Many of us have grown up consuming dairy products. The prominant view is that dairy products are key to the development and maintenence of strong bones and teeth as well as being an excellent source of calcium and other nutrients.
So, what are we to make of research reporting that 'Drinking three or more glasses of milk per day may be harmful to women’s health'?
Women in the study (reported in the Irish Examiner ) who drank at least three glasses of milk a day were nearly twice as likely to die over the next 20 years compared with their peers who drank less than a glass daily, researchers in Sweden found. In addition, the study, published in the British Medical Journal found that women’s risk of bone fracture climbed steadily as their milk intake increased.
The full research article is attached to this poll and a summary provided here.
And there are many other reports and studies highlighting possible harms associated with milk consumption.
Is dairy the best source of calcium? Can milk cause osteoperosis rather than preventing it? Why is it that osteoporosis is more common in countries where dairy products are consumed in large quantities? http://www.everydayliving.com/archives/myth_about_milk.htm
Should we be concerned about research from Harvard claiming that 'high levels of hormones found in commercially produced milk may be harmful to human health. Estrogens and other growth factors have been implicated in the development of hormone-dependent cancers: those affecting the prostate, testes, ovaries, breasts, and uterus'? http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/05/modern-milk.html
How do we assess the information available to us?
Are these findings credible?
Is the evidence supporting the benefits of dairy credible?
Who supplies most of the evidence supporting these benefits?
In countries where the dairy industry plays a significant role in the economy how do we ensure all perspectives have a voice and how do we find objective information?
For other substances where there is evidence of risks to health, labelling and other health promotion strategies inform the public of the risks of consumption. Should it be the same with dairy?
Are the public entitled to be fully informed and to make an informed choice about the food they eat?
Have you ever wondered why we are the only animals that drink another animal's milk? Isn't that slightly unusual?
Does it make you think?
What do you think?
Image source
It is proposed that health warning labels should be included on all dairy products