Milk; it compliments most breakfasts and sugary desserts. All my life, I have drunk it with countless bowls of cereal and other breakfast foods. At night when I enjoy that cake or brownie, the milk always washes it down. Milk is even the perfect liquid to dunk most cookies into. I have always been told that milk is good for my bones and will help me grow. This is true; milk is rich in calcium which it great for bones and teeth. Milk also contains large amount of vitamin D, which helps supports bones, and increases the body’s production or serotonin. Normally people who lack the recommended amount of serotonin are associated with depression. This means milk is not only healthy for bones, but in helping to prevent or cure depression as well. If you would like to gain further information about the benefits of milk, this article from medicalnewstoday.com does a great job of explaining numerous benefits.
Now it’s down to the ugly stuff. Is everything we thought we knew bout milk wrong? Well, in this article written by Charlie Cooper, many of these so-called benefits are disproven. The article explains Cooper’s findings of an observational study done in Sweden. Cooper stated, “In surprising results, an investigation into dietary habits of more than 100,000 people found those who drank more milk were no less likely to break a bone.” This can be referred back to the example in class about cures. Some cures were just as likely to kill a person as to heal them. This is the same concept, except that the milk will not kill you. “Even more strikingly, people who drank more than three glasses of milk – around 680ml – per day, were more likely to die over the course of the study, which tracked 60,000 women for 20 years, and 45,000 men for 11 years”. Now why is this? A supplement that increases bone strength and supports some fat intake should not speed up death upon anyone. In this study, the confounding variables were looked at carefully to not tamper the results of the experiment. Still, “women were twice as likely to die with heart disease having the strongest connection to milk consumption.” Now what, does milk negatively impact my heart?
Well, apparently it can. In Sharon Perkin’s article from livestrong.com she states, “Milk contains xanthine oxidase, which destroys protective membranes in the heart and blood vessels called plasmalogens”. It also mentions how enough milk will increase your saturated fat levels. Saturated fat is associated with high cholesterol, which is a common factor of heart disease. Although this does not happen to everyone and is not commonly heard of in daily life, apparently milk can lead to heart disease. Personally, this shocks me because I have always thought milk is one of the healthiest substances to drink, no matter the time of day.
All in all, when it comes down to it, keep drinking milk. Do not drink excessive amounts every day, but have a glass with breakfast or that oh-so delicious dessert. Milk is good for the body and can only help you when drinking the normal amounts, unless you happen to be allergic to lactose, one of the main components of milk and all dairy products. Right about now some Oreos and a glass of milk sounds perfect!
Sources:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273451.php
http://www.livestrong.com/article/410667-does-milk-cause-heart-disease/
I personally love drinking milk so much, and there was a time that my family told me that soy milk has more nutrition than milk. Then, I was like switching back and forth to choose my daily drink. I strongly agree on your last words, not drinking excessively then it can only benefits our health. The moderation of the food should be the basic concept of healthy life.