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A new study has questioned the true calcium content available in soy and rice drinks. And not because they don't contain calcium...
The problem arises in how these products are fomulated. Because calcium is added to rice and soy drinks, it can settle at the bottom of a carton, meaning consumers can lose as much as 85 percent of the intended calcium content. This settling can be less of a problem with refrigerated drinks than non-refrigerated products. Typically, calcium is added to soy and rice drinks -- as well as orange juice -- in the form of finely ground powder. Soluble calcium can't be used because it turns the protein in soy milk into curds, producing tofu.
Sounds really delicious, doesn't it?
Studies like this one emphasize just how unnatural and decieving processed foods can be. For starters, soy-based products remain one of the five "health" foods you must avoid.
Perhaps, the most disturbing of soy's effects on health has to do with its phytoestrogens that can mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen. These phytoestrogens have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues, and drinking even two glasses of soy milk daily for one month has enough of the chemical to alter a woman's menstrual cycle.
If you want to boost your intake of calcium safely and optimally, consider these suggestions:
- Increase your consumption of vegetables. Vegetable juicing is a great way to do this. Vegetable juice is also high in vitamin K (phylloquinone), which serves as the biological glue that helps plug calcium into your bone matrix.
- Choose a more natural source, namely raw milk over the overly processed, pasterized version. Why? Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 and kills beneficial bacteria, just to name a few.
The trick about raw milk is where to get it. Unfortunately, raw milk is not commercially available, so you'll need to look for a local dairy farmer as a supplier. Follow this link for information on how to find raw milk in your area. If you're unable to find it where you live, you may want to consider a number of "real" organic raw dairy products we offer in our Web store.
USA Today February 15, 2005