Recent Shocking Studies: Milk Causes Osteoporosis!
- Some studies now suggest that at least some of the calcium sources may not be so beneficial after all.
- Women in the United States have the highest risk of developing osteoporosis, but women in parts of the world with low milk and calcium intake actually have a much lower chance of developing this problem.
We’ve all heard the claims that osteoporosis is best fought by taking in plenty of calcium, generally through the consumption of milk. However, more recent evidence has suggested a startling new finding: milk causes osteoporosis. The research may make you re-think that daily calcium supplement or that extra glass of milk.
The Evidence
Among the risk factors for osteoporosis has always been reduced calcium consumption. This is why the U. S. government has frequently increased the minimum standards for calcium intake over the years. However, some studies now suggest that at least some of the calcium sources may not be so beneficial after all.
One of the most interesting sets of studies was done in Hong Kong. These studies were interesting because the population being studied did not have high calcium consumption before since milk and many other high calcium foods were not part of the average diet prior to the study. The studies found some fascinating results. For one, calcium consumption during a child’s second year of life seemed to have the most impact on bone density. By the age of five, the amount of calcium did not seem to have an impact on the denseness of the child’s bones. Furthermore, girls in their early teens who had the highest levels of calcium intake also had lowest bone density in their arms. This last finding is probably one of the most surprising.
Women and Osteoporosis
If you suspect that the research above may not apply to women as well, other research has some shocking surprises, too. A study involving 78,000 nurses found that women who drank more than one glass of milk per day had a 45% increased risk of hip fractures than other women.
Women in the United States have the highest risk of developing osteoporosis, but women in parts of the world with low milk and calcium intake actually have a much lower chance of developing this problem. In Japan, for example, dairy as part of the diet was almost non-existent until recently. And only now are the rates of osteoporosis among women increasing.
China has shown similar results. In that country, osteoporosis is still very uncommon, even though dairy products are not a part of the diet of most Chinese people.
Milk or No Milk?
Before you resign yourself to a lifetime of taking medication for osteoporosis, you should carefully weigh all of the benefits and risks associated with calcium and with milk. To be fair, the research continues to show varying evidence about whether or not milk is going to be helpful or hurtful in your fight against developing osteoporosis. However, consuming dairy products in moderation is still good for your overall nutrition, although you might want to skip the calcium supplements.
Regardless of the evidence for adults, the Hong Kong study clearly shows that among very young children (around the age of 2), milk and calcium are important for bone density, especially if they are not breastfeeding. If you do choose to eliminate milk from your diet as an adult, make sure you replace the vitamins and nutrients it provides with other healthy sources.
The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.
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 Osteoporosis Prevention 16 Jan 2009 |
This was a surprising find considering the vitamin D found in calcium heavy products like milk are known for strengthening and increasing bone density. It seems like a very counter intuitive conclusion.July 1st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
It isn't milk that is the issue. It is the vitamin D that is added to it that keeps our bones from absorbing calcium and causes numerous autoimmune problems -according to recent studies about vitamin D that I have read. Another recent discovery is that rickets only occurs in 1 in 20,000 children. The deficiency is caused by a specific gene defect and they are unable to produce D from sunlight. Only those children should be given D supplements- not the entire population!!!! Also, milk today has very little nutritional benefits because all the probiotics and vitamins are boiled/pasturized out of the milk. We would get more health benefits from drinking muddy water. Raw Milk, raw cheese, and raw yogurt that are not fortified w/ vitamin D, and are not pasturized, are in demand by many whole food consumers. Google realmilk.com and find local raw milk suppliers - if you are interested in knowing more.....June 7th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
We only drink milk as infants because our mothers naturally supply it. Why would we even think about drinking the milk from a cow in the first place?May 16th, 2009 at 12:38 am
where is your source for these numbers?April 14th, 2009 at 10:34 am
if this research indeed proves to be true then i wonder whether milk will still be called as the best diet for babies. in fact milk is considered to be one source of nutrition which contains all nutrients in varying proportions except for vitamin D which we get directly from the sun and which is required to fight rickets.March 21st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Wow... from her ability to jump straight to conclusions, it seems that Michelle here is so much smarter than all the scientists who are still trying to find out whether or not excessive milk consumption can contribute to osteoporosis. I guess it does prove her point about the ignorance of the public after all.February 24th, 2009 at 3:13 am
People don't know this info because it is called a lobby...there is a lot of money to be made in the dairy industry as well as from people being sick from drinking it, sad world we live in! Best you can do is educate yourself don't be a statistic. I like how this article talks about how bad milk is for you and that it increases the risk of hip fractures by 45% but then goes on to say to eat it in moderation are you kidding me, no wonder so many people are still drinking milk you can't even fully tell them not to after these kind of studies have proven milk to be horrible! What did they pay you to say that too or are you afraid you might get sued for telling people not to drink milk?? Get off it, milk is making people sick, have enough balls to say it straight up... DON"T DRINK ANY MILK.February 18th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I've been drinking milk all my entire life because my parents believe that it helps me grow. And only now, I've found out that it might actually cause osteoporosis? Why hasn't this been in the news? There are people out there who still consume milk, ignorant of it's potential damage ... You've definitely convinced me. But the hard part is convincing my folks that it doesn't help me in any way.January 31st, 2009 at 1:09 am