Study: Milk Doesn’t Do Your Bones Good

[Aaltrude]

Scott Johnson,
Mar 13, 2012

You probably grew up hearing the axiom "Milk - it does a body good" over and over again. Your mom likely made you drink milk in large quantities at the advice of your pediatrician to make sure you got enough calcium. Even movie stars, singers and athletes encourage you to drink more milk by wearing milk mustaches. And all of this was done in the name of promoting healthy and strong bones and teeth.

Recent research published online March 5, 2012 in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is generating doubt about this deep-rooted notion. Researchers designed a cohort study to determine the effectiveness of dairy products, calcium and vitamin D in reducing stress fractures among girls aged 9 to 15 years old.

Read more: http://voices.yahoo.com/article/9412490/study-milk-doesnt-bones-good-11057784.html?cat=5

[highlander]

The idea that milk makes strong bones never made sense to me. Many animals have very strong bones and they don't drink milk past babyhood (unless they are lucky opportunists) and I've read that countries with the highest dairy consumption (often more northern counties) also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. Just on the surface that suggests that milk doesn't = strong bones. The link to Vitamin D makes much more sense.

[Julieanne]

Yes highlander - and Asians, who are not big milk drinkers, apparently have a low incidence of osteoporosis.

[StephenX]

I believe milk is for baby cows and not humans. I've read the calcium in milk is calcium lactate. There is not enough magnesium in cow's milk for humans. Calcium lactate helps form arterial plaque and not strong bones and teeth. The best calcium is from green leafy vegetables. Having enough magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 makes sure the calcium goes where it should and not stay in the bloodstream or go into the organs. Calcium is also important to carry neural impulses across nerve synapses.

[highlander]

I believe milk is for baby cows and not humans.

I agree with you.
I can go without milk but I'm addicted to cream in my coffee and cheese. If I drop the cream, I drop the coffee. If I drop the coffee I start eating too much in a vain attempt to fill that void. Nothing else satisfies my desire for coffee.
I can survive without cheese; but I wouldn't be happy about it.

[Katee]

I guess i'm a dissenter here. I do like dairy - milk, cheese, cream and all of it. I've read wonderful reports of people having marvelous health responses to a raw milk fast or other ways of using it.

I have heard 2 mamas say that their children's teeth actually straightened when they switched to raw milk. And another said that (this was not planned) due to delays in getting into the dentist (he was away for a family emergency, etc.) her son's cavity actually filled itself in during the delay. She used raw milk and other healthy foods. She proposed: Bones heal, why not teeth? (I'll give reference to the report later - her site is down right now.)

I do think raw, organic is the key. And, as in so many other things, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. But, people have been cultivating and living with animals and drinking milk from various animals for quite a while now. Why is this different? And i, for one, much prefer to eat animal products as opposed to eating animals. Why is eating meat healthy but not eating dairy?

I do, however, have a thing about cows regurgitating into my tea! (That's a joke about the creamers that pour from the animal's mouth.)

[StephenX]

Raw milk is FAR better than the antibiotic, hormone, puss contaminated white stuff that is called milk. However there is a concerted effort, in this country, to vilify raw milk. Many states have made it illegal; and in California there was an incident where raw milk producers were persecuted and had their product confiscated. All of this was going on with a hemp fest nearby (oh, the irony). Don't get me wrong here. I believe that American farmers should be allowed to grow industrial hemp and that cannabis should be legal for medical and recreational purposes. But getting back to subject, the dairy industrial complex is doing its best to ban raw milk. Get it while you can.

[Katee]

Here is that report: How I Healed My Child's Cavity (http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-i-healed-my-childs-cavity/)

(I had trouble opening this or anything else by this blogger. I don't know what the issue happens to be, but we are all having more and more trouble accessing natural health stuff. Or it simply could be the web, today.)

[Good-day]

I have a child with asthma, which I know is associated with milk allergy. I'll get him raw milk - will that give him enough nutrition for healthy bone growth? Leafy veggies good, but need some more appealing choices for a child! Anyone know of a good children's supplement for strong bones? Katie, I'd like the website that you mentioned

[Katee]

Good-day, it had been a while since i'd read it. She actually gave cod liver oil and butter oil caps to the kid (who was about 12, i think), and encouraged him to eat raw butter on toast in the AM.

Based on this report, i'm seriously considering getting butter oil caps for Duane and myself.

[StephenX]

Good-day...I cannot tolerate milk. When I was young I had severe allergies which went away when I stopped drinking the stuff. However I can tolerate fermented products made from milk, kefer, yogurt and cheeses. For good bone growth it is necessary to include enough magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. Katee's advice on using a high quality butter is right on.

[Reesacat]

Good-day, your son has asthma and eczema and is gluten sensitive. With that history there is a 95% chance he is dairy sensitive as well and even with raw milk would have problems. Casein, the protein in milk, reacts like gluten in people who are gluten sensitive.
He might be able to tolerate the butter oil.

[highlander]

Katee, I grew up on raw milk and have really straight, strong teeth (dentists are always amazed at my teeth -- calling in their staff to so they can see them). I take no credit. They just grew that way. I also fasted on raw milk, water, and coffee when I was a teen and felt fantastic. I wish I could get raw milk now. I'd have to buy part ownership of a dairy cow and drive about 300 miles round trip to get the milk. Not happening right now.
I, too, would rather consume dairy than consume a cow; but I've always thought that cow milk is really not "designed" for people. I don't think it's bad (if raw) -- just not an ideal human food. The protein/fat/sugar ratio is very different from human milk. I've tried to research human breast milk because I think its compostition should be a blueprint for a healthy diet. However, it changes. It's hard to peg.