Drinking cow’s milk is dangerous to your health, according to new study

According to a new and comprehensive scientific study, drinking cow’s milk (more than two glasses a day) would be dangerous to health, increasing the risk of premature death and bone fractures.

It is no coincidence that, for some years now, many nutritionists and specialized doctors have begun to warn about the risks of consuming cow’s milk, given the existence of a greater number of people who have lactose intolerance and other types of conditions and related health problems. It is a mistake to think that milk strengthens the bones of children in growing age, mainly because drinking 3 glasses of milk a day would not actually provide the minimum recommended amount of calcium, even defining it as an ineffective placebo.  To which the proteins and the calcium itself present in this product of animal origin would be added, which would be difficult to assimilate by human beings as it is biologically designed to suckle animals of the same species.

From a nutritional point of view, added to the above is the high content of both calories and saturated fat in both milk and its dairy derivatives, which would influence the appearance of type 1 diabetes when there is excessive consumption.

On this occasion, we have learned the results of a new scientific study, which concludes that drinking more than 3 glasses of milk a day could pose a greater risk of premature death, as well as greater risks of fractures. Bone, especially in women.

The truth is that we are not facing a trivial or small study, since to reach these conclusions, researchers analyzed the effects of milk consumption in a sample of 61,000 women from between 39 and 74 years of age, and of more than 45,000 men between 45 and 79 years, whom they supervised for 11 years. That is, in total a sample of 106,000 people were analyzed over two decades.

During these years, the team of researchers observed that the consumption of regular milk translated into a greater chance of suffering fractures, while those women who drank more than three glasses a day (around 700 ml. Of milk) were twice as likely to suffer from fractures. Die earlier than those who drank less than one glass a day.

And what would be the reason for the increased risk of premature death? According to scholars, we find it in galactose, a type of sugar present in cow’s milk in large quantities, which according to other scientific studies could accelerate aging and shorten life.

If you are a woman, be careful with the high consumption of cow’s milk

Specifically, those women who consumed three or more glasses a day presented:

• 90% higher risk of premature death.
• A 60% chance of having a hip fracture.
• 15% more likely to suffer bone fractures overall.

Compared to women who drank less than a glass of cow’s milk a day.

These differences in mortality rates were not, however, very significant in men (compared to what was observed in women). In fact, about 20% of men who drank three glasses of cow’s milk died over the next decade, compared to 18% of those who drank just one glass. There were also no differences in rates related to bone fractures.

At the end of the study period, 25,000 of the women analyzed had died, while 22,000 suffered some type of bone fracture.

On the other hand, contrary to what has always been thought, the research found that regular consumption of cow’s milk increased the risk of bone fractures, which would clash with the popular belief that cow’s milk is good for the bones. The reason is that despite the fact that cow’s milk does contain calcium (although in less quantities than other foods of natural origin, by the way), the fat present in it cancels out the positive effects it provides.

Dairy products that would be healthier

According to those responsible for the study, the research has also helped to know what other dairy products would be healthy, whose consumption would be more recommended than cow’s milk itself.

And this study made it possible to associate lower rates of both mortality and bone fractures with the consumption of derivatives such as cheese or yogurt. In these cases, as we mentioned before, while the fat present in milk cancels out the positive effects of the calcium present in it, low-fat dairy products would provide benefits both for bone health and to reduce the risk of heart attacks.

They also highlight the vegetable milk, made from seeds, grains and nuts, equally rich from a nutritional point of view, as we know, following the results of the study clearly much healthier than cow’s milk. If you want to find out more about them, we suggest you read our notes on soy milk, the almond milk, the milk sesame, the oat milk and milk pistachio.