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Blood Pressure
& Heart Disease
Cancer
Diabetes
Gallstones
Kidney Stones
Osteoporosis
Protein
Calcium
Dairy Products
Asthma
Common Concerns
Vitamin B12
Pregnancy, Infants,
& Children
Mad Cow Disease
The New Four
Food Groups
Further Reading
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Gallstones, Kidney Stones, and Osteoporosis
Vegetarian diets have been shown to reduce one’s chances
of forming kidney
stones and gallstones.
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"A
study of 45,619 male health workers by Harvard School of Public Health
found that men with the highest intake of potassium, contained in fruits
and vegetables, reduced their risk of kidney stones by 50 percent, while
those who ate the most animal protein increased their risk by 33
percent."
NEW
ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
March 25, 1993 |
Diets that are high in
protein, especially animal protein,
tend to cause the body to excrete more calcium, oxalate, and uric acid.
These three substances are
the main components of urinary tract stones.
British researchers have
advised that persons with a tendency to form kidney stones
should follow a vegetarian diet.9
Similarly, high-cholesterol,
high-fat diets
— the typical meat-based diet —
are implicated in the formation of gallstones.
For many of the same reasons,
vegetarians are at a lower risk for osteoporosis.
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Countries with
the highest consumption of
dairy
products:
Finland,
Sweden, United
States and England
Countries with the highest rate of Osteoporosis:
Finland,
Sweden, United States and
England
JOHN
ROBBINS
American author,
Pulitzer Prize Nominee for Diet for a New America,
(excerpt from The Food
Revolution, Conari Press 2000)
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Since animal products force calcium out of the body,
eating meat
can promote bone loss.
In nations with mainly vegetable diets (and without dairy
product consumption),
osteoporosis is less common than in the U.S.—
even when
calcium intake is also less than in the U.S.10
Calcium is important,
but there is no need to get calcium from dairy products.
For more information on
protecting your bones,
contact PCRM for additional reference materials and fact
sheets.
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