To drink or not to drink milk?

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Advertising has made milk a very popular product. Many truly believe that drinking milk is beneficial, that it contains many vitamins and microelements, strengthens bones, and is generally necessary for good health.

In fact, cow's milk is a harmful product, and all the nutrients necessary for good health can be found in many other sources.

Cow's milk is one of the main food products in most modern societies. It is widely believed that drinking milk is good for health, that it is a source of valuable protein, vitamins, and calcium, supposedly necessary for bone health.

However, there is a lot of evidence of the adverse effects of consuming cow's milk starting from fetal life in the womb, including childhood, youth, adult life, and aging (research link).

The rates of bone fractures and osteoporosis are highest in countries that drink a lot of milk. Most studies on fracture risk do not support the idea that milk is good for bone health.

Milk does not strengthen bones as commonly believed. This was already discussed in the article "Calcium is useless for strengthening bones".

The combined results of randomized controlled trials not only do not show a reduction in hip fracture risk with calcium supplementation but also suggest a possible increase in risk. For any fractures in randomized studies, a neutral effect was observed.

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All our lives we were convinced that drinking milk is good for health. However, research shows the opposite effect and indicates that long-term consumption of cow's milk may be associated with higher mortality rates.

This contradicts the concept of the benefits of milk, supported by many doctors and dietitians.

The idea of such an attitude towards milk is clear and simple. Calcium is necessary for maintaining healthy bones and other important tasks, such as regulating heart rhythm and blood clotting, and milk contains a lot of calcium.

However, the growing body of research shows that calcium alone does not reduce fracture risk because the body cannot absorb the calcium it needs without the help of vitamin D.

Milk contains sugars — lactose and galactose, which increase oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, contributing to accelerated aging.

An analysis of data from several tens of thousands of people revealed higher oxidative stress and inflammation in those who consume a lot of milk compared to those who drink little or no milk at all.

The research group did not find a reduction in fracture risk with higher milk consumption (research link). Moreover, those who drank more than three glasses of milk a day (an average of 680 ml) had a higher risk of death than those who drank less than one glass of milk a day (an average of 60 ml).

Of course, this data only shows a possible link between milk and an increased risk of death and does not prove a direct causal relationship between milk consumption and mortality, but the data is alarming.

Milk consumption is associated with several health risks, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

However, fermented dairy products (cheeses, yogurts, etc.) reduce mortality and fracture risk.

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Milk consists of about 87% water and 13% dry matter, which includes two types of casein: main and whey.

The casein contained in milk raises the level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) in the blood serum of milk consumers.

Insulin-like growth factor is a hormone that regulates growth, development, and differentiation processes of the body's cells and tissues. This hormone is naturally present in cow's milk.

Scientific studies show that consuming milk increases IGF-1 levels in the human body, which stimulates cancer development (research link). High IGF-1 levels are often predictive of cancer development, especially breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

Milk has a strong correlation (relationship) with prostate cancer, especially with recurrences of this disease (link). Studies have shown that milk protein casein promotes the proliferation (cell multiplication) of prostate cancer. The more milk you drink, the higher the risk (research link).

Studies show that fermented dairy products contain much less IGF-1 than milk (research link). Therefore, the oncogenicity (ability to cause malignant tumors) of milk can be significantly reduced by fermenting.

A lot of milk is consumed by elderly people in our country. A very significant correlation (relationship) has been established between cow's milk consumption and the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (research link).

However, this correlation was not found for cheese. This data indicates the danger that liquid cow's milk poses for the elderly.

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Of particular concern is the likelihood that milk consumption by a woman during pregnancy negatively affects her future child.

A mother who drinks cow's milk during pregnancy exposes her future child to various risks, including cancer.

Besides IGF-1, another possible factor contributing to cancer development is the presence of estrogen and progesterone in cow's milk (source). The development of hormone-dependent forms of cancer, such as breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer, may be due to milk obtained from pregnant cows, which have significantly increased estrogen and progesterone levels.

Mother's milk naturally contains chemicals necessary for the brain development of the baby, such as lecithin and taurine, none of which are present in sufficient quantities in cow's milk.

The protein of human breast milk mainly consists of albumin, while the main protein of cow's milk is casein.

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Milk is food for newborns. Different species of mammals require different milk compositions for feeding their young.

Calves can walk almost from birth, whereas it takes a significant amount of time for a child to start walking, and therefore, their nutrition should be completely different. Humans do not need to drink milk in their later lives after weaning.

The nutrients in milk are readily available from other foods. People can have much better health indicators if they limit their consumption of cow's milk and animal protein, focusing more on vegetables and fruits, regularly exercising, and getting adequate amounts of sunlight and vitamin D.

Research proves — milk is not recommended for healthy nutrition!