The dietary myth that could cause you to break a hip

It’s a piece of nutritional advice that should have gone the way of rotary phones and 8-track tapes!

For the longest time, we’ve been told that eating high-protein foods (particularly meat and eggs), will cause your bones to lose some calcium. And if you’re on a high-protein diet (like the Paleo diet that HSI panelist Dr. Glenn Rothfeld recommends), you’re setting yourself up for osteoporosis!

But it turns out that the exact opposite is true. Eating more protein actually makes your bones stronger and less likely to break.

Of course, while bad dietary advice travels at the speed of light, corrections to it move like molasses up a hill!

Because for a while now, scientists have been telling how a high-protein diet is good for your bones… and yet no one seems to have been listening.

Now, a new study from a big group of international researchers may have set the record straight once and for all.

And if breaking a hip tops your worry list, you might want to fire up the grill early for Memorial Day weekend.

Double down on protein

You may remember how the “hearty breakfast” of steak and eggs sadly morphed into a bowl of cold low-fat cereal and skim milk… all for the sake of your health, of course!

Well, that made starting the day just a little harder for anyone needing more than “flakes” first thing in the morning!

But besides the hit to our taste buds and bellies (which makes lunch come earlier than ever before), the worst part of that dumb dietary advice is the big disservice that it’s done to our bones.

Basically, the whole idea was based upon the fact that when you eat meat, it creates an “acid load” in the body. To counteract that, your body utilizes its own brand of antacid – none other than calcium – which can be measured in greater amounts in the urine after eating a high-protein meal.

Scientists assumed (really based on nothing at all) that the extra calcium found in the urine was coming from our bones. However, that idea has turned out to be wrong, wrong, and wrong!

The calcium we’re peeing out after a protein meal comes from what we’ve taken in from dairy products and other calcium-rich foods. And even though that means we’re losing some calcium, protein boosts its absorption, so we still come out ahead of the game.

The researchers behind this most recent study referred to that long-lived advice about protein harming your bones as a “myth.” Consuming more protein, they noted, is vital for people of all ages — but those at the biggest danger from a low-protein diet are seniors, who aren’t eating too much, but rather “too little.”

Some of their other findings included:

• no “evidence” of further bone loss in those with osteoporosis due to the extra “acid load” from protein,
• a decreased risk of a hip fracture in those on a higher-protein diet, and
• an increase in beneficial bone-mineral density that’s clearly linked to eating meat and other sources of protein as long as you’re also getting enough calcium (which doesn’t have to be from milk — foods such as broccoli, green beans, almonds, oranges and sweet potatoes are all good sources).

And getting enough protein doesn’t mean you have to eat steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner! While beef, turkey, chicken, pork, and lamb are the big names, there are also ways to include protein in every meal!

Snacking on nuts, such as almonds and pistachios, for example, will boost your protein intake six to eight grams per quarter cup. Including an avocado in your salad or sandwich will add another four grams. And starting your day sunny side up with a couple of eggs comes to another dozen grams (approximately six per egg).

And don’t forget fish! Salmon, sardines, and tuna are all packed with protein.

The researchers even made note that it doesn’t matter if the protein comes from animal or vegetable sources.

As to how much you should be aiming for, experts say that as a rule of thumb, older adults can simply double the daily amount recommended by the feds.

One thing to keep in mind about your sources, however, is that quality matters! Whenever possible, select grass-fed beef, organically raised chicken, and wild-caught fish (especially true of salmon).

“Expert consensus finds that higher protein intake benefits adult bone health” International Osteoporosis Foundation, May 15, 2018, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com