Drinking lots of milk could be bad for your
health, a new study reports.
Previous research has shown that the calcium
in milk can help strengthen bones and
prevent osteoporosis. These benefits to bone
health have led U.S. health officials to
recommend milk as part of a healthy diet.
But this new study found that drinking large
amounts of milk did not protect men or
women from bone fractures, and was linked
to an overall higher risk of death during the
study period.
However, the researchers said the results
should be viewed with caution.
Women who drank three glasses of milk or
more every day had a nearly doubled risk of
death and cardiovascular disease, and a 44
percent increased risk of cancer compared to
women who drank less than one glass per
day, the researchers found.
Men's overall risk of death increased about
10 percent when they drank three or more
glasses of milk daily, said the study, published
online Oct. 28 in BMJ.
Should you cut down milk consumption?
"The study findings have, for myself, been
strong enough to cut down on my milk
consumption," said lead author Karl
Michaelsson, a professor in the department
of surgical sciences at Uppsala University in
Sweden.
Still, the findings only suggest an association
and not a direct link, said Mary Schooling, a
professor at the City University of New York
School of Public Health, who wrote an
editorial accompanying the study.
People should not change their diet based on
these findings, Schooling said.
"We can't draw conclusions at this point," she
said. "We need a study involving people who
genetically can and can't digest milk easily,
and compare whether those who can digest
milk have a difference in cardiovascular
disease, death and fractures from those who
can't."
The study involved more than 61,000 women
and 45,000 men in Sweden who previously
filled out dietary questionnaires for other
research projects, the women in the late
1980s and the men in 1997. All were over 39
years of age.
Researchers compared their reported milk-
drinking habits to health data kept by Swedish
officials, to see whether milk consumption
could be linked to risk of death or health
problems.
The investigators found that a large amount
of milk in a daily diet did appear to be linked
to an increased risk of death in both men and
women during the study period.
Yoghurt and cheese better than milk
In addition, excessive milk drinking appeared
to actually increase a woman's risk of broken
bones, compared with women who drank
little milk.
The risk of any bone fracture increased 16
percent in women who drank three or more
glasses daily, and the risk of a broken hip
increased 60 percent, the findings indicated.
Lots of milk did not appear to either protect
against or promote broken bones in men.
Michaelsson and his colleagues said the
increased risk of death they observed could
be explained by the high levels of sugars
contained in milk, specifically lactose and
galactose.
Galactose has been shown to prematurely age
mice in the laboratory, Michaelsson said,
noting that the milk sugar promotes
inflammation.
By contrast, a high intake of fermented milk
products with low lactose content - such as
yoghurt and cheese - was associated with
reduced rates of death and fracture,
particularly in women, the researchers
reported.
While interesting, these findings are too
preliminary to warrant a change in nutritional
guidelines, said Isabel Maples, a registered
dietitian in Haymarket, Virginia, and
spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition
and Dietetics.
Three servings of dairy per day
About 55 percent of older adults - 44 million
Americans - either have osteoporosis or are
at high risk for brittle bones, Maples said. She
added that the U.S. Dietary Guidelines
recommend three servings of dairy per day,
not just for bone health, but also to reduce
the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and
high blood pressure.
"They don't base the guidelines on fads. They
don't base it on trends. They don't base it on
what has been the traditional advice. They
look at the scientific evidence," she said.

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