We often hear people saying, if you do not consume meat, drink milk or take cheese (dairy products), you will not have enough protein. You will not have enough calcium. You will have a calcium deficiency.
Well, no doubt meat and milk contain calcium and protein, however, in the Science of Nutritional Immunology, we learnt protein and calcium from plant sources will be better absorbed and retained by our body. Over-consumption of animal-based protein on the other hand, will lead to osteoporosis.
Of course over the years, some people may still not be convinced. After all, the majority of us grew up consuming meat and are taught by our parents that meat is the only source of nutrients and we need them in our food. We also grew up watching media advertisement on drinking milk to prevent calcium loss.
In my current course on Nutrition, it is also clear that if we consume too much meat and dairy products, not only we are not able to prevent calcium loss, we are actually creating the pathway for calcium to be depleted from our body (as seen from below slide).
Hopefully with this, more awareness can be created. If you read from advertisements that milk is a good source of calcium and can prevent osteoporosis, do check the source of the advertisement. It is likely to be from dairy manufacturers promoting their products.
10 January 2019.
