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A guide to healthier shopping and eating
Calcium Checklist
Dairy is not the only source of calcium, nor is it the best. Huge
numbers of people across the world can’t digest dairy and still get
plenty of calcium. They obtain theirs from green leafy veg (broccoli, cabbage,
kale, bok choy, watercress etc), pulses (eg soya – used to make tofu,
soya burgers, soya milk etc – red kidney beans, chick peas, broad beans,
baked beans), parsnips, swede, turnips, some nuts such as almonds, Brazils,
hazelnuts, pistachio and some fruits (dried figs, currants, lemons, esp lemon
peel!, oranges) and olives – and exceptionally high are sesame seeds.
(Hummus, that gorgeous Middle Eastern dip, contains sesame paste.)
Dairy is a difficult food group to digest and triggers the most allergies
even amongst Caucasians, who tolerate dairy relatively well compared to people
of African and Asian descent.
Westerners have the highest levels of osteoporosis (brittle bones) yet eat
the most dairy! Compare this to low levels of osteoporosis in other
parts of the world where people eat little or none.
Diets high in animal protein (in dairy, eggs, meat and fish) actually rid
the body of calcium, so it’s far better to get your calcium from plant
sources in the first place! Because animal foods are very acidic, the
body tries to neutralise the acid by leaching calcium from its bones – bad
news for those on a typically heavy animal protein Western diet. And remember – low-fat
milk and cheeses are high in damaging animal protein too!
We’re the only species that continues to drink milk after we’re
weaned (apart from ‘pets’ that we control). Just think
about going over to a cow, shoving her calf out of the way and suckling from
her, and you’ll understand how odd – and cruel – it really
is!
Follow a balanced dairy-free diet, take regular weight-bearing exercise
such as walking, running or gym work, don’t smoke – and you will
have strong bones!
B12? Be Reassured!
Vitamin B12 is made by micro organisms in the soil – and that’s
where our ancestors got it from – by eating unwashed veg and from dirty
water. We’re not recommending you go back to nature to that degree! – so
instead you have to get B12 from fortified products, (products containing
B12 will list it on the ingredients), which include:
- fortified soya milks
and fortified vegan margarines
- fortified breakfast
cereals
- a B12 vitamin supplement
if you like to take a ‘belt & braces’ approach! (But we
do not recommend other vitamin supplements)
- yeast extract such as
Marmite or Meridian Reduced Salt Yeast Extract (good on toast, or used
as a stock in soups etc)
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