Ahh, milk. It does a body good… doesn’t it?    

Apparently, that’s the million dollar question; literally. The National Dairy Council continues to spend exorbitant amounts to promote this nutrient-rich source of calcium, while other groups campaign to debunk false milk myths, especially the one about milk’s supposed weight-loss capabilities. With all these mixed messages from the media, it’s no wonder the public is left to decide on their own whether or not to go dairy.    

   But in reality, is milk a must? The answer is two-fold: yes… and no.  All mammals survive on milk when weaning, during the first brief period of their lives. Humans, however, are the only mammals who continue to drink milk beyond the time of infancy. Evolutionarily, our ancestors did not possess the gene to make lactase, the enzyme needed to break down lactose, the sugar in milk.  The ability to digest lactation originates from a mutated gene that allowed our ancestors to survive off of their cattle. Recently, a Cornell University biologist found that many people who have trouble digesting milk “have ancestors who came from very hot or cold climates in Asia and Africa, where financial or safety reasons made raising cattle difficult. Meanwhile, those of European heritage lived in areas where the dairy industry thrived, and thus appear to have passed on the gene mutations that enable people to produce lactase into adulthood.[i]”    

   Well, as biology would have it, not everyone received this gene mutation. In fact, today, only 25% of the world’s population can easily digest milk.[ii]  A degree of lactose-intolerance also commonly develops as we age. Often, stomach cramps, bloating, and diarrhea may occur post-consumption of dairy, all symptoms attributed to lactose intolerance. Supermarkets now sell lactose-reduced and lactose-free milk for the lactose-intolerant and fermented dairy items like yogurt, some cheeses and nondairy “milks” made from soybeans, rice, or almonds do not seem to cause adverse symptoms.    

   Even for the lactose-tolerant, another irritant exists in milk: its main protein, casein. Casein has been found to elicit an immune response in many people. With respect to diseases, many doctors, including Dr. Andrew Weill, have found that eliminating cow’s milk in all of its forms “marked improvement in patients suffering from allergies, asthma, eczema, chronic sinusitis or bronchitis, and autoimmune disease.”[iii] Dr. Walter Willett, who chairs the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, points out several studies which suggest that diets high in dairy products have been most strongly linked with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.   

   In addition, growth hormones given to cow to boost milk product and even the natural hormones associated with the cow’s pregnancy and lactation have been speculated to contribute to the rise in hormonally-driven cancers in humans. However, the full story is this: the FDA, in 1993, approved the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in cattle to allow for greater milk production at less cost to the dairy farmer and to you, at the supermarket. Controversy arose because rBGH boost’s milk’s concentration of insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a hormone linked to cancer. As peptide, or “protein” hormones, (as opposed to steroid hormones, which can be taken orally), rBGH and IGF are destroyed during digestion, so drinking milk from hormone-treated cows does not transfer the active form of these chemicals to your body.[iv] If you are still concerned, and still love your milk, you can purchase hormone-free (and antiobiotic-free) milk from specialty grocers, such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, or select USDA-certified organic milk, available at most supermarkets.    

   In all fairness, milk is not all bad. The high calcium content may reduce colon cancer risk, osteoporosis risk, and hypertension. Studies have also linked milk consumption in men to a lower risk of diabetes. A big glass of milk provides your body with an ideal combination of high-quality proteins. Milk is 80% whey, known as a “fast protein” because it’s quickly broken down into amino acids and absorbed into the bloodstream, which makes it good to consume post-working out.[v] Your body digests casein, the other 20% of protein, more slowly, so it’s for providing a steady supply of smaller protein amounts for a longer period of time (ie, in between meals or during sleep).[vi] Therefore, for muscle-builders, milk represents an ideal protein source.    

   However, not all of milk’s supposed benefits are true. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a Washington-based health organization that advocates a plant-based diet, sued the dairy industry in 2005 to stop a “massive, deceptive advertising campaign” that increased dairy product consumption can help people lose weight. According to PCRM, all but two of some 35 clinical trials failed to find a relationship between consuming dairy products or calcium supplements and body weight.  Apparently, the two studies that did find a correlation were small, short-term studies, conducted by the same researcher, whose studies coincidentally just happened to be funded by the dairy industry. People who lost weight when drinking milk also cut daily calorie intake, so the real cause of weight loss is more ambiguous. Following this same trail of thought, the Federal Trade Commission agreed that existing research did not support the weight-loss claim for milk and that the dairy council advertising could not include this misleading assertion. On the contrary, aside from nonfat or low-fat milk, cow’s milk possesses a high saturated high content, which has been linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease.   

   Just to recap: the main benefits of milk relate to its high calcium content. After infancy, we do not NEED milk, as long as we get enough calcium from other sources. Supplements with calcium should also contain vitamin D, to promote absorption. Do not rely on a multivitamin for your calcium! The pills cannot be made large enough to incorporate all the calcium your body needs (about 1200 mg) and the iron in multivitamins actually binds with calcium in your body, preventing the full absorption of either nutrient. You can even get all your calcium from a calcium-rich diet. Foods with high calcium content include kale, collard greens, spinach, broccoli, beans, sardines, and calcium-fortified soy milk (such as Silk), orange juice, tofu and cereals.

   Got milk? No thanks, I’ll just stick to my calcium-fortified, hormone- and antibiotic-free Silk.  

[i] Weill A. “Diary Dilemma,” Natural Healing, Fall 2007:107-109.

[ii] Weill A. “Diary Dilemma,” Natural Healing, Fall 2007:107-109

[iii] Weill A. “Diary Dilemma,” Natural Healing, Fall 2007:107-109

[iv] Aragon A. “Does Milk Do Your Body Good,” Men’s Health, December 2007: 124-126.

[v] Aragon A. “Does Milk Do Your Body Good,” Men’s Health, December 2007: 124-126.

[vi] Aragon A. “Does Milk Do Your Body Good,” Men’s Health, December 2007: 124-126.