The Big Milk Myth

We were taught growing up how important milk is for healthy bones, but scientific studies have been consistently coming out debunking this myth. Who should we believe: the scientists or our moms?

Well, according to science, milk does contain calcium – at least this part is not a myth – it contains about 300 mg per cup. However, some studies have shown that because of the acidic properties of milk and other animal proteins, our bodies have to actually use the calcium already in our bones to neutralize our bodies pH. This is because our bodies sacrifice our bones in order to help other more important organs being affected by the milk consumption, like the kidneys. When calcium exits our bones to do this, we don’t get it back, so we actually end up with less calcium then when we started drinking milk. So in theory, milk’s calcium should help our bones, but in reality, it actually ends up hurting them. One frightening report from the American Journal of Epidemiology concludes that consumption of dairy products, particularly in your twenties, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture later on in life. And that’s not all! Milk we drink today is extremely processed. Not only is it pasteurized and homogenized, making the milk even more acidic, but our cows too are given additives that Dr. Samuel Epstein, Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, says could “increase risks of developing breast cancer and promoting its invasiveness” for those who drink it.

Why do we drink other animals’ milk anyway? Cows milk is obviously “designed” for baby cows, not for adult humans. It has three times the amount of protein in it than in human milk, which may make some people head for the milk aisle even faster, but remember, there’s a reason why human milk is composed the way it is. All that extra protein, calcium, and additives create weird metabolic reactions in our bodies that are not supposed to happen! Human milk is composed correctly to work with a baby’s body. And that’s another point: there’s a reason why only baby mammals drink their mother’s milk. Babies don’t have teeth so it is extremely necessary to feed them their mother’s milk, which is full of the exact nutrition they need. Later, when our teeth have grown and we can feed ourselves, we don’t need that same nutrition, and we definitely don’t need the nutrition a baby cow needs.

The milk myth has gone on too long. For a better source of calcium, try white beans, dried figs, kale, almonds, sesame seeds and oranges, and remember to supplement your calcium intake with vitamin D as well to help your body absorb the nutrients.