by Anna Ferrara

Created on: November 29, 2009

Should health professionals stop recommending that people drink milk?

My position is to oppose the statement that health professionals should stop recommending that people drink milk. This article focuses on the health and economic benefits of milk, conveying these points through arguments supported by multiple sources from current economic and medical literature.

Health Benefits

Milk is an effective way to consume all of the following vitamins and minerals: protein, calcium, magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D and zinc. Low fat milk minimizes the amount of saturated fat and calories (Canada's Food Guide, 2009). Calcium has more than a structural role in bones; it also has regulatory roles including hormone secretion (insulin), muscle contraction, the clotting cascade, neurotransmitter secretion and the importance of calcium homeostasis (Theobald, 2005). The bioavailability of calcium from milk is in the range of 30% compared to 5% from spinach (soy is also around 30%, but varies immensely depending on product). We would need 16 servings of 1/2c cooked spinach to equal the absorbable Ca2+ in one serving of milk (Theobald, 2005). The major source of calcium in Canadian diets is milk and milk products, providing more than 40% of calcium intake among adults (Poliquin, 2009).

Fluid, evaporated and powdered milk sold in Canada are fortified with vitamin D. This is especially important in Canada for Vitamin D intake during the winter months when sunlight is not strong enough to provide enough of it. Adequate vitamin D is important for bone health and helps to reduce the risk of bone fractures. It is also necessary for the active transport of calcium across the intestinal mucosa (Rafferty, 2008). One cup of milk provides 45% of recommended Vitamin D for young Canadians of diverse ancestry (Wu, 2009). This study also makes the point that if people don't drink milk they will have to get used to obtaining their source of Vitamin D in a pill making it the first non-food in the nutrient recommendations. The question then follows which drug or supplement company would provide it, and all the complications of that decision.

A study of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology using flavoured milk, regular milk and a group of non-milk drinkers found that the body weights and BMIs of milk drinking children were comparable to or lower than measures of milk non-drinkers. The conclusions of this study were that "consumption of flavored

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>