Is Milk Bad For You?

Hi! So I used to drink two cups of milk a day for calcium and out of habit, but then heard about its disadvantages. Now, I rarely drink milk. Does anyone know the truth about milk? Here is what I found about milk being bad for you:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html
http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/
http://www.naturalnews.com/031255_milk_health.html

Thanks!
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Replies

  • bump!
  • 007FatSlayer
    007FatSlayer Posts: 132 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...of course I can't help it if I have frozen yogurt/ice cream. In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.
  • I would go through 5+ GALLONS of milk a MONTH when I was growing up. Just me. I loved the hell out of milk. While I was never an athletic superstar, I also never had any physical issues whatsoever. I still don't, and occasionally enjoy some milk. However, in recent history milk has begun to settle badly with my stomach, so I avoid it a lot more.

    Honestly, I think everything in life is individual. Milk is no exception, so if you like it and it doesn't bother you and your doctor hasn't advised against it for you for any reason, then get your milk' on, girl! :)
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    There is quite a bit of scare mongering about milk and it all adds up to absolutely nothing. Look at the articles you posted above. Any references to peer reviewed studies? No. It's pseudoscience. Check pubmed for actual studies and educate yourself.

    This thread is bound to attract the wackos though so wait for it . . .
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...of course I can't help it if I have frozen yogurt/ice cream. In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.

    And goat milk is not for baby goats?

    Humans are omnivores. We have a remarkable ability to thrive on massive variety of food sources. Drink your milk and ignore the hyped up claims from the tin foil hat crowd.
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    Milk killed my mama
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    If you are lactose or casein intolerant, I would certainly agree that it's bad for you.

    Otherwise, while it's certainly not necessary, there's no reason not to enjoy it if you like it and it fits in your macros.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    I agree with Beachlron. There are a lot of politics involved in the food industry, especially milk. Dairy hates Soy Milk because they dont want it to grab anymore market share and will often fund research finding any links associating it with cancer but on the flip side, the Animal rights group will do the same thing against the Dairy industry by funding research that Beef causes cancer. I'm sure there is some truth to these studies but only in the most extreme cases. So if you love milk, just drink it in moderation.
  • d9123
    d9123 Posts: 531 Member
    i drink 4 - 5 glasses a day
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.

    And goat milk is not for baby goats?...

    OMG Bwahahahaha! :laugh:

    But seriously, OP. If you're only drinking it for the calcium, almond milk has 50% more calcium per serving than dairy. Cow's milk is probably ok for most people to drink if they enjoy it. I don't consume it because my body doesn't tolerate casein (milk protein). I don't miss milk at all, because almond milk is a really good alternative, but I DO miss cheese terribly. :sad:
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I don't like the taste of milk so I don't drink it, but I don't think it's bad for you if you do enjoy it.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    milk is fine. see:

    tumblr_m31b5gYzVI1qgcra2o1_500.gif

    tumblr_lrl3qjnttv1qdti63o1_500.gif

    hes just going about life day by day. no matter what the haters say.


    its good. might not be great, but its good.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Almond has a 3 month shelf life too right? I know soy milk does. I like that because it doesn't force me to drink the whole thing in a few days.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.

    And goat milk is not for baby goats?...

    OMG Bwahahahaha! :laugh:

    But seriously, OP. If you're only drinking it for the calcium, almond milk has 50% more calcium per serving than dairy. Cow's milk is probably ok for most people to drink if they enjoy it. I don't consume it because my body doesn't tolerate casein (milk protein). I don't miss milk at all, because almond milk is a really good alternative, but I DO miss cheese terribly. :sad:

    almond milk is a good alternative, and yes milk being the best source for calcium is overhyped. but its not bad for you.

    I find that almond milk doesn't go well in my hot coco - thats my beef with it. lol.


    EDIT: oh yeh and the cows milk is for cows but goats milk is for me only works if you're a goat, and if you are, what kind of keyboard do you use? gotta be hard to type with hooves right?

    humans eat animals, like their flesh. make puddings out of blood. eat their brains. so yeh, bit of ol milk is pretty normal really.
  • MarioLozano16
    MarioLozano16 Posts: 319 Member
    Almond has a 3 month shelf life too right? I know soy milk does. I like that because it doesn't force me to drink the whole thing in a few days.

    Soy milk only lasts a week from the day you open it
  • JetsetterBabe
    JetsetterBabe Posts: 20 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Almond has a 3 month shelf life too right? I know soy milk does. I like that because it doesn't force me to drink the whole thing in a few days.

    Soy milk only lasts a week from the day you open it

    I know that's what it says on the box but I've never had a problem drinking 3 month old Soy milk as long as it's kept in the fridge.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    I still have dairy on occassion, but I have mostly cut it out of my diet at this point. I always feel sluggish when I have had too much dairy; plus, they appear to be a trigger for migraines for me (my monthly migraine has reduced to a yearly migraine since I cut out the dairy). As far as the calcium goes, there are plenty of other places to get it, and there have been studies showing that milk has no benefit to calcium density in bones. Milk has a significant amount of lactic acid (not the same as lactose) that needs to be neutralized in order to keep your blood's pH at an appropriate level. This is done by adding calcium carbonate into the blood stream, and the most readily availabe source of calcium is your skeleton. Thus, the calcium in milk and the calcium removed by milk end up essentially canceling out, leaving you with no net gain. There have been studies that say the opposite to be sure. All I can positively say is that I have had no reduction in bone density (I'm still at 8.7% of body mass, which is fairly high - I actually am big boned :) or vitamin D levels since I switched to soy.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.

    Don't forget to give up ALL meats including all kinds of fish. There is research that shows lots of toxic stuff like mercury in ocean water that can cause cancer too says the link below. Just eat grass to be safe.

    http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/cancer-and-diet-foods-that-cause-cancer/#axzz2VgQfNLFq
  • chidori_nep
    chidori_nep Posts: 32 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.

    I read the article u posted, no it does NOT ask you not to take dairy products. in fact, it asked you to take daily products in MODERATION, limiting to 1-2 servings a day, which is totally correct. it did not ask to stop take dairy products n no proven link to cause cancer. ("can " is all postulated and not proven!)

    "While calcium and dairy can lower the risk of osteoporosis and colon cancer, high intake can increase the risk of prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer."

    and it is correct in saying dairy products is not the best source of calcium, and vit D and exercise is equally important for your body to store the calcium in bones!


    the article is correct, but ur interpretation of it is probably not.
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...of course I can't help it if I have frozen yogurt/ice cream. In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.

    And goat milk is not for baby goats?

    Humans are omnivores. We have a remarkable ability to thrive on massive variety of food sources. Drink your milk and ignore the hyped up claims from the tin foil hat crowd.

    Sorry, but this made me stop and laugh. Haven't seen a good post like this in a while. :laugh:
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    milk is fine. see:

    tumblr_m31b5gYzVI1qgcra2o1_500.gif

    tumblr_lrl3qjnttv1qdti63o1_500.gif

    hes just going about life day by day. no matter what the haters say.


    its good. might not be great, but its good.

    Awww cuteness!
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.

    That article does not say what you think it says. Read it. This is actually the problem with many of these "reports." Most people don't bother to carefully read them and instead hype up what is said/written and put them forth as evidence for their extreme views. As with anything, you have to look at the entire picture and scare mongering (which is exactly what you are doing) is unhelpful at best.

    Some important quotes:

    "The study did not find any association between overall milk or dairy product intake and ovarian cancer. "

    "A diet high in calcium has been implicated as a probable risk factor for prostate cancer. (17) In a Harvard study of male health professionals, men who drank two or more glasses of milk a day were almost twice as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer as those who didn’t drink milk at all. (18) The association appears to be with calcium itself, rather than with dairy products in general"

    And most important, the actual recommendation:

    "Adequate, lifelong dietary calcium intake is necessary to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Consuming adequate calcium and vitamin D and performing regular, weight-bearing exercise are also important to build maximum bone density and strength. After age 30, these factors help slow bone loss, although they cannot completely prevent bone loss due to aging.

    Milk and dairy products are a convenient source of calcium for many people. They are also a good source of protein and are fortified with vitamins D and A. At this time, however, the optimal intake of calcium is not clear, nor is the optimal source or sources of calcium. As noted earlier, the National Academy of Sciences currently recommends that people ages 19 to 50 consume 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, and that those age 50 or over get 1,200 milligrams per day. Reaching 1,200 milligrams per day would usually require drinking two to three glasses of milk per day—or taking calcium supplements—over and above an overall healthy diet.

    However, these recommendations are based on very short-term studies, and are likely to be higher than what people really need. 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."
  • JetsetterBabe
    JetsetterBabe Posts: 20 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.

    Don't forget to give up ALL meats including all kinds of fish. There is research that shows lots of toxic stuff like mercury in ocean water that can cause cancer too says the link below. Just eat grass to be safe.

    http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/cancer-and-diet-foods-that-cause-cancer/#axzz2VgQfNLFq

    There are other things to eat besides grass that arent dairy and meat (which by deficinition includes sea animals). But thanks!
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    Both Harvard and Columbia have published findings on dairy and its ill effects, some as grave as contributing to cancer. Countless doctors advise against consuming dairy (including my father's doctor). Your bones depend more on vitamin D from what I understand.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-and-milk/

    I can't find the study from Columbia right now online, but check out the Medical journals for more. There is so much out there saying it's not healthy and the dairy industry is dumping millions to continue to make sure the govt includes dairy in the food pyramid. The same agency also makes pus cells acceptable in the milk.

    I started to discover this information myself about a decade ago and have since been consuming no dairy, eggs or meat. My blood work, one as recent as last week, always came back perfect.

    I read the article u posted, no it does NOT ask you not to take dairy products. in fact, it asked you to take daily products in MODERATION, limiting to 1-2 servings a day, which is totally correct. it did not ask to stop take dairy products n no proven link to cause cancer. ("can " is all postulated and not proven!)

    "While calcium and dairy can lower the risk of osteoporosis and colon cancer, high intake can increase the risk of prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer."

    and it is correct in saying dairy products is not the best source of calcium, and vit D and exercise is equally important for your body to store the calcium in bones!


    the article is correct, but ur interpretation of it is probably not.

    It was always my understanding Vitamin D worked along side to help the calcium be absorbed by our bodies.
  • chidori_nep
    chidori_nep Posts: 32 Member
    Don't forget to give up ALL meats including all kinds of fish. There is research that shows lots of toxic stuff like mercury in ocean water that can cause cancer too says the link below. Just eat grass to be safe.

    http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/cancer-and-diet-foods-that-cause-cancer/#axzz2VgQfNLFq

    lol not to forget the pollution nowadays smoke everywhere second hand smoke is PROVEN to cause cancer so we should start carrying oxygen tanks for clean air!!
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Milk is bad because it comes from cows!! And cows are bad because...science!
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Don't forget to give up ALL meats including all kinds of fish. There is research that shows lots of toxic stuff like mercury in ocean water that can cause cancer too says the link below. Just eat grass to be safe.

    http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/cancer-and-diet-foods-that-cause-cancer/#axzz2VgQfNLFq

    lol not to forget the pollution nowadays smoke everywhere second hand smoke is PROVEN to cause cancer so we should start carrying oxygen tanks for clean air!!

    You know, there's a business man already doing that in China because of the smog?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2271690/Bottled-AIR-Chinese-multimillionaire-sells-EIGHT-MILLION-cans-fresh-air-TEN-DAYS-pollution-levels-climb-record-high.html

    article-2271690-17439C63000005DC-490_634x419.jpg

    Edit OMG, i just realized that he sold 8 million cans of fresh O2.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    I only have goat milk (yogurt) on occasion and never drink straight cow milk...In my opinion (and logically), cow milk is for baby cows-- not humans.

    And goat milk is not for baby goats?...

    OMG Bwahahahaha! :laugh:

    But seriously, OP. If you're only drinking it for the calcium, almond milk has 50% more calcium per serving than dairy. Cow's milk is probably ok for most people to drink if they enjoy it. I don't consume it because my body doesn't tolerate casein (milk protein). I don't miss milk at all, because almond milk is a really good alternative, but I DO miss cheese terribly. :sad:

    Same here milk messes me up almond milk all the way
  • JetsetterBabe
    JetsetterBabe Posts: 20 Member
    Don't forget to give up ALL meats including all kinds of fish. There is research that shows lots of toxic stuff like mercury in ocean water that can cause cancer too says the link below. Just eat grass to be safe.

    http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/cancer-and-diet-foods-that-cause-cancer/#axzz2VgQfNLFq

    lol not to forget the pollution nowadays smoke everywhere second hand smoke is PROVEN to cause cancer so we should start carrying oxygen tanks for clean air!!

    I agree that you can't eliminate all risk factors for illness or disease, but wouldnt you want to eliminate all that you can control?