Diets high in meat keep the bones healthy

This study was published in the Journal of Nutrition 2003 Apr;133(4):1020-6

Study title and authors:
Controlled high meat diets do not affect calcium retention or indices of bone status in healthy postmenopausal women.

Roughead ZK, Johnson LK, Lykken GI, Hunt JR.
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9034, USA. froughea@gfhnrc.ars.usda.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12672913

The study compared the effects of high and low meat diets on body calcium retention. The study included 15 postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 75, who consumed diets with similar calcium content (approximately 600 mg), but either low or high in meat (12 vs. 20% of energy as protein) for 8 weeks each.

The study found:
(a) Women on the high meat diet retained 1.5% more calcium than women on the low meat diet.
(b) Women on the high meat diet absorbed 1.5% more calcium than women on the low meat diet.

In contrast to the long-standing (mistaken) belief that a high meat intake lowers the body’s calcium levels and adversely affects bone health, the results from the study indicate that adding meat to the diet helps calcium retention and bone metabolism in postmenopausal women.