Being Veg*n and bone strength

[knightofalbion]

Countries with the highest incidence of dairy consumption have the highest incidence of osteoporosis ...

Protein actually leaches calcium from the body, so what you get in dairy products is negated by its very nature. We actually need very little protein, and we get ample protein from a reasonably decent diet. Dairy is one of the worst things we can consume.

High protein diets, as in the Standard American Diet, are what create bone loss. I'm probably older than most of the members here and my bone density scans surprise doctors and nurses, unless they know the facts.

Point is, vegheads who avoid dairy generally have really good bones.

[Ilush]

True. Don't eat dairy product. its unnatural.
Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate. Cheese has become the largest source of saturated fat; an ounce of many cheeses contains as much saturated fat as a glass of whole milk.

[Lightspirit]

No matter what we eat we one day will die however our legacy in life is one variable we can control. We can i guess show mercy to the creatures we dominate

[Tobi]

When I was about 4-5 years old I was (apparently, as I don't remember this event) -offered a glass of milk and I politely refused it, and said "people growing up don't need milk. Milk is for babies and baby cows."
This made the grown-ups make fun of me for ages apparently. And my mother was very concerned that I refused milk. I did end up drinking it occasionally again later. Probably because I had forgotten the clarity of thought I had age 5.... but abandoned it altogether in my early 20s. I am now 61 and only had one fracture and that was when I fell very hard on top of an iron gate and cracked a couple of ribs. Plenty of other desperate scrapes and tumbles including a miraculous escape from a car accident and none of them resulted in bone fractures.

Dark leafy greens are full of calcium, iron and other minerals for bone strength and are easily absorbed by the body.

[Rah nam]

It has a lot to do with the alkaline/acid state of the body.
If you can keep your body in an alkaline state, you don't need any calcium or very little.
If the system becomes to acidic the body uses calcium to bring it back into an alkaline state of as close as it is possible. And it takes calcium from where ever it can. Most likely form the bone structure.

I've been vegan for about 6 years. I tend to either kayak, bike or hike (occasionally jog) at least once a week. A few months ago I twisted my ankle very badly but there were no breaks on the x-ray.

For me, a kayak or bicycle mishap occurs a few times a year, and I generally don't mind them.
I suspect the raw foods making up at least half my diet is the main reason for strong bones. Green smoothies are probably great for bones. Also, some weight bearing exercise like once a week at a gym is another reason for strong bones.
However, bones don't get stronger as quickly as muscles. Muscles may get strong within a few months, but bones take a few years in my opinion. And connective tissue of joints may take longer than bones.

I suspect that anyone inactive for decades will have weak bones. Our parts will atrophy.

Oh, and I do take a vegan D-3 vitamin about twice a week, even though a blood test showed my 'D' to be in the normal range.
I should mention that last summer about once a week I would lay out in the midday sun for 10 or 20 minutes (free vitamin d and other goodies). I tell folks that "the sun doesn't cause skin cancer, sunburn causes skin cancer". In fact, my friends that have skin cancer were people that avoided the sun completely (one lived in a basement and only came out at night). They had very bad omnivore diets with barely any fresh raw foods or exercise.
Best wishes, Uji.