Thursday, 09 September 2010
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The Truth About Milk
A lot of people have been scared about hormones and additives that may be added to milk. However, milk is a great source of calcium to build strong bones. A diet high in calcium may help prevent osteoporosis in the future.
I saw this really great video on Youtube from British Columbia dairy farmers. They're saying that our milk in Canada is safe! (No hormones or additives.) I hope this is the truth. Media can sometimes play things in a way that favors a certain way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWw_P_CH638I've always been a milk-drinker. I'm not that tall though! But even after you stop growing, you can build strength into your bones well into young adulthood. After this point though, you cannot build your bone strength anymore. You can only try to prevent your bones from become weaker!
Your blood needs to keep a stable level of calcium to function properly. If your body doesn't receive calcium from your diet, then your blood will leech calcium from your bones! That's how you get weak bones and that's how osteoporosis happens.
Osteoporosis isn't pretty. I saw this woman on the street the other day with a really crooked spine. It looked so painful! I felt so bad for her.
Milk can also aid in weight loss. But it's important to choose skim or low-fat (1%) milk. Skim is 90 calories/cup and low-fat (1%) is 110 calories/cup. Milk has protein in it that will help you feel fuller for longer and it's also a great drink to replenish yourself after a work-out!
MUST DRINK MORE MILK!!!!I love milk commercials. Maybe I'll create my own milk commercial in the future! The girl in the above picture is my best friend in Vancouver. She's wearing high heels in a store and making me feel like a child. When we were 13 years old, she was actually shorter than me. She told me she took calcium supplements, but is not sure if that is the reason for her height. But both her parents are not that tall and her sister is around 5'2 maybe.
Did you guys drink milk when you were younger? How does your height compare with your family? I'm the same height as my own sister (5'4). We're taller than my mom though (5'1) and I think this is because food was quite scarce for my mom in Hong Kong.
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Comments (50)
I don't drink milk plain, lol, I don't like the taste. But I like 1%.
i use milk in my coffee 2-3 times a day and i eat 2 or 3 servings of yogurt/cottage cheese every day
we use 2% though :P
@crazy2love - yeah i don't like the taste plain anymore, i found out i was lactose intolerant and didn't drink it for a while, so now it tastes funny. i use dairy ease now if i want it in my coffee or something
I used to drink milk, then I became lactose intolerant =(
I don't like milk by its self, only with cereal or cookies. But I'm mildly lactose intolerant now, so I wouldn't want to chug a whole glass of milk. It gives me gas.
Milk is bad. Most people are somewhat lactose intolerant and aside from that milk is one of the most common allergies. Milk does not prevent osteoperosis. There have been studies (Not funded by the dairy industry!) done that have actually shown a correlation between dairy and osteoperosis. And on top of all that, milk will wreak havoc on your skin. Suggestion: Get your calcium elsewhere.
@ShimmerBodyCream - Research is contradicting with different results contrasting each other
all the time. However, I am a firm believer of the food guide, which
takes years of discussion, debate, and research by health care
professionals to create and update. Each country has their own food
guide, but around the world, food guides still recommend 2-3 servings
of dairy products per day to build bone strength. If you're allergic or
if milk personally causes acne for you, then for sure don't drink milk!
Everyone is different :)
@theHealthRabbit - There's nothing contradictory about the fact that milk is a common food allergy and many people are lactose intolerant. There's nothing contradictory about the fact that a diet high in saturated fat and vitamin A (which milk has) will both weaken the bones. Experts say that dairy should be limited to less than 2 servings a day.
Don't even get me started on the food pyramid...
Calcium? Yeah, its good. Just better from other sources.
@ShimmerBodyCream - I think that's the first time I have ever seen you comment more than one line!
@ShimmerBodyCream - Just because a food is a common allergy, does not mean it's "bad". Yes it's bad for those that are allergic to it (because they would have an allergic reaction and could die!), but if you're not allergic to it, then there is no problem. Nuts and fish also top the list for most common food allergens, but they are full of heart-healthy omega-3 fats :)
That is why health professionals recommend skim or low-fat milk to which contain little to no saturated fats. Depending on what country you're in, vitamin A is usually fortified, but not naturally present in milk. Many fruits and vegetables like watermelon, squash, and carrots also contain vitamin A.
What you said about experts recommending limiting dairy to 2 servings per day is close to the food guide recommendation of 2-3 servings per day. If you don't want to drink milk, that is your preference and lifestyle. :) It's definitely not for everyone as around 70% of the population is lactose intolerant. There are definitely a lot of other great sources of calcium and great ways to get around lactose intolerance too!
@theHealthRabbit - "It's definitely not for everyone as around 70% of the population is lactose intolerant. "
Yes, so many people are lactose intolerant because babies should be drinking milk, not adults. We're not designed to keep consuming milk that's why we lose most of the enzyme that is for digesting it properly after we are weaned.
With the allergy comment I was referring to the fact that between lactose intolerance and allergies, most people should not be drinking it. There are much better calcium sources to recommend.
Your best bet if you want to prevent osteoperosis is to eat vegetables with calcium and that have other nutrients known to help prevent it. (such as vitamin K)
"Many fruits and vegetables like watermelon, squash, and carrots also contain vitamin A."
Not preformed vitamin A which is responsible for weakening bones.
@ShimmerBodyCream - Not all vegetables are great sources. For example, spinach contains calcium, but it also contains oxalates, which bind to the calcium and prevent the body from absorbing it. You're right that there are other great sources of calcium. I was planning to write a post about ways to get by lactose intolerance too, since so many people have it. I'm not telling allergic and lactose intolerant people to drink milk. I think people know what they are allergic to and what they can tolerate. Gas is definitely not fun! It's a controversial topic! Thanks for your feedback and information! The media sways things and only provides certain information to consumers. All research has it's limitations and correlational research is never causal, since other factors (like vitamin D, exercise, gender, ethnicity, lifespan, etc) can spur the correlation. I can see how dairy farmers want to protect their image because it's their business. It seems that there are people really against milk and dairy farmers too. For example, I have seen PETA discourage milk and advocate vegetables as a source of calcium, but they failed to tell the media about oxalates. You seem pretty set on your beliefs. That's great. I'm still set on mine too and open to hearing others' opinions :)
I think it has to do with calcium consumed + physical activity level.
My two male cousins are 6'4 and 6'3, and I'm a little less than 6'. My brother 5'10".
I remember when i was growing up, during this one period, I used to crave milk a LOT. I think that's when i grew. So I think it has a lot more to do with genetics than anything. It's not that people who drink milk get tall, but people who grew tall by drinking milk was because the genetics in their body demanded the milk (or other sources of calcium).
I'm starting to think that's the case with other food. Just as a pregnant woman's body knows what food needs consumed, I think our body naturally knows what to eat.
@theHealthRabbit -
Spinach is a high oxalate containing vegetable. (Although it contains a great amount of vitamin K which helps to absorb calcium) You can opt for calcium rich low oxalate foods such as bok choy.
But just as oxalates can prevent absorption of calcium, protein (which milk is high in) can cause calcium to leach from the bones in order to neutralize the body's acidity from protein.
Research also shows that countries who don't drink milk and countries that have lower calcium intakes have less of a risk of osteoperosis/fractures.
I think this was productive. Hopefully people have learned something new on both sides from our exchange.
@jai_ko - haha oh cravings... yea that would explain why it seems like men love steak and meat more than women do!
i'm adopted, so results don't matter. but yes i drank milk and seems to have worked
I used to drink little milk, then I had these excruciating foot cramps, probably due to a calcium deficiency. Now I drink lots of milk and eat a lot of skim/low-fat dairy products like yogurt.
I like to drink milk and eat a banana after running -- I worry that milk doesn't have enough electrolytes in it, and Gatorade is kind of nasty and very artificial.
@Roadlesstaken - I used to be lactose-intolerant, but got over it by drinking milk! No joke. When I was in college, I drank very little milk for 2 years and became lactose-intolerant. I couldn't drink 2 cups of milk at a time -- that would give me diarrhea (sorry, TMI
). Then I just started drinking more and more milk, and now I can drink a whole bowl of it with no problems at all!
@ShimmerBodyCream - With the correlational research on countries with lower calcium intakes having less risk for fractures, I was definitely curious about that! I saw a "milk sucks" site that talked about a study comparing African-Americans and South Africans. But I wondered whether they took into account about lifestyle differences, like amount of exercise and sunlight exposure, because these things definitely helps in bone strength too. I wondered about average life span... because if you have a shorter life, then you're definitely less likely to have osteoporosis. Reading websites and newspapers talk about research results is frustrating for me sometimes b/c I wish I knew exactly what kind of participants they chose, how they chose them, etc. But most of the population doesn't think about small stuff like this that could affect results.
Hmm.. Bok choy, thanks for this tip! I didn't know this one.
@Senlin - I was planning to write about this in my next post! Other methods to obtain calcium if your lactose intolerant... and also that some ppl are able to build their tolerance! I am the same as you. I have spent my fair share of time on the toilet too, but then I just kept drinking milk, my body adapted, and my lactose intolerance went away!
I love milk. Thank God I'm not lactose intolerant! Oh yeah, either your friend is a giant female or you're just big time short ;)
@kachino - you're unique Kachino! Most ppl have an low tolerance to lactose! I'm not that short am I? You've seen me. You're tall tho. Okay your opinion doesn't count because now it's just about relevance! :P
@Senlin - I may have to try it!
@ShimmerBodyCream - MILK IS GOOD FOR YOU. DRINK YOUR MILK.
Ahhh milk <3
I drink 2% though- I feel that 1% or skim milk doesn't really have a taste, even if it's better for me x-x/
@theHealthRabbit - Oh really? I thought I was normal not being lactose intolerant :). Yeah you're not that short ... I was just making fun of you in your picture with your giant friend on heels ;). Come on, I'm not that tall ... HAHA, I guess nothing changes when my opinions don't count anymore ;)