Dumb Comment, Dumb Study, Dumb Conclusion, Smart Ending
"Fruits and vegetables are generally
a pretty low source of calcium."
--Jay Norris, Baylor College of Medicine
Just for the record...a 100-gram portion (3.5 ounces) of
human breast milk contains 33 milligrams of calcium. Is
human breast milk considered a low source of calcium?
That same 100-gram portion of:
Carrots (raw) = 37 mg of calcium
Potato Chips = 40 mg of calcium
Oranges (Florida) = 43 mg of calcium
Apricots (dried) = 67 mg of calcium
Lettuce (dark green) = 68 mg of calcium
Figs (dried) = 126 mg of calcium
Parsley = 203 mg of calcium
Collards (raw leaves) = 250 mg of calcium
So, since 33 mg of calcium per portion of breast milk is
lower than any of the fruits and veggies on my list which
Dr. Norris collectively calls "a pretty low source of calcium"
then human breast milk must not be a proper enough food for a
nursing infant to grow strong bones. Please select one of the
two following conclusions: Either Mother Nature is a dummy,
or Doctor Norris is a poorly informed ignorant fool.
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
online edition January 14, 2008)
After commenting that vegetables are a low source of
calcium, Dr. Norris proceeded to test calcium excretion
rates on human subjects who had just eaten...a veggie.
Dr. Norris fed regular carrots and genetically modified
(GMO) carrots to 15 men and 15 women and then tested
their urine for calcium. He determined that those eating
the GMO carrots excreted less calcium, concluding that
they absorbed more calcium.
The body needs about 90 days to build new bone. One
does not build new bone after eating a carrot. After
measuring urine excretion rates, Dr. Norris assumed
that the calcium which was not excreted was used by the
body to build bone. In fact, that very calcium might
have been used to build athersclerotic plaque, kidney
stones, or cellulite.
Individual subjects eat different diets. Some might have
been eating more calcium at home than the body required.
People do so by bulking up on concentrated dairy products
such as cheese and ice cream.
Excess calcium is sometimes excreted in the urine and
other times used by the body in ways that do not
benefit the individual.
The average American woman eats 1180 milligrams of
calcium each day.
The average South African woman eats
just 80 milligrams of calcium each day.
American women have 11.5 times the rate of pelvic
fractures as do South African women, despite the
fact that they consume 1,500 percent more calcium.
Source: The Okinawa Diet Plan by Wilcox, Wilcox, & Suzuki.
Quote by a well-known carrot eater:
"Eh...what's up, doc?"