Monday Sept 8, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- T. Hu at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, LA,USA and colleagues published a study to suggest the effect of high protein intake on bone quality depends on the source of protein.

Early studies are inconsistent and some trials suggest that dietary protein increases urinary calcium excretion and diets high in protein may have a detrimental effect on bone health.  The current study did not find consistently significant correlations between total and animal protein intakes and bone quality among white women  or other gender and racial/ethnic groups.

However, the current study did find white women who had higher vegetable protein intake had higher volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD).

The study concluded 'a higher level of protein intake, when substituted for fat, is not associated with poor bone health. Differences in the relationship between protein source and race/ethnicity of study populations may in part explain the inconsistent findings reported previously."

Americans have more than 15% of total calories from proteins, which are considered excessive from the viewpoint of nutrition.  Generally, a person needs only about 11% of total calories from protein would be sufficient and too much protein can be detrimental. (David Liu, PHD)

Hu T, Rianon NJ, Nettleton JA, Hyder JA, He J, Steffen LM, Jacobs DR, Criqui MH, Bazzano LA.  Protein intake and lumbar bone density: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).  Br J Nutr. 2014 Sep 5:1-9.