Dr. Neal Barnard On Why Milk is Harmful
I’m very happy to introduce today’s guest blogger, PCRM’s president Dr. Neal Barnard. Below, he reminds us why we avoid milk, and gives some great talking points to keep in mind. Enjoy!
Cow’s Milk is Unnecessary and Even Harmful
By Neal Barnard, M.D.
Got milk? For decades, dairy industry advertisements have convinced Americans that cow’s milk is an appropriate—and even essential—food for humans. Americans have been led to believe that cow’s milk is necessary for healthy, strong bones. As it turns out, dairy products may have the opposite effect.
A new study published in the British Medical Journal found that people who consumed the highest amounts of calcium did not have a reduction in bone fractures or osteoporosis. In fact, those who consumed the most calcium (more than 1,137 milligrams per day) had higher rates of hip fractures and similar rates of osteoporosis, compared with those who consumed less. Researchers looked at more than 60,000 Swedish women over 19 years and concluded no significant benefit to consuming more than 700 milligrams of calcium per day for bone health.
Despite growing scientific evidence that dairy products are not necessary and that they may even be harmful, the federal government continues to recommend that we consume them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just released its new food guide icon, MyPlate, to replace the food pyramid. The new plate image, which recommends increased fruit and vegetable consumption, still reserves a special place for dairy products. The government also continues to channel millions of taxpayer dollars to dairy producers each year through indirect and direct subsidies.
Just as the dairy industry has spent a fortune on ads convincing Americans that milk moustaches are stylish and that milk is nutritious, dairy lobbyists have convinced government officials to keep dairy products in schools and dietary guidelines.
The reality is that there is no reason for humans to consume cow’s milk—and there are many reasons to avoid it. Dairy products are packed with fat and cholesterol and may increase the risk of health problems ranging from asthma to some types of cancer. An elevated risk of prostate cancer incidence and mortality has been associated with dairy consumption and the same may be true for ovarian cancer.
Calcium is a necessary nutrient, but we can easily get enough from plant foods. The most healthful sources are green leafy vegetables and legumes, or “greens and beans.” And instead of harming our health like cow’s milk, these plant foods boost our immune systems and help us avoid chronic illnesses. Just think how much healthier our nation would be if everyone traded their milkshakes for green smoothies!
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Thank you, Dr. Barnard! I recommend keeping this blog on file so you can refer to it when your non-veg friends ask why milk is unhealthy.
What other health and nutrition questions do you have?
Post them in the comments below, and I may answer them in a future blog.
About Dr. Neal Barnard: Clinical researcher and author Neal Barnard, M.D., is one of America's leading advocates for health, nutrition,and higher standards in research. As the principal investigator of several human clinical researchtrials, whose results are published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals, Dr. Barnard has examined key issues in health and nutrition. Neal Barnard is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). For more about Dr. Neal Barnard, visit his website nealbarnard.org
1. Warensjo E, Byberg L, Melhus H, et al. Dietary calcium intake and risk of fracture and osteoporosis: prospective longitudinal cohort study. BMJ. 2011;342:d1473.
2. Chan JM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, Gann PH, Gaziano JM, Giovannucci E. Dairy products, calcium, and prostate cancer risk in the Physicians’ Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;74:549-554.
3. Chan JM, Gann PH, Giovannucci EL. Role of diet inprostate cancer development and progression. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:8152-8160.
4. Cramer DW, Harlow BL, Willet WC. Galactose consumption and metabolism in relation to the risk of ovarian cancer. Lancet. 1989;2:66-71.
37 comments
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Eeek! This post has fallen so short. This article talks about how bad milk is but it doesn't talk about the difference between milks. Raw cow's milk from pastured cows not treated with antibiotics or hormones is incredibly healthy! Scientifically it has been proven that we humans need healthy animal saturated fats and cholesterol. It causes asthma, skin problems? Please! You can cure eczema with raw milk!
I believe in a kind life, I believe I can consume animal products from animals that have been treated kindly and humane. -
yo no tomo leche desde los 5 años porque me da asco no me gusta su olor y antes de los 5 tomaba mucha .... que raro -
Great article--thanks for accepting questions! I'm a mama of a 15 month old boy who's no longer breastfeeding. What are some good cow's milk alternatives for growing kiddos? Right now, we're bouncing between organic soy and almond milks, but I'm hesitant to give too much soy milk to my little guy and almond milk just doesn't have a lot of protein. There are a couple root questions here too: 1) how much milk is appropriate for a growing toddler to consume each day? 2) are organic soy products a recommended source of protein--especially for toddlers--and if so, how much is appropriate each day? Thank you so much for considering these questions!
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You are so right Celeste Stec! I think it was in Alicia's book that she noted that humans are the only species that continue to drink milk on into adulthood when all other mammals stop after infancy. Not only that, but we drink another species' milk. Doesn't so so natural or healthy at all when you think of it like that!! Not to mention all of the homrones, antibiotics, etc. you get with any dairy product that is from a factory farm. -
It is so difficult for people to believe that cow's milk is unnecessary and harmful. In fact, the other day I heard a little boy telling his mom that he had chocolate milk with his lunch at school and his mother said, "that's great, you should be drinking the milk with the highest fat content that they offer". I felt like stopping her and giving her contact information for a cardiologist that her son will probably need in his 40s. But, truthfully the example I mostly use is .... ask someone if they would drink their wives breast milk after birth and watch the reaction on their faces. For some reason, Americans are so conditioned to think that cow's milk is less repulsive than human milk.
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I used to drink milk and eat other dairy products like yogurt and cheese daily, thinking they were healthy. It was hardest to give up cheese, but I no longer miss it, or feel the need for cheese substitutes. On the other hand, milk is much easier to replace. At first, I would make my own soymilk with a SoyQuick machine. Now, I make my own milks from raw nuts and seeds, and it's even easier. All you need is a regular blender and a bag for straining. http://vegandietguy.com/make-your-own-nut-milk/
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For years, I consumed dairy products...I was led to believe by advertising that milk was good for your bones because of its calcium content...eventually, after consuming huge amounts of dairy products, I began to be sensitized to it and developed a dairy allergy which caused violents fits of coughing that went on for years...I knew that my body would be permanently damaged by these intense coughing fits and years later I found out that my lungs were damaged by my chronic cough (the air sacs in my lungs do not function at full capacity)...I no longer eat dairy regularly in my diet (I try to avoid dairy as much as possible but sometimes it's extremely difficult to completely avoid it since it's in so many foods) and my chronic cough has subsided...please be aware that false advertising due to greed and hunger for profit can damage a person's health...we all need to be educated and knowledgeable about the foods we eat... -
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Dear Mr. Barnard,
I'd like to know more about the effects dairy and milk products in general have on our skin. Is it true that they can encourage acne? Up until now I've only heard about the negative effects of sugar on our skin but now that milk products seem to be quite controversial as well, I'd really like to learn more about that.
Thank you! -
Dairy IS Scary!!! The character Phoebe said this famous line in an episode of the show "friends" years ago! and it really is... The only ones who should be drinking milk are the baby cows!!!! In place of milk, I drink almond milk, and coconut milk, and also rice milk. I even make my own ice cream, butters, and smoothies using these kinds of milk. They are yummy! I have even left the soy milk alone and no longer consume soy now because of the findings I am reading now that both corn and soybeans are harmful to our bodies. They are sprayed with all kinds of chemicals and the chemicals cannot be flushed out and still remain in the bean so that by the time we get them through whatever product, whether it be from soymilk, or soy burgers, etc. , we are ingesting the chemicals as well. Do the googling and find out for yourself how harmful the soybean and even corn is to your system!!!! No more soy/corn products for me!!! I now say.... There's NO joy..... in soy!!! -
What is great about this article is that it is based on science not emotion and superstition. It is such a struggle at our B & B and Spa
to communicate thee ideas to our guests when they have been barraged with misinformation by a well-meaning but misinformed individual.
Lewis Harrison - Director of the Center for Personal Development
www.TheHarrisonCenter.com -
All GREAT posts & comebacks! Special Kudos to April Moore & PYRO~LOL.
I'd like to also weigh-in on the soda/soft drink AND soy issues(s) .... BEFORE
I became vegan (3 & 1/2 years ago), I consumed 4 or 5 sodas/soft drinks daily.
Over time I decreased that to ZERO over a year ago--maybe two--I forget. :-)
In the beginning of turning vegan, all I heard was soy this, soy that, seek soy
meals in restaurants, soy milk, yada yada. Well, I discovered not only did I
not like the taste of soy, it didn't agree w/me & gave me stomach issues. :-(
Once I discovered WHAT was causing the discomfort, I switched to Almond
Milk (for cooking) & eliminated all soy additives to my foods--excellent move.
Processed foods are more difficult for me to eliminate, but I've done better &
better, over time to the extent that it's now rare for me to ingest them. Yay!!
Thus far, I've only influenced one person--my daughter--to go vegan. It all
began w/a 30-day challenge to TRY VEGANISM....and she never went back.
She will have been vegan three years next month--February. So great for her
and for her (now) 6-yr-old daughter--a beginning vegetarian. How cool izzat!!! -
Thanks Neal. I have faith that as long as we, especially M.D.s, keep indicating that dairy is not good for us then the general population will eventually "make the discovery" too. Look how long it took for the general population to agree that the world is not flat and that the world is not at the center of the galaxy with the sun, moon, etc. rotating around it. -
I can't agree more. It's no secret that dairy pulls minerals from your bones and is why Osteoporosis cases are so high in the US though we are one of the top milk drinking countries in the world. And let's not forget the hormone Insulin Growth Factor 1 which is linked to cancer. Humans are the only beings that drink the milk of another being. Cows don't drink goat's milk. And, once a calf is full grown they never drink milk again. Man always finds a way to package something and sell it. Got Milk? Are we really that naive? -
Also it is frustrating when you have a parent call because the school requires a letter from the doctor stating the patient should have soy milk in place of cows milk. Seriously they should not require this it should at least be offered to the child as an alternative.
Done sorry -
Love this post. I do it all thw whole food plant based food plan. I have a few friends that are vegitarians and still eat the processed foods but think they are being "healthy" they do not understand that even if those oreos are vegan or whatnot doesnt make then healthy. I think to help our society see that people who eat meat based products and processed foods have a increased risk of getting cancer. I work in the medical field and have patients call me that are all concerned about a medication treatment and its risks of possibly getting cancer kinda frustrates me. Because where is your concern in your food intake. They are usually overweight and drinking 5 or more sodas a day and burgers take up 90% of their meals.
Ash -
I disagree that soy is good for you. Most products, including soy are so heavily processed these days they have negative benefits for our health . I recently cut soy from my macrobiotic diet and have never felt better. I no longer require eyeglasses my eyesight is better then in my youth and the only change I've made is soy
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I have to laugh...I m goings on 60 and ideas of what is healthy changes every other year....it's always marketing for something,..now it's organic this and that... Wheat and soy were supposed to be healthy...now they are not...wheat has gluten..blah blah blah...whatever the heck that is. I'm just going to eat what i feel like eating and drink a little wine to boot. I love fried catfish and hush puppies...so there. You guys just continue to stress out over it...I,really don't care. Have a good life.
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Alicia, I can go easy on cheese and other dairy, but I like my milk, superhero. Food for thought in this article though, you could say! Have a good day, Kind Lifers and of course, the lovely Alicia Silverstone! X. -
I think April nailed it right on the head. People don't want to be confronted with the fact that what their used to is bad for them. I think a lot of people have developed the mantra, ignorance is bliss. They are not willing to open their minds to change. A few naysayers shouldn't stop us from what we think is right for ourselves and the planet. -
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Here's a post from Dr. Barnard about soy, kcamp: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/settling-the-soy-controve_b_453966.html -
Almonds, Kale, Broccoli, Oatmeal, Black Eyed Peas, Orange Juice, Blackstrap Molasses, Salmon, Figs and Sesame seeds are great dairy free sources of Calcium. We do not have to drink our Calcium. -
I read the best replacement for milk is soy milk because of its calcium. However a number of arguments against soy products are coming out - seemingly just as strong as those against dairy - linking soy products to cancer and other issues. What do you have to say about the argument against soy milk products and what do you suggest as the best replacement to milk?
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I agree with Ty-K...my non vegan friends and family will continue to consume dairy (although I've managed to get a few to switch from milk to almond milk). The sad reality is that no one wants to listen when hearing that something they love is bad for them. They get defensive and accuse vegans of being "pushy," and "self-righteous." I think milk drinkers know deep down that they should at least consider giving it up, but instead, in an effort to make themselves feel better about it, they lash out at vegans, calling them militant freaks.
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Hi Kathryne! I wanted to tell you that, as a baby, i was allergic to my mum's and cow's milk. My parents couldn't afford to buy baby's milk substitute (we were poor, but also, 26 years ago here in south america those were really hard to find, even diapers were luxury items), so my dad started to make our own soy milk for me. Nothing wrong happened and some little time after that i started drinking cow's milk with no problem, so i guess it can be a good thing to buy your own organinc soy beans and make your milk as my dad did and it'll be ok.
I'm not vegan (yet?) but i'm a vegetarian so i always stop by and read everything, thanks for the info! Have you seen a movie about two nutricionists who are pro vegan because of cancer and other diseases caused by animal protein? I can't remember the name, but it is awesome.
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