The Many Myths of Milk—Is it really that good for you?

From a very young age, your parents probably taught you to drink plenty of milk if you wanted to grow up big and strong.  They may have even insisted you start your day with one glass of milk and end your day with another glass. Well, do not feel bad. Certainly, your parents did not intentionally deceive you. After all, for nearly centuries milk has been heralded as not only the most reliable source of calcium, but also the best protector of bone health. Nevertheless, recent research casts doubt on the power of milk and even highlights some potential concerns that might urge you to stop drinking milk completely!

But Milk is natural, how on earth could it be bad?

Honestly, that is the problem—milk is no longer natural. Although milk used to be delivered directly to your kitchen table shortly after being donated by a cow or goat, now it must travel long distances and sit on a shelf in a store for an extended period of time until you come along and purchase it. Farmers must allow for all this added time, thus today’s milk is both homogenised and pasteurised to make it last longer. As always, any form of preserving or processing depletes the health benefits of food, and this is especially evident with milk. Even without processing, milk acidifies the body, so processed milk becomes that much more acidic. Indeed, the human body has several mechanisms in place to bring your system back to neutral, but one of its favourite neutralisation methods actually counteracts why you drink milk in the first place!

Calcium neutralises blood acidity

This process can get a little confusing, yet it is definitely worth your good health to understand it. When your body’s acid-alkaline balance gets disturbed, your blood pH level is affected the most. So, say for instance you drink a lot of milk then your blood pH will drop to a dangerously acidic level. Consequently, your body will re-establish a neutral blood pH by increasing the amount of calcium in your blood. However, that extra calcium will be taken from your bones.

Milk is dangerously overrated

While many individuals have made the wise decision to limit or eliminate the amount of dairy products in their diet, not as many people are convinced about milk. Everyone believes that milk is necessary to maintain calcium within the body and fight osteoporosis, but as explained earlier, that is just simply not true. As a matter of fact, calcium can only be absorbed if the body’s vitamin C, vitamin D, and magnesium levels are sufficient. In other words, milk cannot do it alone. What milk can do is cause a series of health conditions that you may have once attributed to something else you were eating. Here is a list of what milk has been linked to so far:

• Heart disease
• Prostate cancer
• Calcium deficiency
• Increased risk of fracture
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Digestive issues in lactose intolerant individuals

If you are still unsure whether you should continue to consume milk and other dairy products, feel free to ‘Ask a Naturopath’ for personalised advice. He or she can also suggest tasty milk alternatives.