Dear List:
Recently we had a lengthy thread on vegetarianism, effects of milk, etc.,
etc. Many times our comments regarding health/med/ nutrition present
hearsay and anecdote, not an unusual occurence in conversation and certainly
OK when we present our comments as such. This week, Jane Brody's article on
"milk" and the facts and myths appeared in the NYTimes. She is a respected
science/nutrition writer. The URL is included in case you want to read the
online version. I hope you'll find the information useful.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/26/science/26BROD.html
September 26, 2000
PERSONAL HEALTH
Debate Over Milk: Time to Look at Facts
By JANE E. BRODY
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Got milk?" cries the National Dairy Council, seeking to reverse or at least
stem a half-century decline in per capita consumption of this
nutrient-packed beverage.
"Got beer?" countered the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a
nonprofit organization that promotes milk-free vegetarian diets and in 1992
denounced the feeding of cows' milk to children.
Although the committee dropped its counterattack when the United States
Department of Agriculture decided to add soy milk as a "dairy" option in the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the milk wars continue to rage. Hardly a
month passes without another accusation hurled at milk as less than an ideal
food. Among recent claims: milk can cause juvenile diabetes, heart disease,
cancer, digestive disorders, ear infections, mucus in the throat and, in
infants, allergies, colic and iron deficiency anemia. The Physicians
Committee has even accused calcium-rich milk of increasing, rather than
decreasing, the risk of osteoporosis.
The popular claim that "cows' milk is for calves," not people, begs an
intriguing dietary question: on what grounds can it be said that any
cultivated food — be it wheat, rice, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, chicken or
pork — was meant to be eaten by people? Humans began as hunter-gatherers,
eating whatever they could find that grew naturally. No edible specifically
evolved to feed people. Rather, people learned to cultivate edible plant and
animal foods to assure a more constant food supply.
Health Facts About Milk
Here is what has been said and what is actually known about milk's
relationship to health.
HEART DISEASE
If milk (and other dairy products) are consumed in large amounts in their
whole-fat state, then, yes, they may raise blood levels of cholesterol and
contribute to heart disease. But supermarkets are now bursting with low-fat
and nonfat dairy options, including liquid milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese
and fat-free "half-and-half." After the age of 2, there is no reason not to
switch to these heart-saving low-fat alternatives, especially since certain
substances in milk may help to lower cholesterol.
CANCER
A few studies have suggested a link — but others have found no link —
between the sugars in milk and ovarian cancer. But the most carefully done
study to date found that women who developed ovarian cancer actually drank
less milk than those who remained free of this cancer. And while the
high-fat content of whole milk and other full-fat dairy products may promote
certain cancers, recent studies have indicated that components of low-fat
and fat-free dairy products can reduce the risk of cancers of the breast,
lungs and colon.
DIABETES
Type 1 diabetes, as juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes is now called, is
an autoimmune disease, and there is some evidence that people who develop it
tend to have high levels of antibodies in their blood to the proteins in
cows' milk. The risk, if there is a real one, of developing this form of
diabetes seems to be related to the consumption of unmodified cows' milk in
infancy by susceptible people.
Infant formulas are heat-treated in a way that modifies these proteins to
reduce the risk that babies will develop antibodies to them. Also
contributing to a lower risk associated with infant formula is the fact that
the amount of protein in formula more closely resembles that of breast milk,
which has less than half the protein in cows' milk.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants in their first
year not be given unmodified cows' milk or products like ice cream or yogurt
made from unmodified cows' milk. Waiting to introduce cows' milk until an
infant's digestive system is more fully matured will reduce the risk of milk
allergy and possibly other allergies as well. Incidentally, allergic
reactions to milk, which most often develop in infancy, are nearly always
outgrown by the elementary grades.
MUCUS IN THE THROAT
Whole milk, because of its consistency, can coat the mouth and throat
temporarily and create the sensation of thickened saliva or mucus. But a
blind study in Australia that included people who believed the milk-mucus
relationship found no difference in reports of mucus in the throat among
those who ate chocolate- disguised cows' milk or soy milk. While
professional singers, actors or public speakers may refrain from milk
shortly before performances, there is no reason for them to do so at other
times or for others to avoid milk for this reason. If milk-induced mucus
seems to bother you, try switching to nonfat milk.
OSTEOPOROSIS
It is true that in most Asian countries, where little or no dairy products
are consumed, there is a much lower incidence of osteoporosis than in the
United States. But it is also true that Asians eat a lot more calcium-rich
vegetables and a lot less protein than Americans do. The excess protein
consumed by most Americans actually removes calcium from the body. Asians
also get a lot more physical exercise and consume less cola, which can
impede the use of calcium.
Milk and other dairy products are by far the leading sources of
bone-building nutrients — primarily calcium and vitamin D — in the American
diet. Although milk contains protein, the ratio of calcium to protein in
milk is high enough to favor bone development, not the bone loss suggested
by the Physicians Committee.
DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
About one-quarter of Americans develop varying degrees of lactose
intolerance, an inability to digest the natural sugar in milk, which can
result in bloating, flatulence and sometimes diarrhea. The incidence of
lactose intolerance is highest in American Indians, African-Americans and
people of Eastern European or Asian descent.
But most people with lactose intolerance can drink a glass of milk with
meals with few if any symptoms. Also, yogurt with live active cultures (the
bacteria produce lactose-digesting enzymes) and hard cheeses (which lose
most of the lactose when the curds are formed) are unlikely to cause
symptoms. In addition, lactose-reduced dairy products — milk, cottage
cheese, even ice cream — are now widely available. Or, you can prepare your
own lactose-reduced milk by adding the enzyme lactase (sold as Lactaid drops
in pharmacies) to liquid milk and waiting a day to consume it.
Why Drink Milk
In addition to building bones, the calcium and other components in milk may
help to prevent hypertension (and, thus, heart disease and stroke) and
cancers of the breast and colon. Milk is also a good source of other vital
nutrients, including vitamins A and D, riboflavin, protein, phosphorus and
the trace elements copper, zinc and manganese.
A large national study called DASH has shown that only when a low-fat diet
rich in fruits and vegetables is combined with three servings a day of
low-fat dairy foods is the diet effective in lowering blood pressure and
reducing blood levels of homocysteine, another risk factor for heart
disease.
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