Make no bones about it!

I'm tired of hearing about middle-aged women who tell me that their doctor recommends drinking milk for better bones, especially for pre- and post-menopausal women.

Why does he recommend milk? Because it has calcium, right? And, calcium is good for the bones.

Well, if calcium is good for the bones and it's found mainly in milk and dairy products, then why aren't the rates of osteoporosis decreasing now that we're consuming more dairy products than ever before in history, worldwide?

And why do the highest dairy-consuming countries in the world such as Holland and Denmark have some of the highest rates of osteoporosis?

Has anyone ever stopped to question that?

This is not a dairy-bashing article. I totally agree that dairy products contain calcium and that calcium is needed for bones ... but here's where we're going wrong.

The level of calcium in the bones is not just affected by the level of calcium coming in from the diet. When you consume calcium-rich foods, you must make sure that it is actually being absorbed by the bones.

Calcium needs magnesium and phosphorus, plus vitamins A, C and D to be absorbed into the bones. Dairy products are very low in magnesium and phosphorus, which means they do not contain the ideal ratio for proper calcium absorption.

Furthermore, we are spending so little time in the sun that if you were to test the population of Bahrain, you'll probably find that the majority is deficient in this 'magic' nutrient.

When was the last time you sat in the sun for at least 20 minutes with a large portion of your skin exposed?

So calcium is being poured into our body but the body doesn't know what to do with it because we're not adding the other ingredients necessary for its absorption.

If there's excess calcium in our blood not being assimilated into the bones, guess what happens to it? It cannot leave the body, so it gets deposited in various parts of the body such as the joints (causing arthritis), the gallbladder (causing gallstones), the kidneys (causing kidney stones), etc.

What's even more interesting is that even with ideal ratios of nutrients and minerals going into the body, there are still various reasons why calcium would not stay in the bones. So, if you think you're doing all that's needed to keep your bones healthy, make sure you read on.

The biggest cause of calcium leaching out of the bones is acidity of the blood. When your blood is acidic, calcium is taken out of the bones to buffer that acidity. And, then it cannot go back into the bones. So it roams around the body and gets deposited in various places as explained above.

But what causes blood to become acidic? The two biggest reasons: stress (yes, stress makes everything worse!) and excess consumption of animal products.

Basically, when you get stressed, or angry or sad, your blood becomes acidic and calcium is then taken out of your bones to buffer that acidity.

That is why many people cannot sleep properly during times of stress because a balance of calcium and magnesium is important for sound sleep.

Sometimes, during extreme grief or shock, a large portion of the calcium that's taken out of the bones is deposited in the hair, resulting in grey hair - sometimes overnight! That would explain why you find more grey hair on your head after every stressful stage of your life.

Animal proteins also cause the blood to become acidic, causing the same results.

The irony is that dairy products contain animal protein so they defeat the very purpose that they were meant to serve in the first place.

You drink milk for calcium but all the animal protein in it causes acidity in the blood which leaches the calcium back out of the bones ... a vicious cycle.

So what you want to do is first of all make sure you are getting plenty of the good-old sunshine. Start with 20 minutes a day (and up to an hour if you are dark).

Then get your calcium and magnesium from sources such as dark-green leafy vegetables, fish, and raw nuts/seeds. And, make sure your diet is mostly alkaline, which means it includes lots of salads, vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Once you've done that, make sure that the calcium you have in your bones stays there. Address stress, and reduce other factors that cause calcium to leach out such as animal proteins, sugar, salt, caffeine, fizzy drinks, alcohol, smoking and some drugs.

And, don't forget the all-important exercise. Exercise, especially body-weight exercise such as yoga, pilates and tai chi help assimilate calcium into the bones.

No matter what bone problem you have, remember that bone care starts with your diet and lifestyle.

For pre- and post-menopausal women, bones are no longer in the construction stage, so the aim should be to minimise bone loss. So before you run to the milk aisle, consider all the other points outlined here and educate yourself.

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