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Dr. McDougall's Comments
A person’s
bones were meant to last a lifetime (about 85 functional
years—some people live longer for better or worse). Bones age
quicker when poorly nourished. An animal-food based diet lacks
minerals (for example, meat has essentially no calcium and too
little potassium, and dairy products have no iron) and vitamins
(one example: meat, poultry, and dairy are totally deficient in
vitamin C).
Animal foods
are sold to the consumer because they are high in
protein—proteins are made of amino acids. Very acidic
amino acids, known as sulfur-containing amino acids, are
abundant in animal foods. The net effect is; consuming a diet
focused on meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, and /or cheese
results in the intake of heavy loads of acid at three or more
meals a day. The body must neutralize all this extra acid; and
the primary “buffering system” of the body is the bones. Over
many years, the bones are destroyed in the process of releasing
alkaline structural materials in an attempt to neutralize these
excess dietary acids. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline.*
Consuming these plant foods reverses bone loss, and thereby
osteoporosis and osteopenia can be cured—as Mary and many other
people with bone loss have discovered. Exercise has been proven
to reverse bone loss.
There is no
financial incentive to teach the above message. However, there
are great profits in bone mineral tests, calcium supplements,
and drugs like HRT and bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Actonel and
Boniva). Even though HRT (estrogen with progestin) does build
bones, these drugs have recently lost favor because they have
been shown to increase the risk of developing breast and uterine
cancer, and heart disease and strokes. For this reason, very
expensive bisphosphonates are now the number one prescribed
treatment for osteoporosis and osteopenia. I will not prescribe
this class of drugs because they do very little to prevent
fractures, and have terrible side effects, including, gastritis,
esophagitis, bone necrosis, failure of fractures to heal, heart
disease (atrial fibrillation), and severe bone, joint, and
muscle pain. (I do on rare occasions prescribe estrogen with
progesterone for osteoporosis.)
The BMD (bone
mineral density) test is a flawed measurement that gets most
women “hooked” on a lifetime of drug therapy. This test uses
the amount of mineral commonly found in the bones of a young
woman as the “normal” value. A woman stores large amounts of
calcium and other minerals in her bones during her reproductive
years in order to provide for the development of her fetus and
nursing infant. In post-reproductive years she no longer has
this biologic need. This reserve of minerals is naturally lost,
and the BMD lessens—this is a normal process, not a disease.
The supporting structural bone materials should remain healthy
and strong during this mid-life change. But they often don’t for
women burdened by the high-acid, high-animal protein Western
diet.
Now that you
understand that the extra mineral in the bone is to provide for
reproductive needs, and has little to do with bone strength, you
now understand why the correlation between BMD and fracture risk
is very poor. Because of the limited predictive value of the
BMD test most non-pharmaceutical-funded health organizations
recommend against routine screening of women using BMD tests.
However, the reason almost all women and their doctors believe
otherwise is because big money from the drug industry controls
most of the information they receive from research, advertising,
and the, supposedly legitimate, media. You can learn more by
reading from my Hot Topics on
osteoporosis. Also read
this important article: Drugs for pre-osteoporosis: prevention
or disease mongering?
BMJ.
2008 Jan 19;336(7636):126-9.
*Legumes
and grains are slightly acidic and should be limited in a diet
intended to optimally alkalinize the body. Meals from the
McDougall Diet that contain these ingredients are, overall,
alkaline because they also contain plentiful amounts of fruits
and vegetables. Consider; cheese is 10 times more acidic than
beans or wheat—beef 6 times, chicken 7 times, and fish 9 times
more acidic.
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At age 53, in 2004, I had my first bone density scan and
was diagnosed with osteopenia, the precursor of osteoporosis.
For years I have been aware that my small 5’3” build could be a
risk factor for osteoporosis, and now it seemed my fears were
finally being realized.
 My
doctor didn’t tell me that I had to take Fosamax, but she said
that it would prevent further bone loss. By that point I had
read a book called Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest
Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All into Patients.
The fact that osteoporosis seemed overly hyped by the
pharmaceutical industry, along with my reluctance to take any
medication, left me wary and uncomfortable. But, despite my
instincts, I began taking Fosamax.
Many years prior, I had decided to become a vegetarian. I
had also decided to stop drinking milk at every meal (in an
effort to lose weight), but I continued to eat cheese and other
dairy foods on a regular basis. I had never even considered
eating pizza without cheese or a baked potato without sour cream
and butter. I was eating an “osteoporosis-prevention” diet
according to commonly held doctrine about dairy foods.
After becoming a vegetarian I also began taking lots of
vitamins and supplements because I, along with my friends and
family, was concerned that I would not be getting sufficient
nutrients without meat in my diet (one of my supplements was a
mega dose of minerals, including calcium). My parents thought
for sure I would perish without red meat. I, too, wanted to make
sure that I wasn’t doing myself any harm.
Later, after starting Fosamax, I began reading more about
diet and health and learned about Dr. McDougall from my
boyfriend, Bob Whelan. I decided to shift to a low-fat,
low-sodium vegan diet in an effort to get off
the Fosamax. In addition to my previous concerns, I often
wondered why the advisory about this drug warned against lying
down when taking it—what was that stuff doing in my body?
So I stopped taking Fosamax after a couple of months, as
well as all my vitamins and supplements, including the calcium.
However, I was still concerned due to all the media hype about
osteoporosis, so I emailed Dr. McDougall. In addition to
providing me with some literature on osteoporosis that supported
my decision to discontinue Fosamax, he assured me that, given my
current diet and lifestyle, I would be fine without it.
At age 55, in 2006, I had my second bone scan, which
clearly showed that my bone density had improved. Although the
improvement was slight, it was very significant to me. I was
thrilled and encouraged. I continued with my diet and exercise
routine, and felt confident to be on the right track, finally.
Bob and I later attended a McDougall weekend workshop in
Santa
Rosa to continue our education. It was a fascinating experience
and helped us strengthen our commitment to a healthy diet. When
I met Bob, we were both vegetarian and physically fit, but over
the past five years we have both further modified our diets and
our exercise routines, supporting each other in our individual
quests for optimal health. Committing to a low-fat, low-sodium
vegan diet, helped Bob lose 40 pounds in about five months, and
he has kept it off for several years now. He was also able to
discontinue his blood pressure medication and now only needs a
small dose of diuretic.
I also read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell.
This enlightening book provided additional reassurance that
dairy products were not necessary, or even desirable, for good
health. The book cites correlations between populations that eat
a lot of dairy and increased incidences of multiple sclerosis.
The book also notes higher incidences of hip fractures in
countries where women consume a lot of dairy products.
In addition,
Campbell
discusses the consumption of animal proteins and how they affect
one’s ability to properly utilize calcium (and actually leach
the calcium from the bones). So, meat and dairy in combination
is “a dietary double jeopardy”. It is striking that in China
osteoporosis is practically unheard of, and most people, until
recently, have consumed little or no dairy. (They certainly
aren’t taking supplements and Fosamax, either.)
Taking Responsibility
I think that our society in general wants the “quick fix.”
People don’t want to take personal responsibility for their own
health if it involves more than the slightest effort. I made a
lifestyle change, and it requires daily choices: I choose to eat
right, I choose to exercise, and I choose to educate myself.
People often tell me that they could not do what I do
because they love to eat. Well, I really love to eat too, and
that is what first led me to become vegetarian, then vegan. In
counting calories, I quickly figured out that I would rather eat
a big bowl of cauliflower than a small piece of meat. It is
really quite simple: Vegetables are not as calorie dense, and
therefore I can eat more of them.
Practically everything I buy at the grocery store now can
be found in the produce and health food sections. With the aid
of several McDougall cookbooks, the meals we prepare are easy
and delicious. In fact, we love our own simple, home-made meals
so much that we seldom eat out. We do try new products, but if
something is not flavorful we don’t buy it again—we love to eat
too much to waste our calories on tasteless foods.
We eat lots of vegetables and stick to whole grain breads
and pastas. Non-fat hummus is our favorite bread spread. We
follow the processed food buying rules we learned at the
McDougall workshop: No more than 10% of calories per serving
should be fat calories and the milligrams of sodium per serving
should be very close to, or less than, the number of calories
per serving. We can now tell at a glance if an item meets our
criteria. We avoid all milk and dairy products, including
caseins (milk proteins) and seek out food items that do not
contain any added oil.
I work out on an elliptical glider almost every day for 20
minutes and lift weights three times a week. I also enjoy
recreational workouts like bike riding and cross-country skiing.
In a couple of weeks I will be participating in a 50-mile bike
ride. I intend to continue this level of activity for many years
to come, as exercise has been shown to be very important in
maintaining bone health.
Follow-up
In 2008, at age 57, I had another bone scan, and my hip is
now at 101% for women my age, and my spine has improved as well:
There has been a 6% improvement in the hip and a 3.6%
improvement in the spine over the past two years. There can be
no doubt that I am rebuilding bone without medication, dairy
products, or supplements. My diet also gives me the bonus of no
cholesterol and being able to maintain a healthy weight.
 Today
I am 5’3” and weigh 109 pounds. Lest you think this is a skimpy
diet, Bob is a former national-champion heavyweight wrestler. He
is 6’2” and weighs a healthy 195 pounds. We both eat as much as
we want and are never hungry. I feel terrific, and I no longer
worry about osteoporosis. I love that I am in control of my own
health. I tell people that I intend to live to the age of 120,
so at 57 I am not even middle-aged yet! Of course, I want all of
those years to be healthy and active.
To those who ask about me about osteoporosis, I say keep an open
mind and take charge of your own wellbeing. Quit hoping for the
quick fix and learn healthy lifetime habits. Bob has a favorite
quote: “I will do today what others will not do, so that
tomorrow I can do what others cannot do.” We are doing it today
and everyday!
Mary Splady
Bemidji, MN
July 2008
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 2008
John McDougall All Rights Reserved
McDougall Wellness
Center P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
http://www.drmcdougall.com
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