VEGANISM AND CALCIUM LOSS STUDY: Long-term vegetarian diet and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese women. JOURNAL: Calcif Tissue Int 1997 Mar;60(3):245-9 AUTHORS: Chiu JF, Lan SJ, Yang CY, Wang PW, Yao WJ, Su LH, Hsieh CC. ABSTRACT: This study examined bone density among postmenopausal Buddhist nuns and female religious followers of Buddhism in southern Taiwan and related the measurements to subjects characteristics including age, body mass, physical activity, nutrient intake, and vegetarian practice. A total of 258 postmenopausal Taiwanese vegetarian women participated in the study. Lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) were measured using dual-photon absorptimetry. BMD measurements were analyzed first as quantitative outcomes in multiple regression analyses and next as indicators of osteopenia status in logistic regression analyses. Among the independent variables examined, age inversely and body mass index positively correlated with both the spine and femoral neck BMD measurements. They were also significant predictors of the osteopenia status. Energy intake from protein was a significant correlate of lumbar spine BMD only. Other nutrients, including calcium and energy intake from nonprotein sources, did not correlate significantly with the two bone density parameters. Long-term practitioners of vegan vegetarian were found to be at a higher risk of exceeding lumbar spine fracture threshold (adjusted odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval = 1.03-5.96) and of being classified as having osteopenia of the femoral neck (3.94, 1.21-12.82). Identification of effective nutrition supplements may be necessary to improve BMD levels and to reduce the risk of osteoporosis among long-term female vegetarians. Intl J of Cancer, 5/02 Theory is 'Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type' Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 1999 Br J Nutr 10/01 Iron Cookware Provides Minerals to Vegetarians Am J Clin Nutr, 9/02 Weight Reduction NOT Major Reason for Improvement: Veggie Diet LINK to nutritional information & recipes Nutr & Cancer, 12/03 Raw versus Cooked Vegetables in Cancer Prevention Am J Clin Nutr, 7/03 Vegetarians and Colorectal Cancer Incidence LINK:Reports from veterans of vegetarian and raw-food diets, veganism/fruitarianism/instinctive eating & new science from paleolithic diet res & clin nutr. LINK to Vegetarian statement LINK to source for newsletter, books, information LINK to article by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD Vegetarian Resource Group Cancer Epid Biomar & Prevent, April 2005 Higher IQ makes child more likely to be a vegetarian by 30 Ecology of Food & Nutrition, 5-6/05 Am J Cardiol, 2/06 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.