Do low carb diets cause bone loss?
One of the frequent claims of people opposed to low carb diets is that eating this way will cause bone loss. The reason for this fear is that increasing protein in the diet beyond a certain level will tend to produce more calcium in the urine. It was assumed by many that this calcium must be coming from the bones, and that low carb diets, which are generally higher in protein, would lead to bone loss. This led to a number of studies over the last few years to investigate this point. As of May 2006, the scientists conducting the studies continue to be “surprised” by the result that more protein in the diet at the very least causes no harm, and in most studies improves bone density rather than causes bone loss. This makes some intuitive sense, since bones are one of the most protein-dense tissues in the body. Several of the studies suggest that increased protein intake improves calcium absorption from food. Whether adding protein improves bones may be partly a function of how much protei
