The Typical Staple Food for Most Households
Most people grow up drinking milk every day from childhood and continue having milk in their diet throughout their life. This is because it has been broadly believed that milk is high in nutrition and is the best source of protein and calcium.
What Is Pasteurised Milk?
Pasteurisation is the process of heating the milk in order to kill pathogenic microbes and reduce microbial numbers to extend the shelf life and prevent it from going bad and turning sour too soon.
The usual kinds of pasteurised milk you can find in any grocery stores are full-cream milk, low fat milk, skim milk, flavoured milk, ultra high temperature (UHT) treated milk capable to be kept outside the refrigerator for very long periods.
Health Problems Caused by Milk Consumption
Even though milk is still widely viewed as the second best beverage after water, the evidence of health problems caused by consumption of milk and dairy products is increasing. Lactose intolerance is one obvious case of these health issues.
Lactose intolerance occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough enzyme lactase that is required to break down lactose, a type of sugar found in milk and dairy products. If a person without sufficient lactase consumes milk or other dairy products, they can suffer from digestive issues, stomach aches and diarrhoea.
There are strong arguments that milk is not biological requirement for humans and consumption of milk and dairy products will do more harm than good for your body. Milk consumption can create digestive problems, obesity, heart disease, cancer and other health issues.
A Study That Will Change Your Mind from Drinking Pasteurised Milk
The City University of New York observed in a study that pasteurised milk increases the risk of death and bone fractures. Their study showcased that women who drank more milk showed a higher death rate from cardiovascular and are at higher risk of cancer when compared to women who drank less milk or didn’t drink milk at all. Moreover, to the contrary of the mainstream belief, three glasses of milk or more daily increased the risk of bone and hip fractures in women.
The similar results were found among men, as male milk drinkers showed higher risk of death and heart disease. However, the percentage was lower than what was found in women and risk of bone and hip fractures in men were not altered by milk consumption.
What Are The Alternatives?
The same study pointed out an interesting finding that, while drinking milk posted some serious health threats, consuming fermented milk, yoghurt, and cheese creating an opposite effect to your health.
Women who consumed 60 grams or more of cheese per day showing a lower rate of mortality from cardiovascular and cancer as well as lower risk of bone and hip fractures. Similar results were found among men, however the change in the mortality rate from cancer was insignificant. The study also mentioned that consuming yoghurt and fermented (cultured) milk showed some great benefits for your health too.
For those who are lactose intolerant or concerned about the negative effects of milk to your body, there are other sources of calcium that you can consider adding into your diet to substitute for milk. For excellent and healthier calcium-rich foods, you can opt for hard cheese, yoghurt, fish with edible bones, almonds and brazil nuts, dark green vegetables such as bok choy and spinach.
For useful advices on health, diet and nutrition, please contact Learning Discoveries on (02) 9637 9998 during business hours.
