Milk Does Not Protect Women From Osteoporosis
Milk consumption does not protect against fractures, according to new data from the Harvard Nurses Study. The study recruited a group of 77,761 women who were between 34 and 59 years of age when the study began in 1980, and followed them for the next 12 years. 28 Those who drank three or more glasses of milk per day that is promoted by the Dairy industry had no reduction at all in the risk of hip or arm fractures compared to those women who did not consume any dairy products. Even after adjustments were made for weight, menopausal status, smoking and alcohol consumption and exercise levels. In fact, but not surprisingly, the fracture rates were higher for those who consumed three plus servings (8 ounces per serving), compared to those who did not drink milk. 28 The findings resonate with international comparisons that show that fracture rates in Scandinavia, England, Canada, Denmark and other area where dairy consumption takes place is significantly higher than those countries were dairy consumption does not take place (Pacific Rim Nations, Africia, China). The differences are the result of two other factors. First, in international studies, genetics play a role, with white women at higher risk than other groups. Second, other animal protein greatly increase calcium loss via the kidney. Recognizing a dramatic rise in the number of Americans with osteoporosis (loss of bone mass, causing bone to become honeycombed, shrunken, brittle, and easily broken), the National Academy of Science, National Institutes of Health, and the USDA collaborated to raise the recommended daily calcium intake from 1000 mg. to 1500 mg. for kids over 10, women, and everyone past 50. And in 1993, the USDA allowed a bone-health claim for milk, reports Dr. Robert Heaney of Creighton University, Omaha. Dairy products are rich in calcium, to be sure; but they are also rich in protein. Dr. Vijaya Venkat of the Health Awareness Centre, Prabhadevi, Mumbai, India points out that nutritionists the world over believe that the Western diet provides too much protein. “There is too much protein in bovine milk, protein we do not need at all.” The particular proteins in milk (and other animal sources) “produce acidic ash in the blood. Since our blood has to be slightly alkaline all the time, the body withdraws calcium from the bones to neutralize this acid. Excess protein will weaken the bones,” Dr. Venkat writes. There are plenty of plant sources for calcium, researchers note. Citrus fruits, legumes, nuts, soy, and anything green. “Fruits and vegetables yield an alkaline ash, and don’t deplete calcium stores,” Alan Lamm reports. Citing research, he explains: “Meat, eggs, milk products, and fish are the most acid-forming foods. High protein diets lead to a gradual decrease in bone density.” Lamm, summarizing a study embraced by all the anti-milk journalists, reports that osteoporosis and its resulting bone fractures are most common in countries where dairy consumption is highest: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian countries. In an article in the August 28, 1997 News-Observer, Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, writes: “The real causes of osteoporosis are the five factors that leach calcium from the bones: Animal protein, caffeine, sodium, tobacco, and sedentary lifestyle.” Dr. Venkat, states “(Osteoporosis) is a degenerative disease resulting from improper care of your body during younger and middle years.” The Harvard Nurses Study In recent writings, the research cited most often (by American writers, at least) is the Harvard Nurses Study, which investigated osteoporosis and bone loss in women. Dr. Robert M. Kradjian of Seton Medical Center at Daly City, Calif., explains, from 1980 to 1992 the Harvard Nurses Study followed 77,761 women between ages 34 and 59 to determine the relationship between milk consumption and osteoporosis. Dr. Kradjian and Dr. Bernard both report the bottom-line results of the study: “Those who drank three or more glasses of milk per day had no reduction in the risk of hip or arm fractures over the 12-year period, compared to women who drank little or no milk, even after adjustment for weight, menopausal status, smoking, and alcohol use.” Dr. Kradjian, adds “Fracture rates were higher for those who consumed three or more servings, compared to those who did not drink milk.” Milk: The Long White TrailResearch, some of it done 30 years back and some reported only weeks ago, documents a long list of milk negatives. The thesis: Milk does a body harm. And milk’s adversaries, whose numbers are growing, have a boxcar load of studies to support them. Cow’s milk lacks essential fatty acids human infants need for neurological development. Babies drinking whole milk in their first two yearsdevelop allergies, colic, diabetes; milk causes internal bleeding in children, which contributes to anemia. Milk protein attacks the immune system. Cow’s milk contains “antibiotics (up to 84 different at last count), pesticides, chemicals, hormones(rBGH), blood, white cells (pus)(1/30 of every ounce), and bacteria from mastitis (udder infection)” which the USDA and FDA either do not test for (they do test for 4 of the up to 84 anti-biotics used), or which they allow to be present in unacceptably high levels. Various studies found “significant positive correlations” between milk intake and lung and ovarian cancers, leukemia, and Crohn’s disease. And, possibly, lung and prostrate cancers, Dr. Kradjian notes, but with reservations: “the weight of evidence” suggests it’s the animal fat in milk which triggers the growth of cancer cells. This implies that meat is equally damaging. “At least half of human adults” are lactose intolerant, which offers proof, according to Dr. Kradjian, that “cow’s milk was never intended for human consumption.” Milk consumption does not protect women fromosteoporosis; in fact, it may cause it. The body withdraws calcium from the bones to neutralize the proteins and lactic acids in milk. References: 1. Koop, E. The Surgeon’s General’s Report. Wash.Pub. No. 88-50210. 1988.
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28. Feskanich, D., et al. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12 year prospective study, Am J. Publ Health, 1997; 87:992-7 |