7 Reasons Not To Drink Milk- Is Milk Bad For Your Health?

I remember secretly emptying my glass of milk down the bathroom sink as a kid, just because my mom would have me drink it THREE times a day even when I was 15 years old!
And that was because she was so convinced that it was (for her, it still IS) the most complete food. Laden with all the nutrients, proteins, calcium, et al that a growing child needs.
And I don’t entirely blame her for thinking the way she did. She had probably been conditioned into believing so by HER mom, and so forth.
Milk, to most of us, is more than just a drink. It is more of a cultural phenomenon, if I can call it one!!
Everyone seems to be so proud to flaunt off that milk moustache.
But then, Is milk BAD for your health?
Or, Is milk healthy?
I am sure it is as difficult for you and me to digest the fact that milk is NOT actually as healthy for you as you would like to believe as it was for our ancestors many hundred years back to believe that the Earth is round and not flat.
And you know why they found it difficult to believe that?
Because for hundreds and hundreds of years, they had believed that the Earth is flat.
The fact that it did not LOOK round to the naked eye made it all the more difficult for them to swallow the truth.

Similarly, we have been brought up thinking that milk is the epitome of a perfect food.
A complete package, a balanced food, a health laden drink- anything you’d want it to be, in short!
Most physicians will also have you believe that milk and dairy are indeed very healthy for you.
Sadly for all of us, that is not the truth.

MILK IS FOR CALVES- not for humans!
A human child needs to drink sufficient quantities of it to be well nourished till he is three years of age, proves latest research. Beyond that age, our body does not NEED it because we can fulfill our dietary requirements from other foods.
Inspite of it, research says that an average American child in 2012 drinks almost 102 quarts (almost 98 liters) of milk every year.
A greater part of the population in my country (India) lives below the poverty line and the average milk consumption might be significantly lower here. But those who can afford it certainly make it a point to pour as much of it down their kids’ throats as they possibly can, thinking they are actually doing them a favor be doing so.
And that is because of the imaginary health benefits attached to it.
Here are 7 reasons for not drinking milk. Know the facts about milk and decide for yourself if drinking milk is good/ bad for your health.

1. Milk depletes the calcium in your bones and teeth

Most of the premium attached to milk is because we have been told that milk is one of the richest sources of calcium, with one cup full of containing 300mg of it.
Very true.
And THIS calcium from milk would help strengthen our bones and teeth.
What most of us do not know, however, is that our body is actually able to absorb only a very small portion of this calcium. Especially if the milk is pasteurized.
As if that was not enough of a shock, let me tell you something beyond that.
Milk actually depletes the calcium from your bones.
For those who would want to read about that in detail, please read this article:

       2.   Milk does nothing to prevent or delay osteoporosis

Most women in their mid thirties are asked to increase the consumption of milk. Or to take up drinking milk if they have not been doing that in a vain attempt to prevent or delay osteoporosis.
That is because women they are at a greater risk of osteoporosis at this age due to menopause and the hormonal changes indie their bodies.
For all those who believe THAT to be true, let me tell you that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to suggest drinking milk or increasing dairy intake will reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Recent studies have proved beyond doubt that milk is not as good for bone health as has been traditionally believed.

“Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in old age. (“Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994).
And the 12 year long Harvard Nurses’ Health Study found that those who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. This is a broad study based on 77,761 women aged 34 through 59 years of age.
 “These data do not support the hypothesis that higher consumption of milk or other food sources of calcium by adult women protects against hip or forearm fractures.” (Source:. American Journal of Public Health. 1997).

3. Lesser dairy gives healthier bones

Stemming from the two facts stated above, lesser consumption of dairy means healthier bones.
Shocking though you may find it, the countries with the lowest rates of dairy consumption have the lowest rates of osteoporosis too!

See the osteoporosis stats for the poverty stricken African nations- it is among the lowest there.
Vitamin D plays a much greater role in preventing fractures.
Even drinking ‘enough’ of it right since you were a toddler does nothing to protect your bones from fractures. It might, infact, become the CAUSE of fractures.

Says Amy Lanou Ph.D., The Nutrition Director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C., “The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.”

      4.  Too much of it increases your bone and colon cancer risk

Attaching too much importance to calcium and, therefore, drinking too much milk or consuming too much yogurt, cheese, etc. can put men at a greater risk of prostate cancer, as compared to those who consume milk and dairy only in moderation.
The chances of getting prostate cancer are 30-50% more in the case of people with high dairy consumption.

      5.  Milk, today, in nothing but a processed food.

The milk giving cows and buffaloes today are given injections of rBGH, a bovine growth hormone, to artificially induce them to secrete more milk.
They are also given deadly antibiotics to keep them disease free. Though there is no harm in giving antibiotics to keep the cows and buffaloes healthy, they are given those chemicals in excess of their requirements- just to be on the safer side.
With the result that all those deadly chemicals find their way into our system when we consume such milk. The IGF-1, in particular, can be a source of many types of cancers

“Drinking rBGH milk would thus be expected to significantly increase IGF-1 blood levels and consequently to increase risks of developing breast cancer and promoting its invasiveness.”

Cows fed only on grass do give healthier milk, but it is economically unviable to rear cows like those which is why they are given growth hormones to fatten them and increase the yield of milk.
That is one of MY top reasons not to drink milk.

     6.  Milk is the most common source of allergies

Dairy and various dairy products are the sources of almost 61% food related allergies today.

Even if it does not cause lactose intolerance per se, it can cause other disorders of the gastrointestinal tract which have their roots in the inability of the body to digest milk, as we get it today, completely.
In many cases, it causes problems like bloating, IBS, constipation and GERD.

     7.  It is a source of saturated fats

Full fat milk is rich in saturated fats.
And we all know that saturated fats can be the cause of cardiac disorders. Cause high blood pressure and be the root of obesity (which, in itself, can trigger off dozens of other serious related disorders and problems).
While the milk sold in US and most developed countries is low fat or fat free, we, in India, almost tch tch a person who has to drink the low fat version of it.
Notwithstanding that full fat milk is extremely harmful for us.
That should be another of the reasons for not drinking milk. Or, at least, the full fat version of it.
Conclusion
I do not want to suggest that you need to quit drinking milk altogether.
But if you have been drinking it or getting kids to drink it just because you think that it is the elixir of life, think again!
I am sure these facts on milk and dairy facts will startle many among you.
Kids, I am sure, will love this post for giving them reasons not to drink milk.
See you all again soon- time to pour my young one a glassful!!