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Plant vs. Cow Calcium

What baggage comes along with the calcium in milk?

October 1, 2010 |
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Plant vs. Cow Calcium, 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Sources Cited

J. L. W. Rademaker, M. M. M. Vissers, and M. C. T. Giffel. Effective heat inactivation of mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in raw milk contaminated with naturally infected feces. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 73(13):4185-4190, 2007.

P. C. B. Vianna, G. Mazal, M. V. Santos, H. M. A. Bolini, and M. L. Gigante. Microbial and sensory changes throughout the ripening of prato cheese made from milk with different levels of somatic cells. J. Dairy Sci., 91(5):1743-1750, 2008.

Acknowledgements

Transcript

Overall: harmful, harmless, or helpful? Harmful??? Harmless???, Helpful??? Overall, harmful.

The number one source of calcium in the American diet is dairy products. The number one source of saturated fat, however, is also dairy products. The number one allergen in the American food supply as well. So yes, cow's milk represents a substantial source of calcium, but it all depends on what baggage you want with your calcium.

The calcium in dark green leafy vegetables like kale, broccoli, bok choi is absorbed about twice as well as the calcium in milk—and you also get as a bonus: fiber and folate, iron and antioxidants, and bone health superstar vitamin K—you won’t find any of this stuff in milk. What you will get as a bonus to the calcium in milk is saturated butterfat, cholesterol, lactose and antibiotics, pesticides, pus, and manure

Don’t believe me? When scientists test pasteurization protocols they have to take into account the manure: Heat inactivation in milk contaminated with infected feces. To replicate what happens in the industry naturally: High concentrations of feces from diseased cows were used to contaminate milk.

Whole new meaning to the term, chocolate milk.

There was even a pus study this year! In the Journal of Dairy Science they asked the age-old question, “can you taste the pus?” The United States has the highest allowable pus concentration in the world—can have over 300 million pus cells per tall frosty glass. The industry, however, has always argued that it doesn’t matter how inflamed and infected the udders of our factory farmed dairy cows are, because of pasteurization—it’s cooked pus, so there’s no food safety risk.

What these researchers did, though, was to see if you can taste the difference. They made two vats of cheese—one from high pus milk and the other conforming to the more stringent European standards. And lo and behold not only could you taste the difference, but the “now with less pus” cheese evidently tasted significantly better.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other videos on dairy.  Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos--please feel free to explore them as well!

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk and How to Enhance Mineral Absorption.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other videos on dairy.  Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them as well!

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/qysoul/ qysoul

      Dear Michael,
      What is the truth on dairy causing osteoporosis due to its high acidity level, which creates a new loss of calcium, leeching calcium from the bones to balance the acidity in the body. So when you say Americans get most of their calcium from dairy, does this mean that the calcium is counter beneficial?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

    What is it you were saying about yogurt not providing the proper pro biotics? Something about them excreting the body?

  • Merrittk11

    This is a great video.

  • Edythe Evans

    Is there any difference between the type of calcium in dairy and the calcium in plants?  Since plant protein and animal protein are not the same, I’m wondering about the plant vs. animal calcium.  Any difference, or is calcium, just calcium?

  • Andrei

    sir,

    i am a 3rd year student in nutrition, and all I heard about minerals (ex. Calcium) in plants is that they have less bioavailability, and so they absorb in the human body in less quantity than minerals from animal sources (Calcium from milk).

    Could you point me to some relevant studies? because I belive you more than I belive my proffesors.
    Thanks.

    • drconniend

      I believe that your professors are speaking about oxalates, a naturally occurring compound, found in many vegetables such as spinach, rhubarb, beet greens, and collard greens. Oxalates have been found to reduce the absorption of dietary calcium from vegetables.

      In one study on rats it was found that 92% and 78% of the calcium from milk was absorbed in comparison to 75.5% and 60% from oxalate-rich green vegetables. However, even though absorption was indeed reduced in the oxalate-rich green vegetables it was still absorbed at 75.5% and 60% (1).

      Oxalates tend to be higher in the leaves of the plant, than in the roots, stems or stalks. Nevertheless, green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli and bok choy are excellent sources of absorbable calcium
      because they are low in oxalates (oxalic acid) (2) and they don’t come along with the harmful “baggage” that milk carries.

      1) Pankaja N., etal. Availability of calcium from kilkeerai (Amaranthus
      tricolor) and drumstick (Moringa oleifer) greens in weanling rats. Food/Hahrung. Vol 38, Issue 2, 199-203.1994.

      2) Heaney, RP, et al. Absorbability of Calcium from
      Brassica Vegetables: Broccoli, Bok Choy, and Kale. Journal
      of Food Science. Vol 58, Issue 6, 1378-80. Nov 1993.

      • Toxins

        Excellent study on the calciferous green vegetables. I have been searching for a study of this kind for a while now. Thanks!

      • Andrei

        “Life saviour”! Thank you very much… It’s pretty hard, for me, to see the whole picture on human nutrition when debating themes like this, but i’m still learning.

  • mbglife

    Vitamin K2 (not to be confused with K1 from leafy greens) was shown in, The Rotterdam Study, to reduce all cause mortality and specifically arterial sclerosis, by moving calcium from the blood and soft tissues/organs and bonding it back into the bone. But the sources of K2 I’ve seen listed are almost all from animal products, like poultry livers, hard cheeses, dark poultry meat, etc. There are a few fermented foods, like sauerkraut, that are credited with minimal amounts of it. Also, the human gut is thought to make very small amounts but I’ve read that it might be too far down the intestines to be absorbed by the body. And I read that researchers were surprised that heart disease was reduced for those individuals eating the most animal sources of k2, like cheese. There was a directly inverse correlation between the amount eaten and the amount in arterial sclerosis. So the more K2, the less arterial sclerosis, cancer and other diseases.

    Here’s my questions:

    1) Are there any known vegan sources with significant amounts of K2?

    2) If you’re read the study and some of the subsequent ones, do you have any thoughts about the benefits of K2?

    • http://www.DonForresterMD.com/ Don Forrester MD

      K1 is produced in plants. Our bodies change K1 to K2 both in some of our cells and via bacteria in our colon. So if you eat more plants with alot of vitamin K1 you will have more K2 in your body. Eating animal sources of K2 isn’t necessary and exposes us to saturated fat, cholesterol, hormones and persistent organic pollutants not to mention arsenic and mercury in fish while putting us at higher risk for a food borne illness aka the “stomach flu” see http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fecal-contamination-of-sushi/. No known sources of K2. Benefits of K2 comes from eating plants containing K1.

      • mbglife

        Thanks for your reply. To clarify, I’m vegan, but I’m trying to better understand K2 because of the seemingly strong beneficial affects touted for cancers, calcium regulation and bone health. I’ve read as much as I can find on the net, but like most things on the net, there’s a lot of misinformation and confusion.

        Almost everything I’ve read says that the human gut makes very small amounts of K2 and that it’s too far down the intestines to be absorbed by the body. Similarly, most of what I’ve read suggests that the amount converted from K1 is so small as to be inconsequential, hence the reason for the direct correlation between the amount of K2 consumed and longevity. Just as an aside, I note that from the lists I have seen, there doesn’t appear to be any K2 in fish.

        The reason I posted my original question is because K2 produced these amazing results because of the increased consumption of cheeses, not in spite of them and the more eaten the greater the benefit. This fact has many researchers trying to figure out this paradox of increased cheese and decreased arterial sclerosis, reduced cancers and increased bone health. I’m trying to figure out how to get the good without the bad. I’m not suggesting nor thinking of straying from a vegan diet. Knowing what goes into animal products, as well as not knowing if they were diseased, grosses me out.

        • http://www.DonForresterMD.com/ Don Forrester MD

          I know of no good controlled studies concerning improved outcomes with cheese. The studies I am aware of thus far are guilty of confusing correlation with cause or don’t control for all factors. We are hind-gut fermenting herbivores by design so we were designed to get enough vitamin k from plants. As a disclaimer I have not read the studies on K2 vs K1 but a quick pub med search showed only 10 articles on both and none would support some of the benefits you tout. I would stick to the scientific studies. I’m sure if any emerge Dr. Greger will address them.

          • Selina

            Yes, I have also tried to find studies proving anything about the benefits of including this super vitamin X-factor K2 into our diet, and so far I have found none.

            My brother who studies to become a doctor laughed at this and said that vitamin K1 is all that we need because it is converted into K2 in the colon. All sources of vitamin K1 are extremely healthy compared to the sources which have K2 (expect plant sources like non pasteurized sauerkraut, miso, natto and tempeh).
            Green leafy vegetables all the way baby! (one cup of kale provides 525% daily value of vitamin K) I sometimes end up finishing a whole bowl of kale salad because it’s so good.

          • N_

            Does your brother know how much K1 is being converted? I don’t question that some of it does convert, but is the conversion rate really enough?

    • MikeZP

      The best source of K2-MK7 is Natto(fermented soy) with is far more better than animal based K2-MK4

      • mbglife

        You’re right, thanks for that reminder. I had forgotten that natto is a good source. I’m allergic to soy, so I must have just forgotten about it over time since it wasn’t something I could consider. But from what I have read, the MK-4 form (cheese and meats) circulates in the blood for only 3 or 4 hours before it’s gone, while the MK-7 from natto can last for 3 days. Some researchers have taken this to mean that the MK-4 form is more bioavailable because of a “rapid uptake”, and that the MK-7 is not able to be used by the body so it just keeps circulating. However, other researchers have concluded that the liver uses or destroys MK-4 and that’s why it doesn’t persist, and that the more bioavailable and useful form is MK-7. The Rotterdam study, to my knowledge, didn’t include natto which produces the MK-7. But other researchers point to long lived Japanese for proof that MK-7 is as good or better. I’m not a researcher and therefore left needed help. There are apparently forms of K2, mostly from different cheeses, that ranging from MK-5, and MK-8 through MK-10 or 11 (I’ve forgotten). So it’s not simple, but potentially very important.

  • Sideshow

    there nothing wrong with saturated fat and there no studies that prove saturated is bad for you even animal .this very idea that animal fat is bad for is a myth….and there are scientific studies that prove conclusively that saturated fat whether from animal or plant(coconut oil0 is bad for youy.

  • rachel

    Dr. greger, thank you again for such wonderful videos and information about plant healthy diets. I personally have been vegetarian or vegan for 25 years.
    This does relate to vitamin K!. My younger brother, not overweight, has had issues with varicose veins behind his knee and has had one operation there.
    Apparently there is a history of artery issues with men in the family.
    Several months later an MRI found a partially blocked artery in his neck. He
    was in the hospital for several days and of course his doctors put him on Cumadin and Hezadrin. I am sending him information on your site and on plant based diets but he focuses on the drug use and subsequent contraindications to AVOID Vitamin K from so many healthy sources. I understand that foods containing vitamin k are much
    healthier than the drugs and believe a plant diet would change his health
    but he seems to rely on his doctors and the drugs as “necessary’ for him.
    Thank you for your comments, namaste’, rachel

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/ Michael Greger M.D.

      The drug coumadin works by undermining vitamin K metabolism, and so if you eat healthy foods like greens that have lots of vitmain K you can undermine the drug’s effects. Doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthy foods you just have to have his physician titrate the dose of the drug to his greens intake and then stick with that dose of drugs and vegetables.

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