Meat & Dairy Eaters Have Big-Fat Bones

On Friday, July 3, 2009, New York's Daily News had
this headline story:

"Vegetarian Diet Linked to Weaker Bones"

That evening, ABC news reported:

"Vegetarian diet may make bones weaker."

Fact is, this conclusion was spoon fed to the media
by America's dairy industry who had a ten day lead
on the story before it was even published. The study
upon which this media lie was based did not reach
the same conclusion as America's media. Scientists
had concluded that vegetarians have skinnier bones
than meat eaters. Researchers also concluded that
their own findings were "clinically insignificant."

Why do you imagine that meat and dairy eaters have
fatter bones than vegans? Could it be that fat bones
are needed to support massive bodies?

Every Spring, I watch as thousands of terribly unfit
skinny people run and complete the Boston Marathon.
Every October, I watch 20,000 skinny people compete
in New York City's Marathon. I feel so bad for these
obviously ill thin-boned competitors. What a burden
it must be to go through life with skinny bones.

This week, America's newspapers announced the
not-so-startling news: Vegetarians have skinnier
bones than meat and dairy consumers. Vegans had
better start consuming dairy growth hormones,
otherwise, they'll develop (heaven forbid) skinny
bone syndrome.

This new blockbuster is the result of a study published
in the July 1, 2009 issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.

The dairy industry-financed study (why don't the
newspapers reveal this incredibly meaningful fact?)
found that the bones of meat eaters are fatter than
the bones of vegetarians, and the bones of vegetarians
are fatter than the bones of vegans.

The study was financed by Amber Alliance,
a Malaysian dairy producer and distributor.

Although the authors admit that people with skinny
bones do not suffer increased rates of bone fractures,
they do emphasize their prejudiced belief that a fat
is better than skinny.

Scientists found:

"Overall, BMD was 4% lower in vegetarians than in
omnivores at both the femoral neck and the lumbar
spine. Compared with omnivores, vegans had a
significantly lower lumbar spine bone mineral density
(BMD) which was more pronounced than in
lactoovovegetarians."

Does the human body sense what the human brain is
instructing the human mouth to chew and swallow,
and in turn compensate for dangerously skinny
conditions by providing larger girders (bones) to
hold together the physical structure and prevent it
from collapsing unto itself into a blob of protoplasm?

I just love the conclusion:

"The results suggest that vegetarian diets, particularly
vegan diets, are associated with lower BMD, but the
magnitude of the association is clinically insignificant."

Then why are so many people making such a gosh-
darn big deal about this? Could it have something to
do with the post-study funding and marketing
provided by those who hire publicists to construct
slick press kits and call in media favors?

Last evening, I received Dr. John McDougall's July 4th
newsletter and was happy to see that his thoughts
were similar to mine regarding this phony study:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009other/news/090704news.htm

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com