My grandmother has been suffering from osteoporosis for over 20 years. It began with the fact that she slipped, fell and broke her spine. This was the first signal of the disease, but it was not immediately diagnosed.
After that, she broke her hip and several times – her ribs. Moreover, it was enough for her to be in a bus crowded with people for one or two ribs to crack. It is good that my grandmother was always physically active: thanks to this, she formed a strong muscle belt, which somehow still holds her entire skeleton – surprisingly to the doctors who assured that she was doomed to a “lying” lifestyle and that her bones will crumble like chalk …
When I wrung my hands in childhood (this happened twice), my parents began to intensively feed me cottage cheese, yogurt and other dairy products, sincerely believing that they help to strengthen bones. It is a myth. Although very common: we were raised absolutely convinced that the benefits of dairy products for bone health is a well-known truth that milk, cottage cheese is an integral part of a healthy diet. “Drink, children, milk – you will be healthy.”
Meanwhile, scientists have proven many years ago that milk is incredibly harmful. In the process of studying the issue of the occurrence of osteoporosis, I found a large number of studies * that reject or question the positive effects of milk on human health and prove its negative effects. Among other things (which I have already written about and will continue to write), the myth that milk helps children to form strong bones, and adults – to avoid osteoporosis are debunked. For example, the countries with the highest consumption of milk and dairy products recorded the highest rate of people suffering from various bone diseases and the highest rate of fractures (USA, New Zealand, Australia) **.
In a nutshell, the process of weakening bones with milk can be described as follows. The consumption of milk and dairy products creates a very acidic environment in the body. To neutralize the increased acidity levels, the body uses calcium, which it takes in the bones. Roughly speaking, milk flushes calcium out of our body (people who consume milk have much higher urinary calcium levels than people who avoid milk and dairy products).
Don’t get me wrong and this research: Calcium is very important for our bones, but it can be obtained (at the required rates) and other, safer sources than milk.
And one more thing: it turns out that physical activity is very important for improving bone health ***. This factor has a very tangible impact. In addition to physical activity, experts recommend increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes and especially greens: collard greens, browncoli, broccoli, spinach and other green leafy vegetables that contain calcium. (Here is a list of some calcium-rich plants.)
It is also worth giving up milk and dairy products because their use is associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (which are the main cause of death in Russia), cancer, lactose intolerance, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, acne, obesity, etc. I’ll write later.
In addition, modern milk contains a large amount pesticides (because of what the cow eats), growth hormones (with which cows are fed to obtain milk yields unforeseen by nature) and antibiotics (with which cows are treated for mastopathy and other diseases arising from endless milking). It is unlikely that you want to eat all this)))))
If you can’t live without milk at all, choose alternatives: plant-based milk (rice, hemp, soy, almond, hazelnut) or goat and sheep.
Sources:
*
Osteoporosis: fast facts. National Osteoporosis Foundation. Accessed January 24, 2008. 2. Owusu W, Willett WC, Feskanich D, Ascherio A, Spiegelman D, Colditz GA. intake and the incidence of forearm and hip fractures among men. J Nutr. 1997; 127:1782–87. 3. Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. , dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Public Health. 1997; 87:992–97.
Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Dawson-Hughes B, Baron JA, et al. Calcium intake and hip fracture risk in men and women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007; 86:1780–90.
Lanou AJ, Berkow SE, Barnard ND. Calcium, dairy products, and bone health in children and young adults: a reevaluation of the evidence. Pediatrics. 2005; 115: 736-743.
Feskanich D, Willett WC, Colditz GA. Calcium, , milk consumption, and hip fractures: a prospective study among postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003; 77: 504-511.
**
Frassetto LA, Todd KM, Morris C, Jr., et al. “Worldwide incidence of hip fracture in elderly women: relation to consumption of animal and vegetable foods.” J. Gerontology 55 (2000): M585-M592.
Abelow BJ, Holford TR, and Insogna KL. «Cross-cultural association between dietary animal protein and hip fracture: a hypothesis.» Calcif. Tissue Int. 50 (1992): 14-18.
***
Lunt M, Masaryk P, Scheidt-Nave C, et al. The Effects of Lifestyle, Dietary Dairy Intake and Diabetes on Bone Density and Vertebral Deformity Prevalence: The EVOS Study. Osteopores Int. 2001; 12: 688-698.
Prince R, Devine A, Dick I, et al. The effects of calcium supplementation (milk powder or tablets) and exercise on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Res. 1995; 10: 1068-1075.
Lloyd T, Beck TJ, Lin HM, et al. Modifiable determinants of bone status in young women. Bone. 2002; 30: 416-421.