Osteoporosis: Science Doesn't Support Milk Industry Claims

Osteoporosis is a serious threat to the health of postmenopausal women, who are commonly told that consuming more dairy products will protect them from the disease.

Just because milk contains a lot of calcium doesn't mean it is good for reducing the threat of osteoporosis in later life. When you consider the science behind what makes for strong bones--and what weakens bones--you may come up with a different conclusion altogether.

Exhibit A: Countries that consume the most cow's milk and its by-products also have the highest bone fracture rates. (1)

Hmmm. If milk is supposed to "build strong bones," then why do the nations that drink the most milk have the highest bone fracture rates?

In a study authored by researchers at Yale University School of Medicine in 1992, based on data collected in thirty-four separate surveys conducted in sixteen different countries and published in twenty-nine peer-reviewed research publications, it was found that 70% of the fracture rate was attributable to the consumption of animal protein. (2)

Another small inconvenient fact you need to know so you can get to the truth of whether or not milk is useful in preventing osteoporosis is this: Consumption of animal proteins, such as meat, fish, and milk, causes our blood to become more acidic, which our bodies counteract by withdrawing calcium from our bones (which weakens them). (3)

When protein intake--mostly animal protein-- was doubled in one study, urinary calcium excretion increased 50%. (4)

Plant protein doesn't cause our blood to become acidic, so plant sources of calcium are more effective in building strong bones. To support this claim, I present Exhibit B.

Exhibit B: In a study comparing the ratios of consumption of plant protein to animal protein, those countries consuming the most plant protein had the lowest rate of bone fractures. This information was compiled from eighty-seven separate scientific surveys and the findings were consistent. (5)

Exhibit C: In a study of more than 1000 women age 65 and older, the Osteoporotic Research Group at the University of California at San Francisco also compared the women's diets on the basis of the ratio of plant protein to animal protein in their diets. In seven years of keeping track of the participants, it was found that those who consumed the highest ratio of animal to plant protein experienced 3.7 times the number of bone fractures as the women with the lowest ratio. (6)

In the same study, the women who ate the most animal protein lost bone almost four times as fast as the women who ate the most plant-source protein.

In a huge study done in rural China, where 90% of the protein consumed comes from vegetable sources, the bone fracture incidence is only one-fifth that of the U.S. (7)

So, if all the scientific evidence points toward consumption of animal protein being a key factor causing the loss of calcium from our bones, how can milk--itself a source of animal protein--be useful in combating the bone-weakening effects of osteoporosis?

And, furthermore, how can a nation like ours that drinks more milk and eats more cheese and dairy products than almost any other nation of the world, but has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis, improve bone health by consuming even more milk products? It just doesn't make sense.

What all this tells me is that eating a plant-based diet and getting our calcium from kale, beans, and broccoli is a much more sensible strategy to keep my bones healthy. I don't care how many celebrities can be paid to paint on a "milk mustache" for a photo op: I want solid science to make my decisions about diet. How about you?

References:

(1) 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." Journal of Gerontology 55 (2000): M585-M592.

(2) 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

(3) Wachsman A, and Bernstein DS. "Diet and osteoporosis." Lancet(italics) May 4, 1968: 958-959.

(4) Hegsted M, Schuette SA, Zemel MB, et al. "Urinary calcium and calcium balance in young men as affected by level of protein and phosphorous intake." Journal of Nutrition 111, (1981): 553-562.

(5) See note (1).

(6) Sellmeyer DE, Stone KL, Sebastian A, et al. "A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 73 (2001): 118-122.

(7) The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and Thomas M. Campbell II, (2006), page 208.

More valuable information about the real causes and solutions to bone loss can be found in John Robbins' books, Healthy At 100, and Diet For A New America.************************************************************

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