This is the 3700th article of Da Medical Care
"A hundred days of broken bones", this old saying is passed down by word of mouth in the lives of Chinese. When osteoporosis strikes, the hidden danger of "hurting the muscles and moving bones" of the middle-aged and elderly people has also been greatly increased. At this time, many Chinese families will prepare a pot of white/rich bone broth, as if a pot of bone broth is a good calcium supplement. Under the influence of this traditional concept of "complementing the form with shapes", drinking more bone soup has also become an important way to prevent osteoporosis in the hearts of the Chinese people.
So, what's in bone broth? Can drinking bone broth really supplement calcium? Today we are going to find out for you.
First of all, we want to tell you that "drinking bone broth to supplement calcium" is purely a rumor, and "often drink bone broth to prevent osteoporosis" is nonsense!
Let's take a look at how much calcium is in bone broth. Professional scholars have boiled bone broth from the thigh bone (barrel bone) of the pig in the form of conventional soup, and analyzed the composition of the soup. It turned out that even after a long time of boiling, the calcium content in bone broth was still very small:
The calcium content per 250ml of bone broth is about 3.85mg.
Maybe you don't have an idea of the calcium content represented by this number, so let's provide another data for comparison:
The calcium content per 250ml of milk is about 300mg.
Did you compare it? At the same capacity, the calcium content in bone broth is only 1.3% of the calcium content in milk, less than 1/50.
If the calcium content of bone broth is so low, which ingredients are high in bone broth? For a long time, ordinary people always feel that the whiter the bone soup, the more fragrant it is. In fact, these thick white ingredients are a lot of fat and purines, and it is precisely because bone broth is rich in these two substances that it is mellow and fragrant, making many people "love it". The intake of high fat and high purines is closely related to the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases/ hyperuricemia / gout. Therefore, when you drink a large bowl of bone soup, not only did not supplement calcium, but also supplemented a lot of fat and uric acid, osteoporosis not only did not alleviate, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and gout again found the door, really more than worth the loss.
In fact, there are more reliable ways to supplement calcium than bone broth in daily life. The milk mentioned earlier is the best choice. Adults drinking 250ml-300ml of milk per day (containing about 300mg-360mg of calcium) has supplemented almost half of the daily calcium requirements of adults, and the remaining half can be supplemented by other diets.
For example, eggs: most of the minerals in eggs are present in the yolk, and the calcium content per 100g of egg yolk is offside by 110mg, almost close to the content of milk. Therefore, for people who are susceptible to osteoporosis, do not abandon the yolk.
Another example is soybean products: the calcium content of soybeans itself is not high, but the clever and wise Chinese invented tofu with soybeans. In the process of making tofu, coagulants such as gypsum/brine need to be continuously added, which makes the calcium content in tofu continue to increase.
Of course, there are also dark vegetables: such as kale / amaranth / spinach / rapeseed , etc. / sweet potato leaves. In addition to being high in calcium, these vegetables are also rich in vitamin K. The presence of vitamin K helps calcium deposition on the bones. Therefore, from the perspective of calcium supplementation, we also recommend a daily intake of no less than 500g of dark vegetables. The only thing to note is that before eating such vegetables, it is recommended to blanch water to remove oxalic acid, otherwise it will affect the absorption of calcium.
Finally, I want to tell you that the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis is not only "calcium supplementation". We also need to:
First, adjust your lifestyle. Calcium supplementation should also pay more attention to a low-salt diet, quit smoking and alcohol, drink less carbonated drinks and coffee, increase physical exercise and sunshine time, which all help to improve bone strength.
Second, focus on vitamin D supplementation. The daily intake of vitamin D is 10 micrograms for adults and 15 micrograms for the elderly over 65 years of age. When there is a prolonged lack of sunshine due to living areas and weather, vitamin D intake should also be increased as appropriate.
Third, for patients with particularly severe osteoporosis, we recommend that you take anti-osteoporosis drugs in time, which requires you to go to the hospital and undergo medication under the guidance of a professional doctor.
All in all, if you want osteoporosis, don't come to the door, kung fu is all in daily life. From today on, put down the bowl of bone broth in your hand!
Author: Shanghai Changning District Xinjing Town Community Health Service Center
Zhou Xiangjun Deputy Chief Physician