Anyone who was around in the mid-80s will likely remember the milk ads featuring kids drinking milk then the next scene shows the kids grown up looking slim and beautiful, ending with the tagline “Milk, It Does a Body Good”. Even if you weren't around at that time, you’ve probably heard someone use the tagline. I heard it a few days ago while listening to the podcast "The Doctor’s Farmacy" with Mark Hyman, M.D. He went on to say that milk is the perfect food, if you’re a calf.
The point of this is that we’ve been misled for years that cow's milk is the optimal source for calcium and bone health. Yes, calcium is crucial for strong bones and teeth. If we don’t get the calcium our body needs each day, the calcium will be taken from our bones and can result in weak bones that are easier to break and may lead to osteoporosis. However, too much calcium can lead to a build up and hardening of arteries which impacts your heart and can cause kidney stones. Women particularly are at risk for low calcium after menopause, but then may go overboard to avoid osteoporosis.
Our body does not produce its own calcium, so it’s up to us to make sure we get what is needed to stay healthy. It’s best to get the daily amount needed from food and only use a supplement as needed to achieve the recommended daily allowance. There is no extra benefit from taking more calcium than you need, as mentioned too much can lead to health risks.
The National Academy of Medicine recommends these daily amounts of calcium (total intake from food plus supplements):
- Ages 19 to 50: 1,000 milligrams daily, with an upper-level (safe) limit of 2,500 milligrams.
- Ages 51 to 70: 1,200 milligrams daily, with an upper limit of 2,000 milligrams daily.
Tips for getting enough calcium:
- Vary diet with dairy products, cheese, yogurt, and dark-green leafy vegetables are good sources of calcium (except spinach which is high in oxalate and inhibits absorption of calcium) .
- To determine the milligrams of calcium in packaged foods, look at the percent of the recommended daily intake of calcium per serving and then add a zero, or multiply by 10.
- Use calcium supplements only if food intake does not meet the recommended amount.
- Choose calcium citrate tablets which are absorbed best (600 milligrams at a time).
- Get at least 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily through sunshine or supplements to promote calcium absorption. Statistics show that many people are deficient in vitamin D.
To get more information on how to get calcium through food check out: www.healthyfood.com/resource/calcium-calculator/
So, does milk do a body good? I think the answer is . . perhaps in small amounts and paired with other foods rich in calcium.
By Angela Schaack, LCSW, CIMHP
Sources:
Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation: www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org
Cleveland Clinic: Can Drinking Too Much Milk Make Your Bones More Brittle?
/health.clevelandclinic.org/can-drinking-too-much-milk-make-your-bones-more-brittle/
National Academy of Medicine: https://www.nam.edu/
Dr. Mark Hyman: The Doctor’s Farmacy podcast: https://drhyman.com/blog/2020/12/28/podcast-hc37/