Dairy can be a bit of a dirty word among some GI symptom sufferers. Bloating and embarrassment causing symptoms sometimes resulting from its consumption but the movement away from dairy as a whole is concerning for our health. Here’s the deal, the body has a calcium bank known as the skeleton, up until 25 years of age every human makes deposits into that bank, increasing its density and strength. Beyond 25, we can’t improve our bones calcium density; we can only maintain it. Dairy is our best chance at getting adequate calcium in, and the ladies in our life are in greater need than us boys.
If you think of calcium a bit like the timber frame inside a brick house, the calcium binds to other minerals and gives our bones their strength. Here is the catch though, our bodies have many uses for calcium and one critical use is its involvement in cell to cell communication. The detailed description talks about positive and negative charges, and it all gets a bit confusing, but the oversimplified version is to think of the old two cans and a length of fishing line you used to talk to the kids next door. The calcium is the line, and the cans are the cells.
How does this relates to your health? The communication is an immediate need and prioritised by the body over skeletal strength. When there isn’t enough calcium in the blood to make that happen the body has a mechanism to release calcium from the bone into the bloodstream allowing that communication but as a result reduces the strength of that bone or more plainly the timber frame holding up the house.
It’s this process that sees our elderly fall victim to broken bones or fractures in incidents that might not seem at all possible. Tripping or knocking their leg. With our mothers and grandmothers more prone to these breakages than the men of the family.
So get your sons and daughters onto dairy. Yoghurt, milk and cheese should be a daily habit, and I’ve got a link below to give you an understanding of exactly how many we should have at the various ages. Remember up to 25 is the point to build maximum bone strength….so get building and maintaining that frame.
Calcium is an essential mineral for human life. Dairy is our best source, but there is a small percentage of our population that do have intolerances or even a direct allergy. It is diagnosed with a simple test, and there are some great sources of calcium that don’t require the consumption of dairy but before throwing the milk out, consult your GP and dietitian. There are probably simple ways that we can manipulate things so you can maintain the strength of that skeleton and reduce those symptoms.
Say hi to Milkman for me.
Sean
Useful Links
https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/calcium
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014.pdf
http://www.osteoporosis.org.au/about-osteoporosis
