Under the Hood

Innovation

The Grapevine

Weird Medicine

The Hill

Conditions

Healthy Living

Does Milk Actually Build Strong Bones? Sugar Content May Lead To Greater
Fracture Risks
Oct 28, 2014 06:30 PM By Dana Dovey@danadovey

Researchers find link between high milk consumption and increased mortality risk. Photo courtesy of www.bluewaikiki.com CC BY 2.0

Comment
Share on facebook
2.7k
Share on twitter
29
Share on google_plusone_share
Share on emailemail
Share on printprint
More Sharing Servicesmore

A recent report from Sweden has not only added proof to the growing consensus that drinking milk doesnt help our bone strength at all
but also suggested that it may be compromising our lives. The study even found a correlation between high milk consumption, bone
fracture occurrences, and increased mortality risk. Although at this point cause and effect cannot yet be proven, the findings may still be
enough to get you to decrease your daily milk consumption.
Mankinds relationship with milk post-infancy is still relatively new. In fact, two-thirds of the human population still lack the enzyme
needed to break down the lactose in milk and will most surely end up with the monster of all stomach aches if they drink too much. Still,
for those of us who are able to drink milk without too much of a discomfort, we've drank with the idea that we were somewhat improving
our bone health.

However, many scholars have noticed that when it comes to osteoporosis and milk consumption, the numbers just dont add up. The
countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis, such as the United States and countries in the European Union, are some of the biggest
global milk consumers, Slate reported. Could it be that milk actually doesnt do all that much for bone health after all?
In order to answer this question, which could potentially lead to a revision of medical books throughout the world, a team of Swedish
researchers followed 61,433 women and 45,339 men for between 11 and 20 years, tracking their diet and bone health. Results showed
that for women, higher milk consumption was not associated with a reduction in fracture risk. On top of this, women who drank more
than three glasses of milk a day were found to have a higher risk of death than women who drank less than one glass. The men showed
similar results with an even more pronounced association between high milk consumption and higher risk of death.
Our results may question the validity of recommendations to consume high amounts of milk to prevent fragility fractures," wrote the
studys authors in a press release. "The results should, however, be interpreted cautiously given the observational design of our study.
The findings merit independent replication before they can be used for dietary recommendations."
There is a bit of hope for dairy lovers, though. Although higher consumption of milk was found to be associated with negative health
consequences, a high intake of fermented milk products with low lactose content, such as cheese and yogurt, was found to lower the risk
of bone fracture and death. This observation was especially prominent for women.

The study was only able to point out a pattern between milk consumption and increased health consequences but emphasizes that more
research is needed.
As milk consumption may rise globally with economic development and increasing consumption of animal source foods, the role of
milk and mortality needs to be established definitively now," said lead researcher Karl Michalsson.

Source: Michalsson K, Wolk Alicja, Langenskild S, et al. Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort
studies. BMJ. 2014.