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Is dairy bad for you?
This has become a popular question since veganism started trending.
Vegans claim that humans have no dietary need for the milk of a different species.
On the flip side, dairy-drinkers detail our need for calcium and other key nutrients that milk offers.
But is this true?
While the debate over dairy milk’s true nutritional value remains in heat, the available cold-hard data on milk’s bodily impact should spark your interest.
In this post, I’m going to debunk 6 common myths about dairy!
Before we begin, be aware that all referenced sources are cited at the bottom of this post!
Is Dairy Bad For You?
“Dairy Is A Superfood”
Dairy is often marketed as an essential part of your daily diet.
Bodo Melnik, a writer for the medical hypotheses, found that milk consumption negatively affects the human body by promoting elevated IGF-1 levels.
Increased amounts of IGF-1 can cause illness.
Medline Plus also describes IGF-1 as, “a hormone that manages the effects of growth hormone (GH) in your body.“
IGF-1 and GH work together to promote proper bone and tissue development.
Gigantism and acromegaly are two common diseases that are linked to elevated IGF-1 levels.
Excessive dairy consumption could explain why many children have seemed to grow bigger and faster over the last twenty years.
Did you notice that the data from the initial article referenced is child-focused?
This indicates that feeding children dairy can do more harm than good as they grow.
This poses a major dilemma because the government constantly advertises dairy as being an important factor in childhood nutrition.
“Dairy Is Anti-Inflammatory”
Inflammation is characterized as your body’s natural way of responding to disease.
Redness, swelling, and sore joints are common symptoms of an inflammatory response.
Dairy is often seen as the main culprit when assessing the cause of skin issues, such as acne, due to its inflammation-inducing effects.
But is regular milk bad for you?
A study measuring the effects of dairy on patients spanning fifty-two clinical trials concluded that dairy negatively impacts lactose-intolerant individuals.
Even though this experiment doesn’t prove that dairy is bad for you, it does encourage discussion about lactose intolerance.
Why is 68% of the world lactose-intolerant if dairy is supposed to be a staple?
It’s easy to assume that if dairy was necessary, it would at least be digestible for everyone.
Some vegan advocates give reasoning to this by pointing to biology.
You’ll likely come across statements on vegan Facebook groups like, “milk is for baby cows” or “not your mom, not your milk”.
While adult humans drinking milk from mothers of a different species is a head-scratcher, it’s important to keep scientific consensus at the forefront of the dairy debate.
“Milk Makes Strong BOnes”
The effect of dairy on your bone health is serious, given the rise in fracture cases.
Bone density requires an adequate amount of calcium intake daily(around 700mg) which milk is marketed to supply.
Results from a study examining the effects of dairy on bone density in patients found that there weren’t any reduced risks correlated with higher milk consumption.
Even Dr. Michael Gregor of Nutritionfacts.org reports that “Milk consumption during teenage years was not associated with a lower risk of hip fracture, and, if anything, milk consumption was associated with a borderline increase in fracture risk in men.“(3)
An article published by WebMD found that women, in particular, had an increased risk of bone fracture when consuming three or more glasses of milk per day.
Even though dairy can weaken bones when overconsumed, it doesn’t seem as though moderate amounts have much of an effect.
“Dairy Clears Skin”
Walk up to a group of young women at a Starbucks in L.A and one of them will say that ditching dairy improved their skin.
From acne to rashes, a lot of people believe that dairy causes acne.
But is dairy bad for your skin?
One article that studied the correlation of dairy consumption with acne in teens found alarming results!
Tenth and twelfth-grade teenagers were questioned about their skin health over a trial period, their dairy consumption was also recorded.
Researchers found an “association between high intakes of dairy products and acne in adolescence.”(5)
An increase in IGF-1 is linked to the accelerated production of cells that can block pores.
Sam wood, a journalist from goodglow.co states, “This blocked pore is the perfect breeding ground for infection and inflammation to take hold and acne to form.”(6)
If you’re struggling with skin issues, consider choosing plant-based alternatives.
JOI offers nut and oat based dairy-alternatives that last longer!
“Dairy Clears Skin”
Studies have shown that excessive dairy consumption can lead to a greater risk of cancer cell growth.
The IJC also found that consumption of full-fat dairy products(more than three glasses per day) may increase the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality in existing patients(8).
While not a direct cause of cancer, a higher intake of full-fat dairy products may enhance your risk.
But nonetheless, research is still mixed. See what Harvard Health Publishing has to say about dairy here.
“Dairy Purifies The Body”
If you wake up at random hours of the night hacking up globs of mucus, throwing(or giving) away your gallon of cow milk in the fridge may help.
A test observing 26 men and 86 women who were put on a dairy-free diet found that, “There was a significant reduction in the reported linear secretion score seen from day 1 to 4 in nondairy.”(9)
The significance of this trial lies in that a dairy-free diet was associated with a decrease in mucus.
Personally, I’ve noticed a major difference in my mucus production after consuming dairy. It tends to be thicker and more recurrent than if I were to drink oat milk.
Conclusion
Does dairy do a body good? This isn’t a trick question, observe how you feel when consuming dairy and make a decision about the products moving forward.
If you’re experiencing mucus, acne, and other inflammatory responses after consuming dairy, try my mango sea moss smoothie recipe!
Citations
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) test: Medlineplus medical test. MedlinePlus. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/igf-1-insulin-like-growth-factor-1-test/
Hanieh Malmir, Bagher Larijani & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh (2020) Consumption of milk and dairy products and risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture: a systematic review and Meta-analysis, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 60:10, 1722-1737, DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2019.1590800
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM · March 8, 2019 ·. (2019, March 8). Flashback Friday: Is milk good for our bones? NutritionFacts.org. Retrieved July 12, 2022, from https://nutritionfacts.org/video/flashback-friday-is-milk-good-for-our-bones/
Thompson, D. (2014, October 29). Is milk your friend or foe? WebMD. Retrieved July 12, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/news/20141029/is-milk-your-friend-or-foe
Wood, S., & Sharma. (2022, January 22). Can cutting out dairy cure your adult acne? GoodGlo. Retrieved July 12, 2022, from https://goodglow.co/utlimate-dairy-acne-guide
Yang M;Kenfield SA;Van Blarigan EL;Wilson KM;Batista JL;Sesso HD;Ma J;Stampfer MJ;Chavarro JE; (n.d.). Dairy intake after prostate cancer diagnosis in relation to disease-specific and total mortality. International journal of cancer. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25989745/
Natural variation of HTH5 from wild rice, Oryza … – wiley online library. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pbi.13835
A competing risk analysis of adherence to the American Cancer Society … (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.34200?af=R
Effect of a dairy diet on nasopharyngeal mucus … – Wiley Online Library. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/lary.27287