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Amy Joy Lanou, PhD, Senior Nutrition Scientist at the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, wrote in her Mar. 2005 article, cowritten with Susan E. Berkow and Neal D. Barnard, titled "Calcium, Dairy Products, and Bone Health in Children and Young Adults: A Reevaluation of the Evidence," published in Pediatrics, that:

“[B]ecause the level of dairy product consumption in the United States is among the highest in the world, accounting for 72% of dietary calcium intake, and osteoporosis and fracture rates are simultaneously high, numerous researchers have called into question the effectiveness of nutrition policies aimed at osteoporosis prevention through dairy consumption…

Dietary protein, including that from dairy products, influences calcium balance. An adequate protein intake is important for supporting bone growth in children and maintaining bone mass in older adults. However, increasing intake of dietary protein, particularly animal protein, is associated with increased urinary calcium losses that may result in increased bone resorption or increased fracture… Approximately 6mg of dietary calcium is theoretically required to offset the urinary calcium loss associated with 1g of protein.

Dairy products may contain up to 20% of the recommended dietary allowance for sodium per serving. Sodium is an important determinant of urinary calcium excretion because the 2 minerals compete for resorption in the renal tubules. For every 2300 mg of sodium excreted by the kidney, 40 to 60 mg of calcium also are lost…

Currently available evidence does not support nutritional guidelines focused specifically on increasing milk or other dairy product intake for promoting child and adolescent bone mineralization.”

Mar. 2005