Despite Milk’s Bad Rap, It’s Still Good For You

You’ve probably seen those milk ads with female celebrities such as Lauren Bacall sporting chalky mustaches.

They raise a question: Is milk getting such a bad rap it has to resort to celebrity endorsements?

Apparently so. First came fat, followed by lactose intolerance. Add the uproar about bovine growth hormone (BGH) to increase milk production in cows, the emergence of vegetarianism and strong competition from soft drinks, coffee and tea, and our most popular “health” beverage finds itself in some trouble.

The latest threat to what dairy interests once promoted as “the world’s most perfect food” comes from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a coalition of doctors that includes baby doc Benjamin Spock, maneuverinventor Henry Heimlich and heart disease researcher Dean Ornish.

Last month the coalition recommended that milk and other dairy products - along with meats - be categorized as “optional, not recommended for daily use” in all government nutrition programs. Such animal-based foods are high in fat and protein and aren’t necessary for healthful diet, they contend, suggesting yet another redesign of the food pyramid.

Milk’s image problems started several years ago with the nation’s growing concern about fat and cholesterol. Whole milk is high in fat (about 51 percent total fat, 32 percent from saturated fat - more than a lean sirloin steak) and relatively high in cholesterol (35 milligrams per cup).

Part of the impetus behind the magazine-advertising campaign - featuring Bacall, Christie Brinkley, Joan Rivers, Naomi Campbell and Vanna White - is to counter milk’s fatty profile.

Focus groups of women showed that many have stopped drinking milk because they believe it’s fattening, says Amy Heinemann, a spokeswoman with the National Milk Processors Promotion Board.

Targeting women in the 25- to 44-year-old age group, the ads also promote milk’s high amount of calcium, a mineral many women (and men) do not get enough of.

However, it’s with that calcium message that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine takes issue.

The ads imply that calcium in milk is the answer to preventing bone loss from osteoporosis, a disease that plagues thousands of older Americans, says Dr. Neal Barnard, Physicians Committee president.

“That obscures the fact that loss of bone is typically caused by excessive calcium loss, rather than inadequate calcium intake,” Barnard says. “Although milk does supply calcium, because it also is a concentrated source of protein - as is meat - it actually can accelerate calcium demineralization from bone tissue.

“Calcium intake during childhood and early adulthood influences peak bone mass, but that bone mass deteriorates later in life if the calcium losses are not controlled,” he says.

In areas such as rural China, where calcium intake is relatively low but diets are plant-based and also low in protein, there is less osteoporosis than in countries with high calcium intake where diets are based on animal products, he says.

“That’s partially correct in principle, but it’s wrong in application,” counters Dr. Robert Heaney, professor of medicine at Creighton University.

True, the amount of calcium loss is at least as important as calcium intake. And protein does contribute to calcium loss. But it is a matter of balance, he says; we need both calcium and protein.

“Looking at the RDAs (recommended dietary allowances), the ratio is 16 milligrams of calcium for every gram of protein,” Heaney says. “Now, the ratio in milk is 36 milligrams of calcium per gram of protein, more than twice the RDA. So the surplus of calcium overcomes the smaller effects of protein.”

The latest government statistics show that the calcium/protein intake ratio for the average American is only 9 to 1, so there is a long way to go to meet the RDA, he says.

And in rural China and other countries where both calcium and protein intake is low, Heaney says, the relationship between calcium intake and osteoporosis is the same as it is in more industrialized societies.

“The people with the lowest calcium intake have the most osteoporosis,” he says, despite the fact that both calcium and protein are low.

Milk continues to be a prime source of calcium, especially in the American diet, Heaney says. If you don’t drink milk, you have to get calcium from somewhere else.

And not all calcium in foods is available to go to work in the body. Much depends on the source and other factors.

Calcium researcher Connie Weaver, the head of Purdue University’s department of food and nutrition, has calculated the “available” calcium in several highyield foods. That’s the amount of calcium that actually goes to work when you eat it.

To get the amount of calcium available in an 8-ounce glass of milk, she determined, you need to eat 5 (-cup) servings of broccoli, 13 servings of beans, 2.3 servings of bok choy or 3.5 servings of kale - not exactly typical or convenient daily fare for Americans. You need only about cup of tofu, but, then, tofu has 20 percent more protein than milk.

Maybe the reason to drink your skim milk isn’t to be hip, like Christie and Naomi. Maybe it’s just to stay healthy and keep your hips from cracking.