Isn't dairy needed for calcium and strong bones?
Short answer: You need calcium, not dairy. Hit ~525 mg/day from any source and the vegan fracture gap closes to zero (EPIC-Oxford).
The risk came from too little calcium, not from the absence of dairy.
EPIC-Oxford (Tong et al., 2020)
The objection
“Vegans have a 43% higher fracture rate. You need dairy for calcium and strong bones.”
The answer
The objection has real evidence behind it, so let’s not dodge it. A major study did find vegans had a 43% higher rate of total fractures than meat-eaters. That deserves a straight look. And the same study hands you the resolution.
The work is EPIC-Oxford (Tong et al., 2020), which followed nearly 55,000 British adults for around 18 years. The 43% figure is real, and the authors went on to identify why. The vegans had, on average, lower calcium and protein intake and lower body weight. When researchers looked at participants getting at least 525 mg of calcium per day, the fracture rate for vegans was 1.00, statistically identical to meat-eaters.
That single number reframes the whole picture. The driver was too little calcium, not the absence of dairy. That is a planning failure rather than anything baked into plant-based eating. The bone needs calcium; it does not care whether that calcium arrived in a cow.
And plant calcium is abundant and well-absorbed. Calcium-set tofu, fortified plant milks and juices, tahini, almonds, and low-oxalate greens like kale, bok choy and broccoli all deliver it. The calcium in low-oxalate greens is absorbed more efficiently than that in cow’s milk. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics confirms well-planned vegan diets meet calcium needs.
There is one fair caveat. Calcium doesn’t act alone. Vitamin D, adequate protein and weight-bearing exercise all matter for bone health, and none of them requires dairy. What you need is calcium, not the cow. Hit the target and the fracture gap disappears.