Years ago when I told my doctor that I was a vegetarian she complimented me on taking control of my own health but she recommended that I take 500 mls of calcium every day at the same time as 1000 IUs of Vitamin D for absorption of the calcium and because I’m a pale Canadian.  She knew that I wasn’t drinking cow’s milk as a beverage and even though I ate yogurt and cheese, she was worried that I might not be getting enough calcium.  She is a wise woman and not one to hand out prescriptions here and there, so I took her advice and I’ve maintained that regimen since then.

Soon after that I signed up for an osteoporosis study advertised at my gym.  The study was held at a very reputable Toronto hospital that was looking for young, healthy women to measure bone density so they could monitor how we progressed into our old age.  We were questioned, grilled, poked, prodded and scanned.  My prognosis was good:  my bones were sufficiently dense (too bad they didn’t do a brain scan).  I was on course to good bone health into old age.  They were also OK with me taking the calcium supplements because they were considered ‘food’ which surprised me (but more on that next time).   I went back once or twice a year for about three years at which point they gave me a bunch of literature to read, as well as a questionnaire to fill out before my next exam.

One glossy pamphlet listed calcium rich food choices that started with milk, cheese, yogurt, and ended with the lowly nuts and green leafies at the bottom.  They had an asterisk that directed me to the line that said something like  “We don’t eat these foods in sufficient quantities to gain the recommended daily allowance of calcium.”   I flipped the pamphlet over.  It was sponsored by a dairy lobby that shall remain nameless but strives “to be the industry leader in public dairy policy decision making” and to “prevent erosion of milk supply to and protect the investments of [its] members” who are, incidentally, organizations that make money off of selling dairy products to people in this province.  Most of the others came from the same place.

I filled out the questionnaire and at the next appointment the medical professional asked me if I had any concerns about the study.  I said yes, I was uncomfortable that the literature I was given was biased toward the dairy industry and didn’t attribute enough credit to calcium-rich whole, unadulterated foods. She smiled, raised one eyebrow and wrote something down.  “Y’know,” she said, “this study is sponsored by the dairy board.”

All of the tests up until that time had been preceded by a phone call to me to let me know when the next appointment was.  Almost two years had passed before I realized I hadn’t gotten a call.  I called the hospital and they told me they didn’t know anything about a study but they would look into it and then call me back.  They didn’t.  My curiosity piqued, I called again and this time they said that the study must have been cancelled otherwise I would have been called back.

Was it something I said?

Not likely, but still, Bad Company’s ode comes to mind, “Rebel souls, deserters we are called.”

Or so I’d like to think.

Incidently, according to Health.Alicious.Ness.com, the Top Ten Foods Highest in Calcium show some surprising results when you even the playing field.  To wit, equal weights of dried savoury has more calcium (2132 mgs per 100 grams) than parmesan cheese (the highest in calcium, they say, than other cheeses at 1376 mgs per 100grams).  In fact, sesame seeds, tofu, almonds and flax seeds have more calcium than equal weights of  yogurt.  Turnip greens and brazil nuts beat out herring.  Okay, I realize we’re more likely to eat 100 grams of cheese than 100 grams of dried savory, but it just goes to show if we eat a variety of whole calcium-rich foods on a daily basis, we don’t have to drink cow’s milk to avoid osteoporosis.

And that’s weird too:  We’re the only species that drinks milk after weaning, and we drink the milk of another animal.  That’s just gross.

dried savory photocredit to www.masterfile.com