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Most people believe that this food is healthy. For decades its consumption was presented as prevention of a large number of diseases.
It was recommended mainly to women and children. Truth be told, nutritionally it is very rich.
It contains minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, but also vitamins D and B12.
For this reason it was relatively easy in the past to convince people to add it to their diet.
However, all the long-recognized benefits of milk were questioned when experts recently looked at it through a scientific lens.
The results of research focused on the effect of milk as a certain prevention of fractures in injuries and also its impact on the mortality of rats were quite alarming.
Many nutrition experts are therefore currently cautious when it comes to milk, especially about its consumption in larger quantities.
In October last year the British Medical Journal published further evidence indicating that drinking large amounts of milk can harm us.
A correlation was observed in women between milk intake and mortality. Observations showed that the more milk a woman drank, the higher the probability of premature death.
A connection with fractures was also revealed, especially in the hip area.
What amount of milk already represents a problem?
In women who drank three or more glasses of milk a day, the probability of death (during the period when the study was conducted) was twice as high as in women who drank only one glass of milk a day.
However, even one glass of milk a day significantly increased the risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
The results for men were also not very different.
A higher percentage of mortality manifested in cases where they drank larger amounts of milk. It should be noted, however, that these results were much more concerning in women.
The study authors concluded that for both sexes there is an increased likelihood of sustaining a fracture in an injury or even a risk of premature death in the case of higher milk intake.
These results therefore call into question almost all previous statements and recommendations regarding drinking cow’s milk.
Which components in milk are the most problematic?
High concentrations of lactose and galactose may explain why milk has an adverse effect on the human body.
These two substances cause oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, which are essentially pathogenic mechanisms that trigger cardiovascular disease and cancer.
In animals, consumption of galactose has an aging-like effect – neurodegeneration, decreased immune system function, and changes in the process of gene transcription.
Are there dairy products with a positive effect on health?
When Swedish scientists compared milk with other dairy products, they found no negative associations.
On the contrary, the consumption of fermented dairy products (soured) such as yogurts, soured milk and cheeses is associated with a reduced risk of fracture in injury or risk of premature death.
Existing studies have revealed that fermented dairy products have a positive influence on human health.
They increase so-called good cholesterol, support a reduction in insulin resistance and, above all, lower the risk of heart attack.
