Categories: Need to know

Milk, still does a body good

New study finds drinking milk is better than taking calcium pills

by macleans.ca on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:40pm - 2 Comments

Researchers at Purdue University have found that the calcium that exists in milk is more beneficial for bones than the calcium carbonate that’s in supplements such as vitamin tablets or fortified foods. Their study, which was funded by the National Dairy Council in the U.S., compared the bones of rats fed milk or calcium carbonate. It revealed that the rats who took milk had longer, wider, stronger and more dense bones that the other group. They say that drinking milk is especially important during childhood, when bones are forming and growing, and that those benefits carry on into adulthood. They suspect milk helps the bones retain calcium better than supplements.

Science Daily

Camille

Surprise, surprise – dairy industry funds a study and it shows that milk is good for people. The bulk of the evidence indicates otherwise, yet strangely the media tend to ignore the other side of the story. Industry has long since learned how to design studies to produce favourable results – profit margins may suffer if the public knew the truth.

The reality of consuming milk (and other animal protein) is that dairy is closely linked to weak bones and osteoporosis. For instance, Harvard University’s landmark Nurses Health Study, which followed 78,000 nurses over a 12 year period, found that women who consumed more milk experienced more bone fractures and higher rates of osteoporosis. Women who consumed less milk, on the other hand, were better off. Because animal protein, like milk, is acid-forming, bones wil leach alkaline calcium to maintain the body’s pH balance. Plant foods that are high in calcium, like leafy greens, are alkaline-forming and do not wreak similar havoc on one’s bones.

Milk – and other animal foods – are risk factors for osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. The best way to protect oneself against weak bones and maintain optimal health is by following a plant-based diet, avoiding animal foods and exercising regularly.

Teresa

If milk and other animal foods caused all those diseases then vegans would never have cancer, obesity, or break a hip. The would also outlive meat eaters by a mile. A healthy diet consists of a variety of foods in moderation, avoiding processed food, excess salt, no transfats, and exercise. As for research studies, who funded the nurses study? I would think that researchers from Purdue would be non-biased in their findings. Any research project can be skewed for any slant including those supporting a vegan lifestyle. Everyone does not have the same lifestyle, eat the same foods, have the same genetics. I drink a quart of milk a day but I also eat a wide variety of foods, including meat, as did all my family. My parents lived to their 90′s. No one in my family has had breast or other types of cancer. No broken bones. I have low LDL, high HDL, and high bone density.