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Page 2 of 2 Too Much Protein A major consideration with a typical child’s diet is excess protein. Children are told to drink three glasses of milk every day. In doing so, they are consuming an average of 209 percent of their actual protein needs. Added to all the other protein in their diet, this creates a protein overdose, which is a contributor to many health problems. High levels of protein, especially animal protein, may cause the kidneys to excrete large amounts of calcium, creating a negative calcium balance. If there is too much protein in your child’s body, it may not matter how much calcium goes in. The more protein in the diet, the more calcium is lost. Drink milk for strong bones? A report from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says that this is a common myth. These doctors say that keeping strong bones depends more on preventing calcium loss than on increasing calcium intake. Many parents are worried about their children getting enough protein. The World Health Organization, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Research Council say we need only eight percent of our total daily calories from protein. They arrive at this figure by adding a safety factor of an extra 30 percent. Human mother’s milk provides 5 percent of its calories as protein. John Robbins in his book May All Be Fed, Diet for a New World points out the wisdom of nature. “Nature seems to be telling us that little babies, whose bodies are growing the fastest they will ever grow in their lives, and whose protein needs are maximum, are best served when 5 percent of their food calories come as protein.” He also states that “if we ate nothing but wheat (16 percent protein), or oatmeal (15 percent), or even pumpkin (12 percent), we would easily be getting more than enough protein”. How Safe is Milk? If it’s pasteurized, then it’s safe? The largest outbreak of salmonella poisoning ever came from milk. There are contaminants in milk, from bacteria to pesticides to drugs. The dairy industry must keep the cows producing milk in order to stay in business. So they heavily use antibiotics, hormones and other drugs. These are passed directly into the milk. Most mothers are concerned about taking any medications while breastfeeding. We also need to think about what the cows are ingesting if we are drinking milk. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, about one-third of milk products have been shown to be contaminated with antibiotic traces. The testing method used by most states to screen milk for drugs is unable to detect residues from most of the medications used in the dairy industry today. Organic milk and dairy products are available, and may be a wise choice for parents who do not want to give up dairy.
Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into dairy cows to boost milk production. It increases the risk of udder infections so more antibiotics are used to treat cows. This means higher antibiotic residues in milk which could lead to the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria in the body. rBGH stimulates the cow’s liver to produce another hormone, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). IGF-1 in rBGH milk is a potential risk factor for both breast and gastrointestinal cancers. There have been no long-term studies completed on rBGH and the short-term studies that have been completed have major flaws. There is no required labeling of rBGH-produced milk and milk products. Many of our children are drinking milk with rBGH and this hormone is also in the breastmilk of lactating mothers who drink milk.What About Calcium? The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has recently updated its recommendations for calcium intake. These recommendations are very high due to the difficulty in absorption of calcium. The recommendations are based on needs for individuals who eat the typical American diet, which is heavy in animal products. Age Group Recommended Intake
- 1 to 3 years 500 mg.
- 4 to 8 years 800 mg.
- 9 to 18 years 1300 mg. There is a common misconception that children have to drink milk to get enough calcium. The calcium from cow’s milk is not absorbed into the body very well. About 66 percent of the calcium in breastmilk is absorbed, but only 20 to 30 percent of the calcium in cow’s milk is absorbed. A report from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that calcium absorbability is higher from kale than from milk and concluded that greens such as kale can be considered to be at least as good as milk because of their calcium absorbability. Calcium supplied by beans and seeds is easily absorbed into the body. Important minerals needed to process the calcium, such as magnesium, are in plant foods. People who eat only plant foods (vegans) need less calcium than people eating animal products, since their diets are high in minerals and exclude the animal proteins that cause the body to excrete calcium. Calcium requirements are different for each individual, but in some vegans, the need for calcium can be as much as 50 percent less than for people eating animal protein. Cow’s milk, enriched rice and soy milks, and calcium-fortified orange juice all contain about 300 milligrams of calcium.
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