Written by
Dr. Mark
I cam across this article Harvard Scientist Urging People to Stop Drinking Low-Fat Milk Immediately. It can be found here: http://www.realfarmacy.com/why-harvard-scientists-say-you-need-to-stop-drinking-low-fat-milk-immediately/
There’s some good information in there. I especially like how he first points out the fact that sugar sweetened beverages are horrible for your health, and that its recommended to never drink these types of drinks.
As David Ludwig mentioned in his research, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, there have been countless pieces of research concluding the ill effects of sugar-sweetened beverages. The over-consumption of sugar has been tied to obesity, diabetes, inflammatory-related pain, and much more. And because of sugar’s negative effects on our health, even the United States Department of Agriculture, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other organizations are recommending against consuming calories from sugary drinks.
He then goes on to talk about how milk is pushed and it is recommended to drink 3 cups a day. But the big problem is that they are recommending reduced-fat milk.
“This recommendation to drink three cups a day of milk – it’s perhaps the most prevailing advice given to the American public about diet in the last half century. As a result, Americans are consuming billions of gallons of milk a year, presumably under the assumption that their bones would crumble without them,” says David Ludwig.
As far as Ludwig is concerned, if the USDA is recommending to drink reduced-fat milk, it is also inadvertently encouraging the consumption of added sugars – a piece of advice that goes against all the research saying not to consume sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages. The idea of consuming low-fat milk or chocolate milk cancels out the whole reasoning for the recommendation in the first place since the fats are simply being replaced with dangerous sugars.
“The worst possible situation is reduced-fat chocolate milk: you take out the fat, it’s less tasty. So to get kids to drink 3 cups a day, you get this sugar-sweetened beverage,” Ludwig says. ”…we can get plenty of calcium from a whole range of foods. On a gram for gram basis, cooked kale has more calcium than milk. Sardines, nuts seeds beans, green leafy vegetables are all sources of calcium.”
I like a lot about what;s being said above. Drawing the connection between low fat milk and any other sugary drink, there really isn’t much of a difference. Second, that we can get just as much is not more calcium from vegetables. Our bones won’t begin to crumble if we stop drinking milk. And, if you are concerned with bone density, I’d suggest you start lifting some weights, this will also strengthen your bones.
I hope you get that there is no benefit in drinking reduced fat milk. What about whole milk? The best option would be whole raw organic milk if you can find it. When I lived in NY we would take a weekly trip to an Amish farm to get it. I loved the milk, and the fact that we could see the farm, and the cows out in the pasture (besides in the winter). We used it mainly for my kids as they were stopping to nurse. I’ve been told there’s a farmer that will sell raw milk at Bread Becker’s once a week but I haven’t tried it yet. The next best thing would be whole organic milk which can be bought at most grocery stores. We don’t use much milk in our house anymore, so we use this option.
Lastly, when in comes to milk, I like it a lot for my kids, its a great way for them to get some good fats and protein. For me, I rarely drink it, besides the little bit I’ll put in my coffee (which I like using heavy whipping cream because it has more fat and less sugar, but half and half works too), because it does have sugar in it as well.
-Dr. Mark