High protein diet and muscle gaining while osteopenia

[Bella33355]

Hi community, I've started to train with a personal trainer recently, so for the muscle gain he has added lots of vegetables together with protein(meat, grains) to my diet. Usually, I used to eat meat, but for example, instead of a healthy breakfast, I used to eat lots of carbs(croissants, waffles, etc) and a few quantities of vegetables and greens during the day. I've read on Google that eating too much meat affects osteopenia, Is a high protein diet not good for me?

[FearFracture]

"Is a high protein diet not good for me?" Depends on who you ask. There are some ppl who talk about following an alkaline diet to keep your body from becoming acidic. Meat and dairy are acidic. There are others that insist that meat and fat are super important. My answer is I do not know which group is right, meaning I don't know if there is a "right" or "one size fits all" diet answer; however, I am not giving up meat or dairy. In fact, if anything, I have increased the amount that I eat since my osteoporosis diagnosis.

Many/most processed foods are not good for anyone, so giving up those "foods" is good. I'm NCGS (non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive) so I avoid gluten which means I have cut out most processed foods. I have also joined a gym and am using the weight equipment so I have upped my protein intake. I don't know exactly how much I need daily, but I make sure that I get at least 3 healthy portions of protein a day. I've even started using a protein powder--in the mornings I add 1/2 a serving of protein powder to 8 oz of milk and have that with my breakfast.

If you are lifting, you need more protein and I've also read that as we age we need more protein. It sounds like your personal trainer is giving you good advice regarding your diet. 3 oz of lean ground beef as 21 grams of protein and a 3 oz chicken breast has 26 grams of protein. Eating a 20 oz. steak at one sitting probably isn't healthy for most of us, but a few oz. is seems like a good way to get what your body needs. Also if you can get grass fed beef, I would recommend doing so--this helps you get your omega 3s.

[Bella33355 in reply to FearFracture]

Thank you for your answer, actually, I've read about not eating acidic foods too, but I've read about lots of experiments with a reasonable account of protein intake and only one of the scholarly articles said that it increased the risk of hip fracture, the other medical experiments proved to be beneficial for bone health. My trainer keeps on saying that I need to add a huge amount of greens and vegetables which will result in consuming the protein in not a harmful way. I've read in those scholarly articles that if protein intake is done with calcium and D-vit intake, the bones don't have to lose too much calcium to help us digest the protein. So thank you and good luck with your trainings

[Osteoequestrian in reply to FearFracture]

“I'm NCGS (non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive)” I’m wondering how you got tested for this? My mom had celiac disease and she often asked me to get tested due to the hereditary component. However, I’ve never experienced any of the GI symptoms she had, so I didn’t pursue it. Now, I see that there are links with celiac and osteoporosis (which she also had), and I’m wondering if it’s time I got tested. Thanks for any insights you can share!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Osteoequestrian]

Definite links between being coeliac and osteoporosis so it might be worth testing. You’ve got to be eating gluten before you get tested though.

[Osteoequestrian in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

That’s not a problem. Since I’ve never had the symptoms, I’ve never embraced the GF eating plan.

[FearFracture in reply to Osteoequestrian]

Just sent you a long winded reply to another of your posts. Yes, get tested. If you have Celiac no osteo-meds, actually nothing you do, will help your bones until you cut out gluten. You might want to check out the Wheat Zoomer test and you should talk to your gastroenterologist about genetic testing. Prometheus labs did my testing, you can look them up on line. Also check out celiacproject.com/the-celia... you should watch it. This guy was diagnosed w/ Celiac at age 40. He convinced his siblings to test their children. They all thought the child who regularly had stomach issues might test positive, he didn’t, his older teenage brother who had no real symptoms did test positive for Celiac.

[dw98611 in reply to Osteoequestrian]

You should be tested. I've read up on celiac disease, and, yes, many people with it have no symptoms before they're diagnosed. My mother had bad osteoporosis (which none of her four sisters had) so maybe she had celiac disease. If my BMD doesn't improve after everything I've done, I'll get tested.

[Mark_ABH]

Hi Bella33355, here is an article from American Bone Health that might help. originalText

Protein is very important. Meat isn't the only source of protein. Consider fish, eggs, whey (ricotta cheese), etc.

If you have heard of the Mediterranean diet, one of the things that researchers are discovering is that the fruits, vegetables and olive oil that are staples of this pattern of eating contain anti-inflammatory chemicals that can offset some of the potential inflammatory effects of moderate servings of meat/fish and generous portions of bread and pasta.