Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 1181
Question:Is drinking milk good for the bones?
Answer:lt s true that milk is a great source of calcium, the mineral needed for healthy bones. But bone health demands other minerals that are not abundant in milk, particularly magnesium and boron. Vegans (who avoid milk) can get adequate calcium and magnesium from seeds, nuts, beans and vegetables. So drinking milk is not strictly essential for bone health if you eat these wholefoods - after all, our ancestors weren' t milking wild buffaloes.

You may lack vitamin D if you avoid milk but you can get that from fish and eggs, or exposure to sufficient amounts of sunlight. Again, this was not a problem for our ancestors, but it may be difficult for northern Europeans and people who spend too much time indoors.

And drinking too much milk can actually be bad for your bones. One 10-year study in the US involving thousands of women surprisingly found that women who drank two or more glasses of milk had a 45 per cent increased risk of hip fracture. This may have been because eating too much protein, found in meat and milk, actually decreases the health of the bones. The underlying reason is that protein is made from amino acids and when the bloodstream is too acidic the body releases calcium from bone to neutralise it. So you need to strike a balance between your protein intake and calcium intake.

       
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