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Whoopsie. Fact: The only two reasons bones ever, EVER become stronger is 1) bones are equal to the strength of the muscle attached to them therefore, to make your bones stronger you must first make your muscles stronger, period. 2) bone fractures or breaks will be stronger after the bone heals.
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- Consuming Dairy Doesn’t Make Sense From an Evolutionary Perspective
- A Quick Primer on Osteoporosis
- The Myth That Protein Reduces Bone Health
- Studies Show Mixed Results
- High-Quality Studies Show That Dairy Is Effective
- The Bottom Line
The idea that adult humans “need” dairy in their diet doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Human beings are the only animal that consumes dairy after weaning and consumes the milk of another species.
Before animals were domesticated, milk was likely a rare delicacy only reserved for infants. Yet, it’s unclear to what extent hunter-gatherers sought out the milk of wild animals.
Given that milk intake was probably rare among adults during most of human evolution, it’s safe to assume that humans were getting all the calcium they needed from other dietary sources (1).
However, even though dairy isn’t necessary in the human diet, that doesn’t mean it can’t be beneficial. This especially applies to people who do not get much calcium from other dietary sources.
Summary
Osteoporosis is a progressive disease in which bones deteriorate, losing mass and minerals over time.
The name is very descriptive of the nature of the disease: osteoporosis = porous bones.
It has many different causes and factors that are completely unrelated to nutrition, such as exercise and hormones (2, 3).
Osteoporosis is much more common in women than in men, especially after menopause. It significantly increases the risk of bone fractures, which can have a very negative effect on quality of life.
Despite all the calcium that dairy contains, some believe that its high protein content can cause osteoporosis.
The reason is that when protein is digested, it increases the acidity of the blood. The body then pulls calcium from the blood to neutralize the acid.
This is the theoretical basis for the acid-alkaline diet, which is based on choosing foods that have a net alkaline effect and avoiding foods that are “acid forming.”
However, there really isn’t much scientific support for this theory.
If anything, the high protein content of dairy is a good thing. Studies consistently show that eating more protein leads to improved bone health (4, 5, 6, 7).
Not only is dairy rich in protein and calcium, it’s also loaded with phosphorus. Full-fat dairy from grass-fed cows also contains some vitamin K2.
A few observational studies show that increased dairy intake has no effects on bone health or may even be harmful (10, 11).
However, the majority of studies show a clear association between high dairy intake and a reduced risk of osteoporosis (12, 13, 14).
The truth is that observational studies often provide a mixed bag of results. They are designed to detect associations, but can’t prove cause and effect.
Luckily, randomized controlled trials (real scientific experiments) can give us a clearer answer, as explained in the next chapter.
Summary
Some observational studies show that dairy intake is linked to a detrimental effect on bone health. However, even more observational studies show beneficial effects.
The only way to determine cause and effect in nutrition is to conduct a randomized controlled trial.
This type of study is the “gold standard” of science.
It involves separating people into different groups. One group receives an intervention (in this case, eats more dairy), while the other group does nothing and continues to eat normally.
Many such studies have examined the effects of dairy and calcium on bone health. Most of them lead to the same conclusion — dairy or calcium supplements are effective.
•Childhood: Dairy and calcium lead to increased bone growth (15, 16, 17).
•Adulthood: Dairy decreases the rate of bone loss and leads to improved bone density (18, 19, 20).
Bone health is complex, and there are many lifestyle-related factors at play.
Dietary calcium is one of the most important. To improve or maintain your bone health, you need to get adequate amounts of calcium from your diet.
In the modern diet, dairy provides a large percentage of people’s calcium requirements.
While there are many other calcium-rich foods to choose from, dairy is one of the best sources you can find.
Jan 25, 2019 · Women older than 50 and men older than 70 need 1,200 mg. (For comparison, a cup of milk has 250 mg to 350 mg of calcium, depending on the brand and whether it's whole, low-fat, or nonfat. A typical serving of yogurt has about 187 mg of calcium.) Milk is also fortified with vitamin D, which bones need to maintain bone mass.
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Jan 14, 2021 · Milk and dairy consumption is associated with reduced risk of some chronic diseases and had a beneficial effect on bone mineral density, but not risk of bone fracture. Milk consumption has some ...
Apr 9, 2019 · Milk contains calcium. Calcium is known to improve bone mineral density. But demonstrating a definitive link between the consumption of milk and the possession of strong bones is harder than it ...
Aug 17, 2018 · Another common misunderstanding is that 2-percent milk means that 2 percent of the calories are from fat. Really, it means that 2 percent of the weight is from fat. In 2-percent milk, 35 percent of the calories are from fat, Gardner noted. “Whole milk has close to 50 percent of its calories as fat, and 1-percent milk has about 20 percent ...
The beneficial effects of calcium and dairy products on bone mineral mass during growth in children are supported by meta-analyses of numerous clinical studies on milk-derived calcium phosphate supplementation and increased dietary dairy products, with a statistically and clinically higher gain of bone mineral content in those with low basal calcium intake [41, 42].
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