The Ambaa Tree

“Calcium is essential for building strong bones and preventing osteoporosis. The Dietary Guidelines for Australians specifically recommend that ‘milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives’ be included in our daily diet for their readily-available dietary calcium and the role calcium plays in attaining peak bone mass and in preventing osteoporosis. Dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt are a rich source of calcium in the Australian diet, supplying around 60% of the calcium we eat.”

Extract from Preventing Osteoporosis – Good Health Factsheet, produced by Dairy Australia

The above is typical of the information provided in most literature about milk and calcium but how true is the information?  Firstly it is important to be aware of where the information is coming from – Dairy Australia.  The role of Dairy Australia is to sell more dairy products.

So let’s break down the statement and determine the facts, myths and fallacies

“Calcium is essential for building strong bones and preventing osteoporosis” – part true, part fallacy, part myth.

Calcium is one of the nutrients required for building strong bones, but certainly not on its own and probably it isn’t even the most important nutrient.  Vitamin D is required to help the calcium be used to build strong bones.  Currently there is an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency in Australia (the topic for another blog).  Other vitally important nutrients include Vitamin A, magnesium, boron, vitamin B12 plus many of the other B vitamins, protein, essential fatty acids plus many more.

Calcium is a large molecule which is often bound to other molecules, not all of these forms of calcium are easily absorbed by the body e.g calcium carbonate (which is used in many pharmaceutical calcium supplements) is otherwise known as chalk and is not the best form of calcium for your bones, a better form is calcium fluoride.

“The Dietary Guidelines for Australians specifically recommend that ‘milk, yogurt, cheese and/or alternatives’ be included in our daily diet for their readily-available dietary calcium and the role calcium plays in attaining peak bone mass and in preventing osteoporosis” – part true, part fallacy, part myth.

There is no evidence that including dairy products in your diet helps to prevent osteoporosis actually there are studies which show that milk products may actually increase our risk of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, gut problems, allergies plus others.

In non-Western cultures where dairy does not play a significant role in the diet, the incidence of osteoporosis is a lot lower than in our Western culture.  A diet based on greens, nuts and seeds along with weight bearing exercise has shown to support healthier bone production than a diet high is dairy.

“Dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt are a rich source of calcium in the Australian diet, supplying around 60% of the calcium we eat.” – part true, part fallacy, part myth

Yes milk, cheese and yoghurt are a rich source of calcium but they don’t supply our bodies with 60% of the calcium we eat.  The reason being is the pasteurisation and processing of milk.  In the past milk came straight from the cow and it was full of enzymes and healthy bacteria that helped to break down the proteins and release the nutrients from the milk and allow them to be used by our bodies.

Modern milk is now very much a processed food.  Pasteurisation at extremely high temperatures destroys the natural enzymes and bacteria making the milk very difficult for humans to digest.

Milk Facts

The casein protein molecule in standard milk is very large and complicated and requires specific enzymes to break it down, many people don’t have these enzymes due to poor digestive function.

Here are the (simplified) steps to absorbing milk in the gut:

1. When you drink milk, the hydrochloric acid in your stomach breaks down the protein into smaller amino acids chains, generally consisting of 10 amino acids.  These are still too large to be absorbed through the gut wall.
2. The bonds that hold the amino acid chain are quite strong and can’t be broken down easily, it requires specific enzymes to break these 10 chain amino acids into smaller amino acid chains, so that they can be absorbed by the body.

So what happens when you don’t have the correct enzymes, or the enzymes in the milk have been destroyed in processing?  The 10 chain amino acids will irritate the gut wall and activate the immune system causing several different symptoms – increased mucous production, eczema, asthma, diarrhoea, behavioural problems etc.

Interestingly the casein protein in goat’s milk and Jersey cow milk (marketed as A2 milk) is different to the casein protein that comes from Friesian cows (standard milk).  The bonds in the 10 chain amino acids are easier to break and don’t require the specific enzymes to break them down.  This is why many people may feel better with goat’s milk or A2 milk.

Bone Facts

When it comes to healthy bone growth, this is a process that occurs throughout our lives not just when we are young.  One study looked at the different diets and their calcium content; comparing a dairy centred diet with a Mediterranean based diet based on fresh fruit and veges, nuts and seeds, olive oil, fish and legumes.  This study found that the Mediterranean diet provided the same amount of dietary calcium than the dairy based diet.  The Mediterranean diet also showed an increased absorption of calcium and decrease in the amount of calcium lost via the urine.  The study concluded that a Mediterranean style diet low in dairy can increase bone growth and decrease bone loss without milk or other dairy products.

Questions

If we can’t absorb milk proteins and the other nutrients properly and if you can get more than enough calcium from a Mediterranean style diet, why do we continually get told by our health authorities that we must include high levels of dairy in our diets?  How much influence does the Dairy marketing authority have on these messages?

Conclusion

I am not suggesting that you cut all dairy products out of your diet, especially if you enjoy a small amount of milk in your tea or some cheese with your lunch and you have no reactions to milk, but don’t think that eating a lot of dairy will give you strong healthy bones, there is no evidence to show this.  If you or your child suffers from ongoing asthma, sinus or a constant runny nose remove standard cow’s milk from their diet and replace with goat’s milk or a nut milk (almond milk) and see the difference.  It is possible to supplement the missing digestive enzymes so that you don’t have adverse effects if you do have some dairy but these will only work while you take them, it is best to avoid a lot of milk products.

Eating a healthy balanced Mediterranean style diet, along with a healthy dose of sunlight every day, some regular exercise and you and your children will have strong bones for the rest of your lives.