Start the day with a glass of cold milk every morning. A good idea? Our expert Sandra van Leeuwen, Orthomolecular Advisor and specialized in menopause, will tell you whether it is a good idea or not.
Milk and bread, who didn't grow up with it? The small cartons of lukewarm milk you received at school and the sandwiches with sweat cheese in a sandwich bag. It left me with a slight trauma;-)
At the time, I wasn't a fan of the white wonder stuff and that hasn't really changed. Still, it was quite normal for you to drink it. Milk is healthy! Or not? And why not?
Did you know that we are 1 of the countries where the most dairy is used AND osteoporosis occurs most often? With that, the argument to drink milk against osteoporosis, or osteoporosis, can immediately be dismissed.
Milk does indeed contain calcium, but also a large amount of phosphorus, a mineral that binds calcium to itself. This prevents the body from absorbing calcium properly. Incidentally, not only is calcium good for strong bones, the mineral silicon and vitamin C are also important for this.
I'm afraid not. White sugar makes it a lot harder for the body to absorb calcium, which can increase the risk of osteoporosis. In addition, an average glass of milk contains 7 grams of milk sugar (lactose). If you are unlucky that you do not digest lactose properly, this can cause intestinal complaints and pain in your abdomen.
Acidification of the body. You may have read something about it. The body likes to maintain the acidity of the blood at a certain value. This mean value is 7.4. When this value falls or rises too much, the body will take action to restore it. This happens via the respiration, for example, but also via the kidneys.
Food can encourage more acidification. Eating meat, for example, is a cause of more acidification. But also disrupted intestines, stress and too little exercise cause a higher acidity. In order to restore the acidity in the body, the lungs ensure the production of so-called carbonates. This is a mixture of oxygen with proteins.
However, if the acidification of the body only increases due to, for example, persistent stress and long-term eating of unhealthy food, this is no longer sufficient. The body then takes calcium from the bones to make calcium carbonate. This can also cause bone loss in the long run.
During menopause, when production of the female hormone estrogen fluctuates and eventually falls, the chances of a number of health problems increase. 1 of these is bone loss, or osteoporosis.
For that reason, it is often suggested to supplement with calcium.
Read also: What every woman should know about menopause before going through it
Are you, like me, not a fan of milk or would you like an alternative to calcium intake after reading this article? You can also get this mineral from various other foods.
The products below are rich in calcium and a healthy alternative:
Use this in combination with organic silicon (as a supplement) for better absorption. Silicon can be found in stinging nettle, brown rice, bananas and oats.
And finally. Do you choose a supplement with calcium? Always take these in combination with vitamins K2 and D3 for better absorption.
Sandra van Leeuwen is an Orthomolecular Advisor and specialized in menopause. Her goal is to educate all women over the age of 40 about the transition and menopause. She gives workshops and retreats throughout the Netherlands. A healthy lifestyle is very important and that is why she would like to inspire and inform as many women as possible when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Sandra lives in Weesp with her husband and his children and also has her own practice there. More information can be found at sandravanleeuwen.com.
Read also: Drinking alcohol and losing weight:this is how you do it
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