When it comes to vitamins, we hear a lot about C, our Bs, and D. But rarely do we ever hear anyone hype up the merits of vitamin K along the lines of, Eat your greens Jimmy. They have lots of vitamin K!
The reason that vitamin K hasnt made it onto the health radar is because we assumed we were getting enough of it. However, recent studies show that it may be time to start giving vitamin K some attention.
It pains me to say it, but I am giving up coffee. As you read this and defend your love of coffee, keep in mind that I live in Eastern Europea place where people dont even bother asking you if you want a cup of coffee when you come over. They just assume you do and immediately start cooking it (we mostly drink Turkish coffee here). So, I am going to have to significantly change my social life and live like more of an outcast by giving up coffee.
I find it interesting how many health articles refer to things like soy milk and orange juice as “sources of calcium.” Fortified foods might be one way to get calcium, but they are not natural sources and, for the following reasons, are probably not the best option for meeting your calcium RDAs.
As a vegan, you probably get asked about how you get protein all the time. Few people will ask you about where you get your calcium. While there are plenty of plant-based sources of calcium and fortified foods which contain calcium, the scary truth is that many vegans may not be meeting their calcium requirements. Here are some important facts you need to know about calcium as a vegan.
There is no arguing that milk is a good source of certain nutrients. The main nutrient milk contains is fat, since it is meant to provide lots of energy for a growing mammal. But what about calcium? On the one hand, we’ve been bombarded with government health messages telling us to drink milk because it is a good source of calcium for growing bones. On the other hand, it is weird that humans are the only animals who drink mmilk after infancy, and also that milk-loving Western countries have so much osteoporosis. Vegan advocates will quickly tell you that milk depletes calcium from the bones.
Recent studies show that people taking calcium supplements are at higher risk of heart disease. Does this mean you should stop taking calcium?
Calcium doesn’t get as much attention as protein when it comes to vegan nutrition, yet calcium is something that vegans might want to pay better attention to. Recent studies do suggest that vegans had lower bone densities and are at higher risk of fractures. To get an idea of how vegans get calcium, I made six sample vegan meal plans and calculated the calcium in them. Even a healthy vegan diet did not always meet calcium RDAs of 1000mg/day. (see the infographic here)