Vegan diets and osteoporosis

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"Building strong bones during childhood will provide protection against the fragile bone disease osteoporosis later in life." Quote from NHS website.
Aibu to worry that this is not widely known, and when we are encouraged to go vegan to save the planet (which I support btw) we should also be told how to ensure our children get enough calcium and vit D?
Osteoporosis is a devastating condition particularly affecting post menopausal women, causing severe pain and disability when fragile bones break. It's very common but many women only find they have it when they break a hip or wrist, often just after menopause, when it's very difficult to treat, due to lack of bone-building hormone oestrogen.

There is a lot of calcium in green leafy veg and tofu( boak) plus supplements. Im not vegan but used to be.

Also most vegan milk is fortified with calcium...nuts have it too. Its a valid concern though.

yanbu and yabu

yanbu - it's very important for growth and bone health to get enough protein (usually not a problem) and other nutrients which may be more of an issue with a vegan diet (vit d3, b12, iron)

but yabu, an unfussy eater with a good diet and the appropriate supplements can well achieve that.

some countries' health bodies (germany, italy for example) recommend however that a vegab diet is not adequate for growing children.

To build strong bones in childhood, what really matters is physical activity "Prevention starts already at a very young age. During childhood the main goal is to increase bone mass. Since bone surfaces are covered with a greater proportion of active osteoblasts during growth than after skeletal maturity [10], exercise is especially e ective during childhood. We know that exercise has long-lasting e ects on bone integ- rity because a high physical tness level in young adulthood reduces the risk of fractures later in life"

Physical activity , especially weight bearing, is also important in adulthood. Then yes sunshine for vitamin D, avoiding ethanol (alcohol) , nicotine, and there are recommendation for calcium intake of 1 gr/day.

A well planned vegan diet is not an issue.

The China study is an interesting read - a typical Chinese diet is very low in dairy and yet they have much lower rates of osteoporosis than us here in the west

YABU - we absolutely do not need milk or any dairy product for calcium. A balanced diet will give you all the calcium you need, most products are fortified (cereals, milks, etc) and a whole foods, plant based diet is literally the healthiest diet on the planet.

wrt china - they 'replace' some of the nutrients a western diet gets from dairy with foodsstuffs we deem unsavoury (shellfish with shells, bony fish, bone cartilage, chicken feet, insects...)

when we are encouraged to go vegan to save the planet (which I support btw) we should also be told how to ensure our children get enough calcium and vit D?

Who’s doing this ‘telling’? I’m vegan. My children have very little dairy. We all take vitamins. No one told us to do it. I researched it and made my own choices for my family.

It’s very widely known that vegans will need to supplement B12 and may need other supplements.

Thanks for your answers. I am still a bit worried about the vegan diet, but think fortified foods seem to be the answer. For example green veg contains very little calcium compared with dairy, and some, eg spinach, is not advised as oxalates prevent you absorbing the calcium. I think you would need about 17 portions of green veg to get the recommended daily 700mg calcium, vs. 2 to 3 portions of cheese or milk. Other naturally vegan sources also contain much less calcium per portion.
Green veg and nuts etc are a wonderful source of magnesium, as well as many other nutrients involved in bones, but I think most vegans probably need the fortified drinks or supplements to reach 700mg calcium per day, and I am not sure whether this is well known. (700mg is what adults need, I think children need even more, probably the reason veganism is not recommended for children in some countries.)
Maybe the answer, from an environmental pov, is to harness the cows farts, if I'm allowed to use that word, to reduce pollution. But from an animal welfare pov I still don't know the answer.

I wish I'd known about calcium when I was younger, although Osteospirosis is very common in post-menopausal women. I have it, only in my legs though, and have broken bones about ten times in the last few years even though I take 3000mg of calcium a day.

Yep mostly vegan diets are associated with osteo. It’s one of the biggest reasons why a lot of Indian women (mostly in places where egg isn’t considered vegetarian) get it - female milk intake isn’t generally encouraged past school age and actively discouraged except for certain times (late pregnancy / 6 month postnatal period) because apparently it’s milk and not samosas / roti / fatty feed that makes women fat

There is actually a very strong link between dairy and osteoporosis. The countries who consume the most dairy have the highest rates of osteoporosis!

Humans barely absorb the calcium in cow’s milk and it actually increases calcium loss from the bones. When we consume dairy products the body becomes more acidic and in order to neutralise this the body uses calcium which it leaches from the body’s biggest calcium store (the bones). So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong is used to neutralise the acidifying effect of the milk.

You’re much better off with plant based sources of calcium and vitamin d. Magnesium is also crucial for healthy bones.

Be cautious when reading studies too. The dairy industry funds a lot of these!

@sprinkle - countries with the highest dairy consumption are those that are more likely to diagnose osteo. In a lot of East Asian countries where healthcare is expensive, broken bones and pain is considered a normal part of ageing. Be careful how you read these results

I repeat it : to prevent osteoporosis you must use your bones in the same way you use your muscles . Astronauts come back from space with bone loss even when taking calcium supplements. Bone are alive and they get denser when there is the need to, so if you do weight bearing exercises and strength training you have stronger bones. A combination of these with some jumps on a mini trampoline is also recommended.
It is not diet only or supplements only that will give you strong bones.

My mother is addicted to cheese (we are French), loves her yogurt, has eaten dairy all her life in big amounts, yet she has severe osteoporosis, despite taking high calcium supplements she suffered fractures. She is however totally inactive. Never done exercises except cycling at a low pace when going to the market.

To come back to the environment impact. IT is not only the methane, but the enormous amount of water needed, astronomical amount of land used to feed the cows, the pollution from the cow's faeces that infiltrates the land, the forced pregnancies , removal of calves, and the slaughter of these animals. You need to look at the big picture

I’m vegan and have osteoporosis - a balanced diet is plenty and a balanced vegan diet is full of bone good nutrients. I’ve been vegan 3 years and my dietician is more than happy. I also use a vegan vit d spray.

I should add I developed severe osteoporosis pre-vegan when I loved yoghurt and made my own soft cheeses.

Its not about consumption, it's about absorption
People often don't realise this

"It is projected that more than about 50% of all osteoporotic hip fractures will occur in Asia by the year 2050"

That's a lot of Chinese people will be affected.

I'm not expert but suspect that active lifestyles while young are what matters, not calcium intake.

This is interesting. I think it's 10yr risk following an initial event. Why are Germany & Netherlands so much lower risk than Austria & Denmark?!!

I found a lot of studies that reported that vegans had lower density bones than non-vegans, but said that there wasn't evidence this actually translated into more fractures b/c of other factors that influence whether folk have fractures.

The NHS may say that but they also say that vegan diets are healthy and suitable for all life stages.

@custardbear

And in order to absorb calcium we need vitamin D...which most people in this country don't get enough of because we don't get a lot of sunlight.

We should all be taking a vitamin D supplement if we want to look after our bones.

@HugsAreMyDrugs - it's not just vitamin D - for absorption its really key, it's hard with vegan based diet and subsequent V&M to absorb what's taken in - and there's no Gauge to check either of course ... which is part of the worry with children on a vegan diet

Are we also concerned about children who are allergic to dairy? Funny how they are always ignored in these discussions.

Is cat or dog milk a good source of calcium and goodness? Or just cow milk?

Are we also concerned about children who are allergic to dairy?

yes, health professionals are (should be) and should refer to a dietician to see what's needed so the child doesn't suffer malnutrition.