Got (too much) milk?


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Got (too much) milk?

Critics say new daily recommendations for dairy products hard to swallow.

By Carol Ness

San Francisco Chronicle

Posted April 28 2005

Milk does a body good, right?

But what if it's not true, as some influential doctors and nutritionists say? Their voices have grown louder since the U.S. government raised its official recommendation to three glasses of low-fat milk a day -- or an equivalent amount of low-fat cheese or yogurt -- for every American older than 8.

Sure, we all need some calcium for strong bones and teeth, but not nearly as much as you get in three servings of dairy, they say. The United States is one of the world's top dairy-consuming countries, they point out, yet Americans 50 and older suffer a higher rate of bone fractures than almost any other nationality. Some experts even contend that all that milk may be bad for us.

Chief among them is Dr. Walter Willett, nutritionist and epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health and a longtime critic of government food policy.

"I think there are some real questions about whether this has some benefit or even causes some harm to some people," Willett says.

Controversy erupts

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines were recently released suggesting we consume 3 cups fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products a day.

The new recommendation is up from the 2000 guidelines, which called for three servings of dairy for teenagers and adults older than 50, and two servings for 20- to 50-year-olds.

The dairy industry lobbied hard for the increase, but the scientists who worked on the 2005 guidelines say the milk recommendation was made to help people meet their requirements for calcium and other essential nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and vitamins A and D, which are added to milk in this country.

Most of the controversy centers around calcium, and the epidemic of osteoporosis and bone fractures in older people. By 2020, according to an estimate from the U.S. surgeon general, 1 in 2 Americans older than 50 will be at risk for fractures from brittle bones.

In 1997, the government upped its recommendation to 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day to prevent osteoporosis later in life; people older than 50 were told to get 1,200 milligrams. Three servings of milk provide most of that -- close to 900 milligrams.

But Willett and others disagree.

"Where did those numbers come from?" he asks. "Not from studies showing fewer fractures." There aren't any, he says.

Willett is an important voice in the debate, not just because of his prominence but because of his track record -- he's been way out front in changing some other ironclad ideas about food and health.

While the government was pushing low-fat diets, Willett argued that it was the type of fat that made the difference. He also separated good carbohydrates (whole grains) from less-healthy ones (refined grains and sugar). And he made exercise the foundation of his own version of the food pyramid.

In the right place

Willett works closely with three of the biggest and longest-running population health studies in the country at Harvard. And he's far from the only authority to raise serious questions about dairy consumption. Among others are New York University nutritionist Marion Nestle and nutritional biochemist T. Colin Campbell at Cornell.

Does the body need calcium? Sure, they all agree. But how much? And does it have to come from milk?

"Most of the world doesn't consume dairy at all and has very low rates of fracture," Willett says. The British are told to get only 700 milligrams of calcium a day, but have only about half the fracture rate that Americans do.

The studies used to support raising calcium intake are flawed, he says, because they only look at the effect of extra calcium on bone density, not on fractures, and they're very short term.

Even if all that calcium was useful, Willett says, drinking three glasses of low-fat milk a day adds 400 calories to the diet, at a time when most people could stand to lose weight. He thinks 500 to 700 milligrams of calcium is probably plenty -- that's around 2 cups milk or 2 bowls oatmeal, 1 cup spinach plus 1/2 cup tofu, or 2 glasses fortified orange juice or soy milk. Or just take a supplement, he says.

There are other reasons that Americans might have weaker bones -- high consumption of protein as well as phosphates from carbonated soft drinks, both of which leach calcium from bones. Plus, Americans don't get enough bone-building exercise.

Nestle, an NYU nutritionist who has documented industry's influence on food policy, says the typical American diet contributes to calcium losses, compared to countries where people eat more fruits, vegetables and grains.

"What is clear is that the reason the calcium level is set so high is to compensate," Nestle says.

Can it hurt?

Whether we need all that dairy is one thing. Whether calcium and dairy can hurt you is another.

Willett worries that they can -- he calls it "the dark side of calcium and dairy products" in his 2001 book Eat, Drink and Be Healthy.

Saturated fats in all but fat-free milk contribute to heart disease, and lactose is hard for many people to digest. And then there's cancer.

Willett says at least nine studies over 20 years show a link between milk consumption and the incidence of prostate cancer -- and the culprit currently is believed to be high levels of calcium. It concerns him that "calcium is being thrown into food right and left" these days.

So where does all this leave consumers? Confused, as with lots of conflicting nutrition information.

Nutritionists aren't in a hurry to push people away from dairy. After all, low-fat or nonfat milk is still probably better for people than sugary soft drinks and fatty fast food.

But do we need three glasses of it a day?

"I don't think dairy is an essential nutrient at all," Nestle says. "Cows don't drink milk, and they make bones. The calcium story is complicated."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/food/...a-features-food

This kinda stuff makes me sick...

The government bows down again to an industry that pushes a substance that is clearly the worst thing to happen to the human diet ever. Studies come out every week showing that milk is causing all sorts of problems with the human body but they rarely ever make it to the news. Just like tobacco, milk is going to be shown to be completely unhealthy to humans, and 50 years down the road people are going to be sicker and fatter, and the government will do nothing about it since they have a lot of money at stake with the dairy industry.

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oh well it's like any other thing

one day, they say this thing is good for us, and the day after it's almost cause cancer

it's all a matter of portion imo

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oh well it's like any other thing

one day, they say this thing is good for us, and the day after it's almost cause cancer

it's all a matter of portion imo

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Its tough to do stuff like that when 40% of the American diet has dairy in it. Look at public school kids for instance. What are they given for school lunch? Cheese pizza and several foods that include cheese with a carton of milk. Go home, what does your mom make you drink? Go with friends, more pizza and ice cream.

Not even kidding. Its getting ridiculous how milk is considered healthy at all.

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raised to 3 glasses? that too bad. instead of educating people that milk is actually bad for most peoples digestive system. also it is by far not the best source of calcium. and many vitamins in it are not even from it. its fortified with synthetic ones.

all the antibiotics the live stock is fed too.

yogurt is better though. especailly if you get a low lactose one.

cheese on other hand is good. no problems associated with dairy. once thing though - gotta watch your cholesterol.

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also it is by far not the best source of calcium.

I can't actually name any particular foods with calcium to speak of -- any suggestions? :)

its fortified with synthetic ones.

How does it matter? A vitamin is a vitamin? :huh:

It's a particular kind of molecule -- synthetic or not they should be identical.

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I can't actually name any particular foods with calcium to speak of -- any suggestions? :

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Speciality foods ------------milligrams per 8 oz (1 cup)

Carrot juice, fresh 57

Fish, canned salmon eaten with bones 440

Fish, canned sardines or mackeral eaten with bones 569

Molasses, blackstrap 2820, 176.2 per tablespoon

Molasses, unsulphured 672, 42 per tablespoon

Sesame butter (unhulled sesame seeds) 1022, 63.9 per tablespoon

Sesame butter/ tahini from hulled or decorticated seeds 315.2, 19.7 per tablespoon

Soy beverage, unfortified 9.8

Soy beverage, calcium-fortified variable, check nutrition information; approx 200

Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium 1721

Tofu, regular, prepared with nigari, 260

Vegetarian support nutritional yeast, variable, check nutrition information

Dark green leafy vegetables Many dark green leafy vegetables have relatively high calcium concentrations. The calcium in spinach is however, somewhat poorly absorbed, probably because of the high concentration of oxalate. The study revealed that kale, a low-oxalate vegetable, is a good source of bioavailable calcium. Kale is a member of the same family that includes broccoli, turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens. These low-oxalate, calcium-rich vegetables are therefore also likely to be better sources of available calcium

cooked turnip greens 450

cooked bok choy 330

cooked collards 300

cooked spinach 250

cooked kale 200

parsley 200

cooked mustard greens 180

dandelion greens 150

romaine lettuce 40

head lettuce 10

Sprouts

soy 50

mung 35

alfalfa 25

Sea vegetables (seaweed)(dried powdered form)

nori 1,200

kombu 2,100

wakame 3,500

agar-agar 1,000, 62.5 per tablespoon

Beans and Peas (cooked, ready to eat)

navy beans 140

soybeans 130

pinto beans 100

garbanzo beans 95

lima, black beans 60

lentils 50

split peas 20

Grains

tapioca (dried) 300

brown rice, cooked 20

quinoa, cooked 80

corn meal, whole grain 50

rye flour, dark 40

oats 40

tortillas, corn, calcium fortified (2) 120

tortillas, flour or unfortified (2) 23

whole wheat flour 50

Seafood

raw oysters 240

shrimp 300

salmon with bones 490

mackerel with bones 600

sardines with bones 1,000

Seeds

almonds 750

hazelnuts (filbert) 450

walnuts 280

sesame seeds (whole, unhulled) 2,100

sunflower seeds 260

The following herbs contain variable amounts of calcium:

borage, lamb's quarter, wild lettuce, nettles, burdock, yellow dock

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How does it matter? A vitamin is a vitamin? :huh:

It's a particular kind of molecule -- synthetic or not they should be identical.

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very wrong thinking. eating healthy foods full of nature vitamins is great. artificial vitamins should only be used as a quick fix, not as permanent solution.

you can can have negative effects of taking artificail vitamins, you cannot have that with natural sources even of mg for mg you take the same dose.

its it same with any processed foods. simple carbs are a good example. bad for your body. eg white sugar vs maple syrop. or fruit juice vs dextrose. first is good, second is bad. your body is made to absorb natural foods best, not processed foods.

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3 glasses a day!?!? Dang thats dumb, we should have like 1 1\2 or 2 cups per day. I think they are right, bad bones are caused by the lack of exercise and eating too much protein and carbohydrates. Not drinking enough milk is not really the big issue. Its your diet.

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3 glasses a day!?!? Dang thats dumb, we should have like 1 1\2 or 2 cups per day. I think they are right, bad bones are caused by the lack of exercise and eating too much protein and carbohydrates. Not drinking enough milk is not really the big issue. Its your diet.

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I've been drinking 3 glasses a day since I was 10. I hope I'll survive :p

Then again, I also do exercise and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.

I think I'll be fine ;-)

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I've been drinking 3 glasses a day since I was 10. I hope I'll survive :p

Then again, I also do exercise and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.

I think I'll be fine ;-)

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You'd be even better if you just stopped milk entirely but oh well.

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could it also be that the vegetarians are trying to lead an underground battle against consuming milk because thats harming the cows?

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Thats part of it....but look...

I'm not a vegetarian. I love eating animals. They taste great. I like them with all the fixings.

However...milk...I just dont drink it anymore. It's the most unnatural thing to do to your diet. Cows themselves dont drink milk...not even their own. They get their calcium from grass, like we should. Its completely unhealthy to drink milk, any kind of milk. When you are a baby, you need milk because basically, its designed to make you grow fast. As fast as possible because nature is a bitch and may kill you if you are small or weak. After a certain age, 1 or so, you stop drinking milk and look for other food sources like cows and any animal would. Its just common sense. 2/3 of the world doesn't drink milk because they can get sick from it. Why should anybody?

I do it for my health too. Milk has been linked to osteoporosis, heart disease, alzheimers, cancer, diabetes, acne, etc. Here's a fact for you...if we drink so much of that good ol' bone building milk...then why do the biggest milk drinking countries have the highest rates of osteoporosis?

If you wanna learn more about how bad milk can be to you, go here.

http://www.notmilk.com/

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Thats part of it....but look...

I'm not a vegetarian. I love eating animals. They taste great. I like them with all the fixings.

However...milk...I just dont drink it anymore. It's the most unnatural thing to do to your diet. Cows themselves dont drink milk...not even their own. They get their calcium from grass, like we should. Its completely unhealthy to drink milk, any kind of milk. When you are a baby, you need milk because basically, its designed to make you grow fast. As fast as possible because nature is a bitch and may kill you if you are small or weak. After a certain age, 1 or so, you stop drinking milk and look for other food sources like cows and any animal would. Its just common sense. 2/3 of the world doesn't drink milk because they can get sick from it. Why should anybody?

I do it for my health too. Milk has been linked to osteoporosis, heart disease, alzheimers, cancer, diabetes, acne, etc. Here's a fact for you...if we drink so much of that good ol' bone building milk...then why do the biggest milk drinking countries have the highest rates of osteoporosis?

If you wanna learn more about how bad milk can be to you, go here.

http://www.notmilk.com/

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I also recommend going to Milk Sucks

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Also, consider this... there is no other animal ANYWHERE that as an adult consumes milk. We don't need it. And don't get me started on the hormones... I mean my god... some 10 year old girls with 34B breasts... you can't tell they are little girls. it is sick.

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Also, consider this... there is no other animal ANYWHERE that as an adult consumes milk. We don't need it. And don't get me started on the hormones... I mean my god... some 10 year old girls with 34B breasts... you can't tell they are little girls. it is sick.

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Well I dunno if it would bother me if I was a 10 year old...but yes, its pretty crazy with what milk is doing to people.

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