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free tools for patients, expert nutrition advice and information on updated
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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
a great
tool (PDF: 618k) to show families how to get their 3-A-Day of Dairy
every day for stronger bones.
Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
Dietary Protein & Bone Health: New Perspectives
Looking Beyond Single Nutrients
Controversial findings regarding protein's role in bone health may be explained in large part by failure to consider the presence of other nutrients in the protein food source or total diet (10). For example, sources of animal proteins such as meat and milk contain phosphorus which is hypocalciuric (11,17,18). Likewise, potassium in milk and many plant-based protein foods such as legumes and grains is hypocalciuric, which can counteract protein's hypercalciuric effect (10,11).
Protein in dairy foods – milk, cheese, and yogurt – may be particularly beneficial for the skeleton because their calcium content is high in relation to their protein content and they provide other nutrients needed to build and maintain healthy bones.
Support for the consideration of the role of foods, rather than specific nutrients per se, on calcium homeostasis and bone health comes from the growing number of studies suggesting that milk's nutrient package has positive effects on bone health (4,45-50). In a recent study in China, the bone mineral density of girls who drank milk was higher than those who consumed little or no milk (49). The authors concluded that the positive effect of milk on bone mineral density was most likely related to the interaction of several nutrients, particularly calcium, protein, and vitamin D in milk (49). A dietary calcium to protein ratio equal to or greater than 20:1 (mg/g) is thought to provide adequate protection for the skeleton (42). Milk is a unique source of protein because its calcium content is high in relation to its protein content (30b). The calcium to protein ratio of cow's milk is approximately 36:1. Because protein exists in close association with other nutrients in the diet (e.g., calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, potassium, etc.), the overall dietary pattern impacts protein's effect on bone health (5,10,44).
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