Milk is healthy and the best choice for calcium supplementation. Only by drinking enough milk and supplementing enough calcium can we avoid osteoporosis and ensure bone health.
In the hero Gottmilk series of advertisements, all superheroes love milk | Photo: paxholley.
However, the reality is far more complicated than you think, and there will always be some counterexamples jumping out and slapping you on the idea you have always believed in.
The British "Guardian" once described this fact in an article entitled "Dairy Monster: ①".
In South Africa, Bantu women (Bantu is the largest ethnic group in Africa) mainly eat vegetable protein, and their daily intake of calcium is about 200-350 mg.
Although they have an average of six children and have to breastfeed for a long time, they almost never suffer from osteoporosis.
Although Bantu women have an average of six children and breast-feed for a long time, they mainly eat vegetable protein and only consume 200-350 mg of calcium every day, which actually leads to osteoporosis.
In sharp contrast, although their African-American compatriots' daily calcium intake exceeds 1000mg, the risk of hip fracture is nine times that of Bantu women.
Their African-American brothers and sisters consume more than 1 1,000 mg of calcium every day on average, and the probability of hip fracture is nine times that of the general population.
Isn't it interesting? Why do people who don't drink much milk and have insufficient calcium intake (adult 1000mg/ day) have good bone condition?
Photo: Daily Mail
You may say that this is only a special case and cannot be a strong evidence to question milk. How can I explain the fact that I am going to say next? ↓
Globally, countries with high milk intake have high fracture rates. ...
Myth: The more milk you drink, the higher the fracture rate? From September 2065438 to September 2002, a systematic evaluation on the incidence and probability of hip fracture in the world was published in the International Journal of Osteoporosis. ②
As shown in the figure, the annual incidence rate in the red area is the highest, which is more than 250 cases/100000, in the orange area, it is 150-250 cases/100000, and in the green area, it is the least, which is less than 150 cases/1000000.
Let's compare the global per capita milk consumption. The darker the blue, the higher the milk consumption.
Figure: ChartsBin
It is not difficult to find that in countries with high milk intake, people are not as strong as they think. For example, in northern Europe, milk consumption is the highest, and the corresponding fracture rate is soaring.
In Washington, D.C., Dr Amy Joy Lan Ou, the top nutritionist in charge of the doctors' committee, once said:
The country with the highest incidence of osteoporosis is the country that drinks the most milk and has the highest calcium content in diet. The relationship between calcium intake and bone health is actually very weak, and the relationship between dairy intake and bone health is almost non-existent.
Dr Amy Joy Lan Ou.
The country with the highest incidence of osteoporosis is the country where people drink the most milk and have the highest calcium content in their diet. The relationship between calcium intake and bone health is actually very weak, and the relationship between dairy intake and bone health is almost non-existent.
In fact, many scientists have long been aware of this situation and have done a lot of research on it.
Research: Drinking milk has little to do with bone health. 20 1 1 Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) published a large-scale meta-analysis to explore whether drinking milk can prevent hip fracture (the joint between trunk and leg) in middle-aged and elderly people. ④
Among them, six studies involving nearly 200,000 female subjects found that even in the case of high milk intake, there was no overall correlation between female milk intake and hip fracture risk, while male subjects needed more data.
A prospective cohort study was also published in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association), from June 2065438 to 2004 10. ⑤
Researchers followed 96,000 subjects for 22 years and found that:
The increase of milk consumption in adolescence has nothing to do with the reduction of hip fracture risk in the elderly.
In other words, no matter how much milk you drink when you are young, you can't directly and effectively reduce the risk of hip fracture when you are old.
In September of the same year, a larger cohort study was published in British Medical Journal (BMJ). ⑥
The study involved 6/kloc-0,433 female subjects and 45,339 male subjects. The follow-up time of women was as high as 20 years, and that of men was 1 1 year. The results show that:
Whether women or men, higher milk intake will not reduce the risk of fracture, but may lead to higher mortality.
Drinking more milk for women and men will not reduce the risk of fracture, but may lead to higher mortality.
Although the nature of this study is observational, the conclusion needs more exploration, but it raises great doubts about the validity of the suggestion that drinking a lot of milk can protect bone health.
Yes, the results of these studies I have listed may be quite different from what you have accepted before.
As mentioned earlier, in the eyes of most people:
Drinking enough milk means supplementing a lot of calcium, which can reduce osteoporosis, reduce the risk of fracture and make bones stronger.
The reason for this cognition is that you don't understand bones at all, and you have never fully understood osteoporosis.
Drink milk to supplement calcium and build healthy bones. The bone mass and bone density of human body will generally peak at the end of 20 or early 30 years old.
And with the growth of age, there will be some bone loss.
However, due to poor diet or lack of exercise, some people may start to suffer from bone loss at an earlier age, such as around the age of 20.
The bone loss of women is usually faster than that of men, especially after menopause, and the sudden decline of estrogen and progesterone will accelerate the bone loss.
In other words, bone loss itself is a natural development state of human body, even if you eat a lot of calcium, it is inevitable.
However, this does not mean that the bones are so fragile that they can only stand still and let the years mercilessly slaughter them.
On the contrary, it is a very vital and "resistant" human tissue. It is always in constant self-renewal, and old osteoclasts will be decomposed and replaced by osteoblasts.
For example, arm bones or leg bones are completely updated once every 10- 12, and the ends of vertebrae and long bones are updated once every 2-3 years.
Therefore, in the process of the continuous alternate growth of old and new bones, we always have the opportunity to build healthier bones for ourselves.
So how to explain osteoporosis?
As you can see, time will lead to bone loss, if you don't pay attention to your diet and lifestyle during this period, plus sudden changes in body hormones and other factors.
Eventually, it may slow down your bone regeneration. The growth of new bone can't keep up with the decomposition of old bone, and the bone density and bone mass are greatly reduced, so the bone will become porous, thin and brittle.
When it reaches a very serious stage, it is called osteoporosis.
It does increase the risk of fracture, especially in the wrist, hip, spine and shoulders.
Therefore, how to effectively build healthy bones has become the "ultimate problem". As the first trace element beneficial to bones, calcium naturally has a high status.
However, is calcium supplementation enough to ensure bone health? I'm afraid the result will disappoint you.
In 2007, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition collected data of more than 200,000 subjects aged between 34 and 79, and compared and analyzed them. ⑦
Among them, the summary results of prospective cohort studies found that there was no significant correlation between total calcium intake and the risk of hip fracture in women or men.
The summary of machine-controlled studies shows that calcium supplements not only reduce the risk of hip fracture, but also increase the risk.
Why didn't calcium supplement achieve the expected effect?
As I said, there are many factors that induce osteoporosis, including:
Aging, drinking, long-term intake of corticosteroids (prednisolone, hydrocortisone, etc. ), eating disorders, family inheritance, estrogen reduction, hyperthyroidism, pituitary dysfunction, long-term inactivity, smoking, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
Moreover, there are many internal factors involved in bone construction, such as various minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin D and vitamin K, and various hormones, such as estrogen and parathyroid hormone.
With so many influencing factors, if we only focus on calcium, is it a bit biased?
Therefore, it is important to supplement calcium, but simply supplementing calcium is not enough to ensure bone health.
And if you choose milk to supplement calcium, you may have to bear certain health risks.
Calcium supplementation in milk may be risky. Lactose is an important nutrient in milk. If you want to digest and absorb completely, you must participate in lactase.
Most people can produce enough lactase from infancy, but with the increase of age, the number of lactase will gradually decrease, and then lactose digestion is difficult, which is called lactose intolerance.
Lactose intolerance is a common digestive problem, but it is also different in different regions.
For example, in northern Europe, there may be only 1 lactose intolerance patients in 50 people.
However, the situation in China is completely different. According to a study in the journal Human Genetics, it is estimated that 92.3% of China people are lactose intolerant. ⑧
This means that most people in China will have symptoms such as abdominal distension, nausea, farting, stomachache and diarrhea to varying degrees after drinking milk.
This is not only bad for intestinal flora, but also bad for the absorption of nutrients including calcium.
Moreover, the milk that everyone drinks now is basically sterilized by bus. This sterilization method eliminates harmful substances and takes away a lot of nutrients.
In my previous article, I also mentioned a study by Harvard University, pointing out the relationship between sterilized milk on buses and hormone-dependent cancers (such as breast cancer and prostate cancer).
Furthermore, regarding 1 type diabetes, it was also found that it was related to casein a 1 in milk.
In this regard, Steven Gundry, the author of American cardiologist "Dietary Paradox", mentioned in an interview with the media:
Some people will have rashes, acne and allergies after drinking milk. These people don't recommend using milk to supplement calcium.
Of course, no milk doesn't mean no food with calcium supplements, as I said in my previous article (click on the blue part for details).
Speaking of this, you may be more concerned about the problem than calcium supplementation: what should you do to keep your bones healthy?
How to prevent osteoporosis without drinking milk? In fact, calcium supplementation is on the one hand, and there are still many points to be done to maintain bone health and enhance bone toughness and vitality:
→ Keep exercising, especially strength training.
Exercise can increase bone mass, improve bone elasticity, relieve stress and reduce inflammation, which is very beneficial to healthy bone construction.
It is suggested to choose more strength training, such as squat, lifting dumbbells, push-ups and pull-ups. , 2-3 times a week.
Take time to bask in the sun every day
Sunlight can help your body to synthesize more vitamin D, but vitamin D is insufficient, and it is useless to supplement more calcium, because the absorption of calcium needs the help of vitamin D.
In addition, oysters, salmon, sardines, eggs and other foods are rich in vitamin D, which can be supplemented appropriately in the case of insufficient sunshine in winter in the north.
Magnesium supplementation is also important.
If the bone is full of calcium, it is easy to become brittle or crushed. If a considerable proportion of magnesium is added, it can increase its elasticity, thus preventing osteoporosis. Magnesium can also help the dissolution and absorption of calcium (WeChat official account restores magnesium to get more popular science information about magnesium).
Common dietary sources of magnesium are dark chocolate (WeChat official account replies to chocolate, telling you what kind of chocolate to eat to lose weight), laver, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocados, salmon and so on.
Vitamin K2 is also important.
Vitamin K is necessary for bone formation and mineralization, and vitamin K2 can be obtained from natto, cheese, chicken and pork.
→ Adhere to an anti-inflammatory diet
Inflammation is the main factor affecting bone health and osteoporosis.
Several different inflammatory cytokines are related to the development of osteoporosis, and chronic inflammation is considered as the main risk factor of the disease. ⑨
A study of 20 16 found that anti-inflammatory diet has a positive effect on bone health. ⑩
This means that processed foods, high-sugar foods, hydrogenated vegetable oils and herbal oils with a high proportion of ω-6 should be avoided as much as possible in the diet.
In addition, it is necessary to quit smoking. Smoking will aggravate the body inflammation and accelerate the occurrence of many chronic diseases.
The key is that I know, and some people will definitely question: Skinny Dragon, you are too extreme. Is milk so disgusting? Maybe you can't drink any more?
No, actually, I just want to "smash" the "standard answer" in your mind as much as possible, and make the answer more diversified and possibly more objective.
I'm not saying that everyone should not drink milk. If you are not lactose intolerant, if you like the taste of milk, you can drink some milk.
But we have to take some risks, and we don't know whether the milk processing industry is credible.
In my opinion, if you want to drink milk, you can use it as a drink, but don't treat it as a nutritional relic.
For example, if you want to drink something one day, you can drink some milk instead of just drinking water, but don't treat it as a must-have drink for your baby.
For people who are lactose intolerant, there are lactose-free milk to choose from in the market, and whole milk is more worth choosing than low-fat milk. As for whether to drink milk to lose weight, the official account of WeChat replied to milk, and you will find the answer you want.
There is more than one kind of milk in dairy products. I recommend something like sugar-free yogurt or cheese. Most of their lactose is degraded in the fermentation process, which is more friendly to lactose intolerance and a good choice for calcium supplementation.
Milk should be in an ordinary position, not on the altar of nutrition.