Feeding the bones

Bryan Hubbard — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:16:00 GMT

I have a new book out (toot toot). It’s called “The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones.” It’s an update of a book I published 10 years ago, and it is MUCH better.

Let me tell you a story from someone who read the old version. She wrote to me that she had been through some bone problems – diagnosed with osteoporosis, weak in general, and had been vegan for more than 10 years. In my book I mention that yes, vegetarians are supposed to have less osteoporosis than meat eaters – and there is a general impression that meat is not good for the bones. However, that turns out to be not quite true. Protein is essential for the bones as well.

Recent research shows that people who eat meat have stronger bones than people who don’t. This makes sense to me, because 35 per cent of the bone is the collagen matrix, which is a protein. While the calcium in the bone makes it dense and hard, that is not enough – the collagen makes it flexible. It is the flexibility that keeps the bone from breaking, not the hardness. Some people have thin bones that don’t fracture, and others have dense bones that do.

Anyway, this woman mentioned that after so many years of being vegan, and then worrying about her bones, she found my book and started following my recipes, eating some more meat and animal protein with the vegetables, doing more exercise, and a couple of years later her bones had returned to normal. So – more vegetables for some, more meat for others – that’s how people improve their bones.

What hurts the bones, on the other hand, are the refined carbohydrates – sugar, white flour, white rice. Our beloved cakes, cookies, pastries, ice cream – those are good to help us weaken our bones. As osteoporosis and fractures are increasing, and they increase more in countries where people eat those foods, in addition to milk and milk products, we should take note of this sad trend.

Whenever I put out a book, I hold my breath until I get the first few feedback comments. I could have written something to the best of my ability, and yet it may not have come out right. But feedback of the kind above, where people find what I write helpful, is the best and most satisfying kind. I think many of us want to help the world be a better place, and we do what we can within our possibilities and limitations. I believe that if only one person benefits from what we offer, we’re doing fine. If more that one benefits, that is so nice to know. So please, I hope that some of these ideas are of use to you, dear reader, and that you will pass along the information to your friends and acquaintances.

Annemarie’s book is available from Amazon.com. Click here to purchase:
http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Food-Guide-Strong-Bones-Holistic/dp/1572245808/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236704460&sr=8-1

Food and Healing : osteoporosis

Feeding the bones