Drinking Milk Causes Weak Bones and Cancer

[ecochuck]

This is according to the local drunk and my trash collector. Just kidding. Research shows that Wikipedia is as accurate as Encyclopedia Brittanica according to Socialnomics.

Wikipedia says:

It is important to note here that contrary to popular belief, the consumption of dairy products does not prevent bone loss. In fact, the consumption of dairy products, as it is high in animal protein, creates bone loss. Whenever there is an increase in dairy consumption the rate of osteoporosis and bone fractures also go up.

Drinking milk makes the body more acid and the body takes calcium out the bones to neutralize this. Then this product is urinated out. So Americans get plenty of calcium in their diet, but there is a lot of calcium in their urine.

What about it causing cancer? This comes from a better source. One MD talking about Walter Willet, M.D., Ph.D -- the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard's School of Public Health.

Mark Hyman, MD: Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at All Costs or Why Following the USDA Food Pyramid Guidelines is Bad for Your Health (VIDEO)

Here is part of a comment about the above article:

As a mother of a 16 month old, I am very freaked out by this! I buy her everything organic because I know that there are adverse effects due to the pesticides...including dairy. Milk, yogurt, cheese, and cottage chesse are her main sources of protein throughout the day b/c she eats so little. What would I feed her for protein sources besides peanut butter?

Nuts, seeds and beans are loaded with protein but my college textbook on nutrition says that protein deficiency is rare in the world and does not exist in this part of the world. American Dietetics Association says that vegans get twice the protein that they need. Vegans eat no animal products and the above is too much protein.

In the book, Anticancer (2008), by an MD that got cancer he says that the problem is that in America people eat a big piece of steak or tofu with a little bit of vegetables. They should eat a lot of vegetables with a little piece of steak or tofu!

[Dayman]

Protip: never get your medical advice from someone who's had "lemonade cancer cure" in their signature.

[raider.adam]

That's why I only drink beer and soda.

[desolate]

Wikipedia says:


Is like your first problem for medical advice.

I trust Wikipedia with like historical info.. barely.

[toxigal]

Drinking milk makes the body more acid and the body takes calcium out the bones to neutralize this. Then this product is urinated out. So Americans get plenty of calcium in their diet, but there is a lot of calcium in their urine.

What about it causing cancer? This comes from a better source. One MD talking about Walter Willet, M.D., Ph.D -- the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard's School of Public Health.

Mark Hyman, MD: Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at All Costs or Why Following the USDA Food Pyramid Guidelines is Bad for Your Health (VIDEO)

Neither Willet nor Hyman have a single peer reviewed research article on milk or other dairy products.

[CHIOSSO]

snake oil

[borntochill]

Neither Willet nor Hyman have a single peer reviewed research article on milk or other dairy products.

These articles aren't peer-reviewed?:

Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Public Health. 1997 Jun;87(6):992-7.

Feskanich D, Willett WC, Colditz GA. Calcium, vitamin D, milk consumption, and hip fractures: a prospective study among postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Feb;77(2):504-11.

Berkey CS, Colditz GA, Rockett HR, Frazier AL, Willett WC. Dairy consumption and female height growth: prospective cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jun;18(6):1881-7.

Adebamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Berkey CS, Danby FW, Rockett HH, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Holmes MD. Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 May;58(5):787-93.

Missmer SA, Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Yaun SS, Adami HO, Beeson WL, van den Brandt PA, Fraser GE, Freudenheim JL, Goldbohm RA, Graham S, Kushi LH, Miller AB, Potter JD, Rohan TE, Speizer FE, Toniolo P, Willett WC, Wolk A, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Hunter DJ. Meat and dairy food consumption and breast cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Int J Epidemiol. 2002 Feb;31(1):78-85.

I found at least a dozen dairy-related studies with Willett via a quick PubMed search.

(This isn't an endorsement of the "Drinking Milk Causes Weak Bones and Cancer" hypothesis)

[toxigal]

These articles aren't peer-reviewed?:

doh! i spelled the name the way the OP did "Willet".

Now i must go look at those articles

[toxigal]

Okay, the conclusion of at least one of the studies on which WC Willett is a co-author is in direct contrast to the OP's claims.

Title: Dairy foods, calcium, and colorectal cancer: A pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies
Author(s): Cho E, Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, et al.

Abstract: Background. Studies in animals have suggested that calcium may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. However, results from epidemiologic studies of intake of calcium or dairy foods and colorectal cancer risk have been inconclusive. Methods: We pooled the primary data from 10 cohort studies in five countries that assessed usual dietary intake by using a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline. For most studies, follow-up was extended beyond that in the original publication. The studies included 534 536 individuals, among whom 4992 incident cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed between 6 and 16 years of follow-up. Pooled multivariable relative risks for categories of milk intake and quintiles of calcium intake and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Milk intake was related to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Compared with the lowest category of intake (<70 g/day), relative risks of colorectal cancer for increasing categories (70-174, 175-249, and greater than or equal to250 g/day) of milk intake were 0.94 (95% CI = 0.86 to 1.02), 0.88 (95% CI = 0.81 to 0.96), and 0.85 (95% CI = 0.78 to 0.94), respectively (P-trend<.001). Calcium intake was also inversely related to the risk of colorectal cancer. The relative risk for the highest versus the lowest quintile of intake was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.78 to 0.95; P-trend = .02) for dietary calcium and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.69 to 0.88; P-trend<.001) for total calcium (combining dietary and supplemental sources). These results were consistent across studies and sex. The inverse association for milk was limited to cancers of the distal colon (P-trend<.001) and rectum (P-trend = .02). Conclusion: Higher consumption of milk and calcium is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

[Dayman]

This is why I <3 toxigal, she says the same things I say, but much sciencier.

[borntochill]

For more science-y information on calcium, milk and health, a good resource is the Harvard School of Public Health. If using science as a basis for evaluating diet, nutrition and health, then one shouldn't cherry-pick studies one way or the other. There is evidence that high dairy intake (above 2 glasses/day) may increase the risk of prostate and ovarian cancer. From their website:

Currently, there's no good evidence that consuming more than one serving of milk per day in addition to a reasonable diet (which typically provides about 300 milligrams of calcium per day from nondairy sources) will reduce fracture risk. Because of unresolved concerns about the risk of ovarian and prostate cancer, it may be prudent to avoid higher intakes of dairy products.

The School of Public Health's article includes references comprised only of studies from peer-reviewed scientific journals.

I love pizza and ice cream, but wouldn't make any health claims for them.

[toxigal]

For more science-y information on calcium, milk and health, a good resource is the Harvard School of Public Health. If using science as a basis for evaluating diet, nutrition and health, then one shouldn't cherry-pick studies one way or the other. There is evidence that high dairy intake (above 2 glasses/day) may increase the risk of prostate and ovarian cancer. From their website:



The School of Public Health's article includes references comprised only of studies from peer-reviewed scientific journals.

I love pizza and ice cream, but wouldn't make any health claims for them.

To be clear, i wasn't attempting to cherry-pick studies. I simply didn't have time to read any and found one that refuted the claim from the OP. i think the key from what you posted is "unresolved concerns". without reviewing the literature i have no clue what makes them unresolved. i'm guessing there are some studies that show an increased risk and other's that show a decreased risk or no correlation at all.

[ecochuck]

Cow's milk is for baby cows to drink. The milk that humans are supposed to drink comes from their mother's breasts. Among all the animals, except for man, only the babies drink milk. The USDA says that the healthiest commercial milk for humans to drink is goats milk. More people in the world drink goats milk than cows milk.

In the video Pumping Iron (that made weight lifting popular), Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked if he drank milk. His response was "No, milk is for babies!" No one imagined at that time that he would end up being the governor of California

[Dayman]

Please die of an untreated vaccine preventable illness already.

[Marc]

In other news, smoking rehabilitates lung tissue and improves cardio-vascular performance, sodium reduces hypertension and increased sugar consumption cures diabetes!

Oh, wait, this thread wasn't about testing out future Onion articles? My bad.

[Insoluble]

I think the important issue here is that milk is foul. I mean absolutely nasty stuff. Why would you drink that crap? I get my calcium from other sources, not because I think milk is all that unhealthy, but because it tastes like a$$.

Among all the animals, except for man, only the babies drink milk.

We are also the only animals to drink beer. I ain't about to stop drinking that.

[Melrose]

We are also the only animals to drink beer. I ain't about to stop drinking that.

Actually, one of my dogs constantly steals beer and she really loves Champagne.

[GMonkey]

Seriously, Chuck? Just **** off.

[Seanibus]

You know, Chuck, I think you really ought to be more concerned about the effects of Dihydrogen Monoxide, which is present in very high levels in most dairy products. That stuff will kill you.

[ecochuck]

You know, Chuck, I think you really ought to be more concerned about the effects of Dihydrogen Monoxide, which is present in very high levels in most dairy products. That stuff will kill you.

Do they put it in organic milk? I just wanted to point out that milk's claim to fame may be wrong. The milk that is not organic has the bovine growth hormone in it that is called Posilac by Monsanto. Wiki. says:

The United States is the only developed nation to permit humans to drink milk from cows given artificial growth hormone.[1] Posilac was banned from use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all European Union countries (currently numbering 27), by 2000 or earlier.

Most Americans that drink milk, do not even drink the organic milk that does not have the growth hormone and anti-biotics given to the cows.