Are human beings really the only the animal on the planet that requires the milk designed for another species' baby in order to be healthy?
We know that genetically we have changed very little in the last 100,000 years. We also know that it is only in the last 10,000 years that we have domesticated cattle and started drinking their milk. So we know that we have not evolved to drink milk, but is it good for us?
According to Eileen Kennedy of the US Department of Agriculture, “There's nothing against vegetable sources of calcium, but we have to fashion healthful eating around current habits". In other words we can get all the calcium we need from vegetables, but it is easier to get people to drink milk than to eat vegetables.
Although milk's calcium and other nutrients do promote bone growth, confirms Dr. T. Colin Campbell, PhD, nutritional biochemist at Cornell University, other substances in dairy foods (certain proteins and especially sodium) actually leach some calcium from bone.
Perhaps this explains why a 12 year Harvard Nurses Health involving 78,000 nurses found that those who drank the most milk(two or more glasses per day) had a slightly higher risk of arm fracture (5 per cent increase) and significantly higher risk of hip fracture (45% increase).
It may also explain the disparities between calcium intake and bone health that can be seen worldwide. People in countries that consume the highest levels of dairy foods (North American and northern European nations) take in two or three times more calcium, yet break two or three times more bones than people with the lowest calcium intake (Asians and Africans). Epidemiological research suggests a correlation between milk consumption and at least two kinds of cancer prevalent in Europe and North America:breast and prostate.
In the US Physician's Health Study, researchers tracked 20,885 male doctors over 10 years. Those who consumed at least two and a half servings of dairy food per day were 30 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than doctors who consumed less than half a serving.
Dr Brett Hill's top 5 tips for ensuring good bone health
1. Regular resistance exercise. Research has shown that exercise plays a larger role in bone density than dietary changes.
2. Reduce your stress levels, stress can cause calcium to be leached out of your bones.
3. Eat plenty of salmon. Salmon has a high level of calcium.
4. Eat plenty of vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables. They also contain plenty of calcium.
5. Be wary of acid producing foods, such as processed carbohydrates and soft drinks. The high acid levels created cause calcium to be leached out of the bones to neutralise it.
Do you think drinking milk is healthy?
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written by Eva, October 02, 2009
written by dave s, October 23, 2009
written by survey jobs, October 28, 2009
written by Shawn, November 26, 2009
The same is with us. It is totally unnatural and inhumane for us to take something from a cow, which is meant solely for its calf. It IS natures intention. Milk from a cow isn't for us, it literally infects us with disease and health problems.
About eating salmon for calcium: with the amount of pollution, and the chances of buying salmon that was raised in a fish farm; the perceived benefits of salmon are greatly outweighed by the chances of buying salmon that has absorbed an abundance of pollutants and/or disease causing factors.
written by marjolein derks, December 10, 2009
Isn't it so that the differences between Asian, African and Caucasian bone structure are genomic? Is the rate of broken bones also higher if you compare "western" Africans and Asians with Africans and Asians living in their original region?
And do you have the names of the articles you cited in this article for me to read over?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging your article, I'm just very curious about this
written by Dr Brett Hill, December 10, 2009
The apparent correlation between high calcium intake and loss of bone structure is more to do with the sources of the calcium than the calcium itself. What it shows is that even if you have a high calcium intake, if you are getting it form dairy it may not help and may in fact hinder bone development.
I have not seen a study done on people of eastern descent once they move to western culture but it would be a good one. Given what we know from these other studies and the latest research on epigenetics, lifestyle is likely a much larger factor than genes here.
The US physicians study I have linked to in the article.
The Harvard Nurses study was massive and has spawned hundreds of published articles. Here is the reference for the one I was referring to.
Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Publ Health 1997;87:992-7.
Great questions guys!
written by Alvy, December 14, 2009
written by Dr Brett Hill, December 14, 2009
I always welcome an opportunity to reach more and more people through the media. That works out to around 9am Sunday morning for me so it will work well. Send me an email at brett@drbretthill.com so we can arrange a time and chat about what you want to interview me about.
Dr Brett
written by guest, January 31, 2010
In a study that compared female athletes who drank carbonated beverages -- a rich source of phosphorus -- with those who didn't, those who drank the soda had more bone fractures.
Since soda is so popular the world over maybe the subjects in the study(s) consuming pasteurized dairy were also drinking lots of soda.
In addition I find it a bit self-serving to discuss dairy as a problem for calcium and in defense of vegetarian sources without also mentioning that all dairy should be ingested raw, just like raw paleo meat guys.
I think it's easy to find studies that support a biased opinion since you're only looking with blinder's on. Did you know that it has been proven that vitamin A from animal sources is far more bio-available than from vegetables, on the order of 100 to 1. I doubt calcium from dairy causes fractures if properly consumed and without all the other garbage that people eat which in fact leeches many nutrients.
You can't on the one hand support paleo raw and/or cooked and a clean albeit extreme diet and ignore the fact that dairy should also be consumed in it's unadulterated state. Since the Swiss not too long ago consumed mostly raw dairy maybe research into the recent past will turn up significant bone fractures among their population. I’m kidding of course, otherwise this would have been published long ago.
The point is there is a huge bias in these studies towards vegetarian eating and proving that animal consumption is evil. If you think dairy causes bone problems then what about meat eating paleo, those guys should be walking fractures, but they’re not.
written by Dr Brett Hill, February 08, 2010
I have no doubt that unpasteurised dairy would be better than other dairy but that doesn't mean it is good for you.
If you had read more closely and looked at the rest of the site you would have noticed that I am certainly no fan of soft drinks and yes they definitely have an effect on bone density!
I must also be missing the link between dairy and vegetarianism that you are making. I am not a vegetarian and have written numerous articles on the benefits of healthy meats. Just because I believe in the enormous health benefits of fruits and vegetables does not make me a vegetarian.
