Thread: Is Milk, Good For You.

I've heard many people say that milk is great for you and that it helps build your strength and keeps your bones strong. On the other side, I've heard lots say that milk is terrible for you and has negative effects on your body. What's the truth?

Doubtful if there is an end-all, be-all truth you're looking for. I'm sure this changes according to whomever you speak to, whenever you speak about it. Take a look at eggs for example: for about the last 10 years or so, studies on eggs have shown eggs to be alternately, great for you/bad for you/okay for you. I've seen 'pro' egg ads that tell you about an egg farmer who's eaten eggs every day for the last umpteen years and I've read about eggs being a health hazard for people with certain medical issues.

Sorry for the egg tangent but the point is it's difficult to get a final word about these sorts of things by itself, even more so when you factor in other things in life. To give you a personal example I like milk and believe it's good for me, drink litres of it every week. The missus can't have dairy so she has no milk, cheese, ice cream etc. Despite this we work out reguarly (running 50-100kms a week) and are both relatively fit and healthy (at least according to the sawbones)....go figure ;)

Originally Posted by Emersonn

I've heard many people say that milk is great for you and that it helps build your strength and keeps your bones strong. On the other side, I've heard lots say that milk is terrible for you and has negative effects on your body. What's the truth?

stop with these lame posts!

milk is good for you. contains nutrients and minerals as well as high quality protein which most people these days are deprived of.

although mothers milk is different from a cows milk, cows milk still has great value to it. DRINKING MILK DOES NOT MAKE YOU UNHEALTHY. YOUR LIFESTYLE MAKES YOU HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY

Everything that is good for you is also bad for you in my opinion. The key is to take things in moderation. I've known plenty of people that have had health issues arise due to too much calcium intake and I've known a few to have health problems from not having enough calcium intake.

some people can't digect milk and milk products and so they have some problens with indigestion/intestines so they are advised to avoid milk, but if you aren't one of them then milk can't and will never hurt you..

though, if you're conscious about calories/weight, only buy the toned/double-tonned/skimmed milk.. it has all the calcium content but without the fat content and calories..

believe me, i'm 22 and still enjoy my Bournvita milk every morning, i love milk!!

Originally Posted by hybridx3

stop with these lame posts!

milk is good for you. contains nutrients and minerals as well as high quality protein which most people these days are deprived of.

although mothers milk is different from a cows milk, cows milk still has great value to it. DRINKING MILK DOES NOT MAKE YOU UNHEALTHY. YOUR LIFESTYLE MAKES YOU HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY

Lactose intolerance, also called lactase deficiency or hypolactasia, is the inability to digest and metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk. It is caused by a lack of lactase, the enzyme required to break down lactose in the digestive system, and results in symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea and acid reflux.
It is estimated that 75% of adults worldwide show some decrease in lactase activity during adulthood. The frequency of decreased lactase activity ranges from 5% in northern Europe through 71% for Sicily to more than 90% in some African and Asian countries.

Originally Posted by chokenstroke

Lactose intolerance, also called lactase deficiency or hypolactasia, is the inability to digest and metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk. It is caused by a lack of lactase, the enzyme required to break down lactose in the digestive system, and results in symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea and acid reflux.
It is estimated that 75% of adults worldwide show some decrease in lactase activity during adulthood. The frequency of decreased lactase activity ranges from 5% in northern Europe through 71% for Sicily to more than 90% in some African and Asian countries.

why was this a reply to my post? of course lactose intolerant people shouldn't be drinking milk everyone knows that. and nowhere in my post did i say they should. anyway, aside from that, i agree a lot with enigma's comment: everything in moderation such as eating balanced meals! include your correct amounts of protein, carbs and fats for each meal. also make sure to get your DV for minerals and nutrients!!

I'm sorry to say, but this is a very silly post...

Originally Posted by hybridx3

stop with these lame posts!

milk is good for you. contains nutrients and minerals as well as high quality protein which most people these days are deprived of.

although mothers milk is different from a cows milk, cows milk still has great value to it.

Mainly because Emersons consern is valid in many cases. And I think most people are educated enough to know that cow's milk and a human mothers milk are different.

Milk is healthy, yes.
BUT most people over the world are lactose sensitive (not intolerant, only sensitive). This means that most people will have stomache issues while drinking milk (though not eating butter - since it's fermented, and not eating chease - since it's been heated up and cooked and stored).

This means that milk is still good for you, but the lactose isn't, and that means you'll need to get a hold of lactose free milk.

I live in Sweden, and in Sweden we've been taking care of our milk for generations upon generations. We live in a cold place and thus; milk lasts long and we have a higher tolerance for the lactose in the milk. Here only 3-4% of the population is lactoseintolerant. While in a place like Africa, where it's hot and not ever place can get a hold of proper cooling equipment, more people are lactose intolerant and sensitive. There are whole continents where everyone in the population are lactose intolerant.

But people are not "deprived" of the nutriants or proteins that milk contains. Calcium is the main nutrition, and something no adult really need to get more of than we do from vegetables and other source of food.

Many good sources of calcium exist. These include seaweeds such as kelp, wakame and hijiki; nuts and seeds (like almonds and sesame); blackstrap molasses; beans; figs; quinoa; amaranth; collard greens; okra; rutabaga; broccoli; dandelion leaves; kale; and fortified products such as orange juice and soy milk. An overlooked source of calcium is eggshell, which can be ground into a powder and mixed into food or a glass of water

Whole cow's milk does not contain sufficient vitamin E, iron, or essential fatty acids (like a mothers milk), Whole cow's milk does contain excessive amounts of protein, sodium, and potassium.

Both these qoutes are from wikipedia.
and as you see you can get all the nutrients form milk, from other sources. All depending on what you eat or drink.
However, a growing child, will need to drink milk since their skeleton and body is still developing. The skeleton needs the extra calcium to build up and get strong.
But as soon as you're finished growing, you don't need to add the extra source of calcium. We get all the proteins and carbonhydrates that we need from everything else we eat, if we eat a varied diet. A diet with variation contains enough energy to make us healthy as long as we exercise as well. Otherwise it won't matter what we eat and drink, we'll get fat anyway.

Just eat your broccoli instead of throwing it away, and you'll get all the calcium you need.
Drink milk if you want, don't do it because other people say it's good or bad for you.
If you're worried about being lactose sensitive or intolerant; go to your doctor and ask them to do some check-up's, it's a easy test. You can also ask your doctor for help if you're worried about getting enough nutrients or not.
Don't go on a diet, it won't help in the long run.

Originally Posted by Irothz

I'm sorry to say, but this is a very silly post...
Mainly because Emersons consern is valid in many cases. And I think most people are educated enough to know that cow's milk and a human mothers milk are different.

how is my comment silly if you enforced what i said in your own post by saying is has good minerals and nutrients? and i totally disagree with you saying that emersons concern is valid ESPECIALLY if he said it has negative effects on the body and not explaining what kind. thats like saying i heard smoking marijuana is good for you because it kills cancer cells but i also heard it's bad.
and some people say drinking milk other than your mother's is unnatural and throws your hormones off which is why i said that it's not the same as your mother's but it's still healthy. of course i expected people to know mother's milk and cow's milk is different.

Originally Posted by Irothz

We get all the proteins and carbonhydrates that we need from everything else we eat, if we eat a varied diet.

Yeah, we know that. But milk has been valued as a great food because it has elevated levels of these things. Better punch in the pack dude.