many of those logic traps.

How Long Are You Going to Live?

Did I mention how I was watching a lot of YouTube videos since it is so chilly out? Well, here is another great video about how to read life expectancy rates. It also talks about how race and education effects life expectancy.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: bones, calcium, fork and beans, healthcare triage, new york times, scishow, sunday reading, sunday reads, vaccination, washington post

Alexa Asks, Jen Answers #12: Calcium and your bones

February 20, 2015

Alexa is working toward a vegetarian diet, and is loaded with questions. Jennifer’s got answers. We talk about anything as long as it is vegan. Are tattoos vegan? How do I politely not eat Thanksgiving dinner? How do I order without pissing off the waitress? We know you are dying to ask!

We talked about how much calcium is in soy milk, but should I be concerned about how much calcium I get?

We hear a lot about calcium as vegans. It is the next obvious nutritional concern people have after protein. We grow up in school learning that we drink milk for calcium, as if nothing else has it. When my husband found out he was lactose intolerant, he got a lot of questions of how he got his calcium. It seemed that people assumed that we had force milk in our tummies regardless to fill the calcium void. Which got me thinking, how important is calcium?

Here is a little food for thought, hundreds and thousands of years ago humans were designed to drink breast milk until they were a few years old. After a certain point, the human body looses the ability to break down the lactose molecule easily. Then one day there is a mutation in the human gene that let the body continue to break down lactose, letting humans consume milk for their whole lives.

But you might make the argument that our ancestors didn’t live as long as we do now, and that we need that extra calcium as we get older. I mean think about osteoporosis! Women are always being told to consume more milk to prevent brittle bones. Several studies have shown that additional calcium have no link to decreased bone fractures, and in some studies may increase them. To make things more crazy, some studies show that milk consumption may actually leech calcium from bones.

So is calcium a giant fraud? No. We still need calcium for bone strength, and other bodily functions like nerve connections to muscles. I think perspective is in need. We may of heard about how we need three glasses of milk to get our calcium recommendation. That would mean three glasses of milk will provide 100% of the calcium for the day. That is great, but that would imply we don’t get calcium from any other foods. Beans, sesame seeds, soy, and leafy greens all have calcium. Just like protein, there is a little bit of calcium in almost any food.

If you are worried about bone density and strength, try weight training. It has been proven to strengthen bones, but isn’t as widely advertised. So lifting a dumbbell may do more for you as you age than chugging the milk.

As a vegan you might not need to be worried about calcium intake. Many vegan foods are now fortified in calcium. Most milks contain more calcium than dairy milk as a marketing strategy. Lots of protein powder mixes have added calcium, and even oats are fortified. And if you are told by your doctor to take calcium supplements, you are covered as well. Any search will help you find vegan sourced calcium tablets.

I look at calcium like most vitamins, I know I need it but I don’t worry about it. How many times do you think about your potassium levels? Or worry about your vitamin C levels? Probably not often.

Posted by Jennifer in Alexa Asks Tags: alexa asks, calcium, vegan

2 comments

Alexa Asks, Jen Answers #4: What’s the beef with Calcium?

November 7, 2014

One doctor told me that soy milk doesn’t have as much calcium as dairy milk, then one doctor told me there is MORE calcium in soy milk than normal milk. Which is it?

I’ve been on and off again vegan long enough to see the calcium in milk shift. Like any young female vegan, I got a lot of pressure about my protein and calcium intake. I spent a lot of the time reading the back of soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, or whatever new milks were coming out. Back then brands varied widely.

Older brands were completely unfortified. Whatever calcium was present in soy beans was available in the milk. But more mainstream brands would add fortified calcium to the soy milk to match regular dairy milk. I remember being advised to drink the flaky bits on the bottom since that was the added calcium.

So your first doctor is right. If you made soy milk at home, it wouldn’t have as much calcium as cow’s milk.

“But Jen,” you might say “soy milk and almond milk containers say it has 50% more calcium than dairy milk!” And you would be right. Most major non-dairy milk brands have taken up the practice of adding more calcium than normal milk. This might be a way to appeal more to older women, who are particularly concerned about osteoporosis and hot flashes (which soy has been found to help keep in check)

Then you get into the whole world of whether or not fortified vitamins are bad for your health. Most of us know that fortified nutrition doesn’t absorb as well as getting from a natural source. Some people think it is down right dangerous for your health to process vitamins in an unnatural state since it causes unnecessary work for your body. I believe you should always strive for natural sources but I don’t think you’re doing your body harm by drinking fortified vitamins.

But if you are concerned about calcium, start being concerned about your vitamin D levels. The absorption of calcium is aided by vitamin D. The best vegan source is just getting some sun, 15 minutes a day is all you need. There are supplements that you can take as well if you find that you have a vitamin D deficiency (Alexa takes Vitamin D pills because she works inside all day as an artist and store manager. Be sure to get outside kids – your body loves the sunshine!). Just check the label for gelatin and fish in the ingredients.

Still worried about fortified calcium? Some soy milks are out there with only the naturally occurring calcium, Eden Soy being one of them. There are lots of foods rich in calcium as well. Many beans contain a decent amount of calcium. You might hear a bunch of fish have great calcium, but ever wondered where they get calcium? Sea vegetables of coarse! Most greens have a large amount of calcium, including greens on veggies like turnips and beets. Juice them with oranges to get more of a calcium boost. Sesame seeds, almond, blackstrap molasses, figs, and quinoa are also great calcium sources.

And remember, just like protein, calcium is in EVERYTHING! So it adds up by the end of the day. Unless you have a super specific health reason for needing more calcium, relax. Just eat a little of everything and eat as fresh as you can get.

Posted by Jennifer in Alexa Asks, Health Tags: alexa asks, calcium, dairy, milk, soy