My roommate and I got in a heated argument earlier this week whether or not a young adult still needs to be drinking milk in order to stay healthy. His argument was that milk still offers important nutrients, calcium specifically, that is still needed to support the bone structure of an adult. I argued that because we are no longer growing, it is not necessary.
When I Google searched “do adults need milk”, I was overwhelmed with the amount of articles claiming that the claim “milk is the key to healthy bones” is false. In fact, many of the articles argued that milk can be more harmful to your body rather than beneficial. In Vivian Goldschmidt’s article, Debunking The Milk Myth, she claims that “the calcium from milk pulls the milk from your bones in order to level out the calcium in your digestive system”. Obviously calcium being removed from your bones is not an ideal transaction to be taking place.
I didn’t stop there with my research on whether or not adult need milk in their diet. In another article that I discovered while trying to gather more information on this topic, I discovered milk harms your body in other ways other than pulling calcium from your bones. Milk is one of the biggest sources of saturated fats. Because there is so much saturated fat in dairy products and milk, there has been a link discovered connecting Type 1 Diabetes and dairy. Type 1 Diabetes is a disease where your immune system attacks its own pancreas.
Because of the overwhelming amount of data I found arguing against drinking milk, I think it is safe to say that I won the argument. Of course, my roommate, much like family doctors and the government, refuse to accept the arguments against milk even though they are in abundance
Sources:
http://greatist.com/health/18-surprising-dairy-free-sources-calcium
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Ryan,
Up until I read your post I thought milk was good for the body. I’m extremely shocked to find out that not only is it not nutritional, but it is also bad for you. My parents have always told me to drink milk because it’s good for you and I have never questioned it. Your blog was very well done, my only advice is that you should incorporate a study into your post. The study would add more depth and evidence the post. This study actually backs up the views that your post promulgates. Adding it would just support your argument even more.
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.87.6.992
Hi Ryan,
I loved reading this because I also have been in heated arguments with roommates about this as well as family members. I do not drink milk and if I do it is “splashed” and I use that word very lightly because it’s literally a drop in my cereal because I cannot stand it. I have always gotten yelled at about not drinking enough milk because of protecting my bones and etc., but I do not believe. I broke only two bones in my life and both of them were when I was 7 and younger- I’m healthy and do not need to be told how to live when there is nothing proven against the liquid. This journal (http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199204303261801) agrees with what you are saying- and tells you to be careful drinking milk and to monitor your intake. I think anything we do in life will have consequences it is just a matter of what risks we are willing to take. Nice job, overall!
I agree with you! I have started to substitute almond milk for milk because more and more people seem to becoming lactose intolerant. Humans are the only animals that drink another animals’ milk. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), we should not be drinking cow’s milk. Consumption of milk is linked to various types of cancer, weight gain, acne, and even bone loss. I was always told to drink milk because it can strengthen bones, so that fact came as a shock to me. If the reason you are turning your head from almond milk is because you don’t think it compares in the amount of calcium you are wrong. According to Live Science, you can buy calcium-fortified milk which will have equal or more calcium than cow’s milk.
http://www.peta.org/living/food/reasons-stop-drinking-milk/
http://www.livescience.com/51695-almond-milk-nutrition.html
My most vivid memories of being a young child involve sitting down for breakfast every morning with a big glass of milk that I was told I had to finish. Growing older my parents stressed drinking milk less and less but I never asked why. This blog post was really interesting because I never knew milk could have a negative effect on my body. I wonder if this applies to almond milk or soy milk as well. Society now a days stresses how drinking less dairy is good for you which is why you should switch to almond or soy milk but I wonder if these are actually good for you. Here is an article going into each type of milk and comparing them: http://www.healthline.com/health/milk-almond-cow-soy-rice
I became shocked when I saw the headline of your post. I did not know that milk could have negatice effects on my body. And I used to make sure to buy fat-free milk every two weeks to keep my body healthy without know that I was actually making it worse. I really liked your topic and I even made further research into it. I found that milk is actually harmful to an adult body. The reasona are stated in an article in the link below.
http://www.fullyraw.com/why-milk-is-bad-for-you/
This is a very interesting blog post, and reminded me of the blood leaching topic we went over in class! Once something that has to do with good health is a strong public belief backed by doctors, it is difficult to get across a message that counters these beliefs! I am one of those people who drink milk thinking that it is a healthy choice of beverage so after reading this article I am questioning whether this is even beneficial. I found an article that talks about how the benefits of milk depend on the kind of milk you are drinking!
Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296564.php
Interesting article. I always wondered why milk was the drink of choice over so many others? Obviously, the calcium is a large part of it, but calcium can be found in other areas as well. While milk is always good for you, it is not compulsory to consume it. This article on Health.com made some good points on the subject as well: http://www.enivation.com/AlphaChiRho/GarnetandWhite/GW_Summer2016/. Nice job with this blog.