Building strong bones

Growing up I was told to drink my milk because it was good for building strong bones. I attempted that at the weekend by purchasing a half-gallon of 2%* to enjoy with a box of Cap’n Crunch Berries. (Yes, I intended to eat the entire box over the course of the day. Do you have a problem with that?) Sadly, by the time I went to get the milk from the fridge, I realised the fridge might be on its last leg as it wasn’t as cold as it should have been.

The contents of the fridge were all cool at best, and not wanting to risk anything because of underlying health issues, I threw out most of the lovely food I’d purchased the day before: Fresh chicken, salmon, steak, eggs, and milk. Hard cheeses and beer got a reprieve and I cranked the thermostat to super cold in the hopes of giving the ancient appliance a few more weeks until her inevitable death.

So, no milk to grow those strong bones… What will I do now?

Wait! Have no fear! I’ve found a solution!

Whilst reading The Scotsman online this morning, I found an interesting article on recent research conducted at the University of California claiming that beer – yes, beer! – may possess bone-strengthening properties due to high levels of malted barley and hops, which are rich in silicon.

Now, not wanting to be one of those people who think that you can build strong bones without calcium, I decided that drinking beer alone would be a silly way to attempt to stave off osteoporosis. No, I would certainly need a combination of beer and calcium.

This is why tonight’s dinner is pepperoni pizza** and beer: It’s a healthy living thing.

* 2% milk in America is about halfway between “Whole” and “Semi-Skimmed” in the UK if you wanted to know that useless bit of information.
** You could argue that eating meat actually increases your risk of osteoporosis, but these claims have yet to be scientifically proven and are still being debated by several legitimate research groups.