There is ample scientific evidence that questions the benefit of dairy consumption and indicates many health risks. The consumption of dairy has been linked with heart disease, certain cancers, digestive problems, diabetes, etc.
(complete list of sources and additional publications is included at the bottom of the page)
We are told we need milk for calcium to keep our bones strong. But in fact, research shows that dairy products have little or no benefit for bones. According to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal, most studies fail to show any link between dairy intake and broken bones, or fractures. A 2005 review published in the journal Pediatrics showed that drinking milk does not improve bone strength in children. In a more recent study, researchers tracked the diets, exercise, and stress fracture rates of young girls for seven years and concluded that dairy products and calcium do not prevent stress fractures in adolescent girls. And another study of more than 96,000 people found that the more milk men consumed as teenagers, the more bone fractures they experienced as adults.
To have healthy bones you need more than just calcium. Fruits and vegetables are especially beneficial for bones because they naturally contain all of the required nutrients for optimal human health.
.PNG)
All dairy products contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to the diet. Diets high in fat, and especially in saturated fat, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke and can cause other serious health problems. (study here and study here)
On the other hand, a low-fat, plant-based diet (which eliminates dairy products) can not only prevent heart disease, but may even reverse it. (study here and study here)
Prostate Cancer: The danger of dairy product consumption as it relates to prostate cancer is most likely linked to increases in insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Consuming milk and dairy products on a regular basis has been shown to increase blood levels of IGF-1 in humans. Studies (study here and study here) in diverse populations have shown a strong and consistent link between IGF-1 in the blood and prostate cancer risk. One study showed that men with the highest levels of IGF-1 had more than four times the risk of prostate cancer, compared with those who had the lowest levels.
In another study, men who consumed three or more servings of dairy products a day had a 141% higher risk for death due to prostate cancer compared to those who consumed less than one serving.
In the Physicians Health Study, which tracked 21,660 participants for 28 years, researchers found an increased risk of prostate cancer for those who consumed more than 2.5 servings of dairy products per day as compared with those who had fewer than 0.5 servings a day. This study, which is supported by other findings, also shows that prostate cancer risk is higher with increased consumption even if consuming low-fat milk.
Breast Cancer: A study of 1,893 women diagnosed with early-stage invasive breast cancer revealed that eating more high-fat dairy products was linked to higher mortality (death) rates. As little as half a serving per day increased risk significantly. Since hormones are stored in fat, consuming high-fat, rather than low-fat, dairy products likely means women are consuming more estrogen.
A second large study of 1,941 women found that women who consumed the highest amounts of cheddar, American, and cream cheeses had a 53% higher risk for breast cancer.
Research funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Cancer Research Fund, found that women who consumed 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cow’s milk per day had a 30% increased chance for breast cancer. One cup per day increased the risk by 50%, and 2-3 cups were associated with an 80% increased chance of breast cancer.
Ovarian Cancer: The consumption of dairy products may also contribute to development of ovarian cancer. The relationship between dairy products and ovarian cancer may be due to the breakdown of the milk sugar (lactose) into galactose, a sugar which may be toxic to ovarian cells. Two studies, one conducted in Sweden and one conducted among African American women, showed that consuming lactose and dairy products was positively linked to ovarian cancer. The Iowa Women’s Health Study found that women who consumed more than one glass of milk per day had a 73% greater chance of developing ovarian cancer than women who drank less than one glass per day.
Lung, Breast, and Ovarian Cancer: A large study published in the British Journal of Cancer identified 22,788 people who were lactose intolerant and found that those who avoided dairy (due to lactose intolerance) had a lower incidence of lung, breast, and ovarian cancers than their family members who did not avoid dairy. The researchers suggest that avoiding the saturated fat and extra hormones found in dairy products is protective against certain types of cancer.
Diabetes: Insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes is also linked to consumption of dairy products in infancy. A 2001 Finnish study of nearly 3,000 infants with genetically increased risk for developing diabetes showed that early introduction of cow’s milk increased susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics observed up to a 30% reduction in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in infants who avoid exposure to cow’s milk protein (including through breast milk) for at least the first three months of their lives.
Milk proteins, milk sugar, fat, and saturated fat in dairy products pose health risks for children and can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While low-fat milk is often recommended for decreasing obesity risk, a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood showed that children who drank 1% or skim milk, compared with those who drank full-fat milk, were not any less likely to be obese.
The consumption of cow’s milk is not recommended for infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants below one year of age not be given cow’s milk. Not only is the iron in cow’s milk hard for babies to absorb, but whole cow’s milk can cause microscopic bleeding in infants’ intestines.
Colic is an additional concern with milk consumption. Up to 28% of infants suffer from colic during the first month of life. Pediatricians learned long ago that cow’s milk was often the reason. We now know that breastfeeding mothers can have colicky babies if the mothers consume cow’s milk. (study here and study here)
Cow’s milk proteins can pass through the mother’s bloodstream, into her breast milk, and to the baby, causing symptoms in some infants.
Additionally, children who consume cow’s milk are more likely to develop food allergies and are more likely to suffer from chronic constipation.
Dairy often contains contaminants that range from hormones to pesticides to antibiotics. Milk naturally contains hormones and growth factors produced within a cow’s body, too. In addition, artificial hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) are commonly given to cows to increase their milk production. Antibiotics are used to treat udder infections (mastitis) in cows. Traces of these antibiotics have been found in some samples of milk and dairy products. Unfortunately, antibiotics are used frequently, because mastitis is very common in cows due to farming practices that cause cows to produce more milk than nature intended.
Pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), melamine (often found in plastics and harmful to the kidneys and urinary tract), other cancer-causing toxins like aflatoxins, and dioxins are other examples of the many possible contaminants dairy. Dairy products contribute to one-fourth to one-half of the dietary intake of total dioxins (Bhandari SD, Schmidt RH, Rodrick GE. Hazards resulting frome nvironmental, industrial, and agricultural contaminants). All these toxins tend to build up in the body over time. Eventually, this can harm the immune, reproductive, and nervous systems. Moreover, PCBs and dioxins have been linked to cancer.
Somatic Cell Count: The number of somatic cells in milk, referred to as the somatic cell count or SCC, is used throughout the world as an indicator of milk quality. White blood cells constitute the majority of somatic cells measured (commonly known as pus). An increased SCC generally results from an inflammatory process due to the presence of an intramammary infection.
The current regulatory limit for somatic cells in milk in the United States defined in the Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance is 750,000 cells per milliliter (mL). That’s a lot of pus!
Lactose Intolerance: Many people are intolerant to lactose. Often there are symptoms that are mysterious and not always understood as lactose intolerance. The National Institutes of Health estimates that 30 million to 50 million American adults are lactose intolerant, including 95% of Asians, 60-80% of African Americans and Ashkenazi Jews, 80-100% of American Indians, and 50-80% of Hispanics. Symptoms, which include upset stomach, diarrhea, and gas, occur because these individuals lack the enzyme lactase, which is needed to digest the milk sugar, lactose. Nursing children make enzymes that break down lactose, but as we grow up, many of us lose this capacity. As a result, lactose is not absorbed, but remains in the intestine where it causes symptoms.
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"Dairy products contribute to a surprising number of health problems. They can impair a child's ability to absorb iron and in very small children can even cause subtle blood loss from the digestive tract. Combined with the fact that milk has virtually no iron of its own, the result is an increased risk of iron deficiency."
Benjamin Spock, MD, pediatrician and author, article "Good Nutrition for Kids"
"The fact is: the drinking of cow milk has been linked to iron-deficiency anemia in infants and children; it has been named as the cause of cramps and diarrhea in much of the world's population, and the cause of multiple forms of allergy as well; and the possibility has been raised that it may play a central role in the origins of atherosclerosis and heart attacks.”
Frank A. Oski, MD, Former Director of the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, Don't Drink Your Milk
"Milk contains fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and diets high in fat and saturated fat can increase the risk of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease...Organic milk may not contain the pesticides and antibiotics that non-organic milk contains, but still can be loaded with fat and cholesterol. Even organic cow’s milk, which does not contain artificial hormones, does contain naturally occurring hormones. These hormones have been shown to increase the risk of some forms of cancer."
Neal Barnard, MD
“Don’t drink milk for health. I am convinced on the weight of the scientific evidence that it does not 'do a body good.' Inclusion of milk will only reduce your diet’s nutritional value and safety."
Robert M. Kradjian, MD Former Chief of General Surgery at Seton Medical Center, "The Milk Letter: A Message to My Patients”
“The recommendation to drink three glasses of low-fat milk or eat three servings of other dairy products per day to prevent osteoporosis is another step in the wrong Direction… Three glasses of low-fat milk add more than 300 calories a day. This is a real issue for the millions of Americans who are trying to control their weight. What's more, millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and even small amounts of milk or dairy products give them stomachaches, gas, or other problems. This recommendation ignores the lack of evidence for a link between consumption of dairy products and prevention of osteoporosis. It also ignores the possible increases in risk of ovarian cancer and prostate cancer associated with dairy products.”
Harvard School of Public Health; On the Consumption of Dairy Products (2005)
"Cow's milk is a foreign substance that has pervaded every corner of our diets... Today there is little doubt that early and frequent feeding of dairy products leads to greatly increased incidence of childhood diabetes. It has been confirmed that high cow's milk consumption is a major cause of osteoporosis."
Linda Folden Palmer, DC, chiropractor and author, Baby Matters: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your Baby (2007)
"Milk and refined sugar make two of the largest contributions to food induced ill health in our country... It is my strong recommendation that you discontinue your milk products."
Joseph Mercola, DO, Osteopathic Physician
"The human body has no more need for cows’ milk than it does for dogs’ milk, horses’ milk, or giraffes’ milk. There is absolutely no nutrient, no protein, no vitamin, no mineral that can't be obtained from plant-based foods."
Michael Klaper, MD
Conclusion
Milk and dairy products are not necessary in our diet and can even be harmful to health. It’s best to consume a healthful plant-based diet. Nutrient-dense plant-based foods can help you meet your nutrient requirements with ease - without the health risks associated with consuming dairy products.
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Related articles:
Overwhelming evidence
Species-appropriate food choices
Sources and additional publications
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