Saturday, January 29, 2011

Lactose Intolerance and Calcium

“Drink your milk for strong healthy bones!” is yet another buzz in America.  I shake my head every time I hear it now.  The number of people that I know with lactose intolerance is high.  I myself can’t drink milk.  I can eat cheese and butter; however, unless I want a chronic cough, I must eat it sparingly.  For those who can drink milk, enjoy it!  It’s good stuff.  It just isn’t for everyone.

Dr. Connett talked about how a lack of calcium in a fluoridated community can raise the chances of dental fluorosis.   He also stated that many black people are lactose intolerant.  Because they aren’t getting enough calcium, black communities run a higher risk of dental fluorosis.  What’s sad is, many professionals like him unknowingly imply that it is the only source of calcium.  Well, good news!  Milk isn’t the only source of calcium.  In fact, it may not even be the best source of calcium.  I posted about Chia/ Salba seeds a while back.  They offer an abundance of calcium.  In fact, Salba seeds contain even more calcium than milk.  Dark, leafy green vegetables are a fabulous source of calcium.  The beauty of dark leafy greens is that they offer an abundance of many other nutrients as well.  If you feel that this isn’t enough, there are always whole food vitamin supplements.  Garden of Life produces a vitamin supplement that is a blend of dark leafy greens; it comes as a powder or a tablet.

So for all of my lactose intolerant friends out there, don't despair.  Yes, milk does a body good as the American dairy farmers tell us on TV, however, there are many other things that do our body good that we shouldn't rule out even if we can drink milk.  If you're going after nutrients, it comes from a variety of good things, milk just happens to be one of them.  I've been very consistent with putting salba in my food in the morning, and I've been very careful about getting my raw food intake on a daily basis.  If what you eat as a whole is good, there isn't a need to worry about not getting enough milk.

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