Milk is not a magic bullet
A LEADING health charity has hit back at claims that milk plays an essential role in extending life – following the publication of a recent study. Researchers looked at the eating habits of children in the 1930s then followed up what had happened to them by 2005 – but the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation (VVF) has raised concerns about how the findings have been reported. The study found that those who ate the most calcium as children were less likely to have a stroke later in life and that those eating the most dairy or calcium had a lower number of overall deaths. Calcium is thought to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol so that may be partly why they benefited. Senior health campaigner for the VVF, Dr Justine Butler says: “However, what was not so widely publicised was that the children who ate the most dairy were also taller, their families spent more money on food, they ate more fruit, vegetables, calcium and protein. Their fathers also had better jobs, they were less likely to live in deprived areas or smoke as adults. All these factors could have contributed to their better health.” She adds: “The headlines may have pleased troubled dairy farmers, but lets not ignore the facts. There is a wealth of evidence linking cow’s milk and dairy products to a wide range of illnesses and diseases including some of the UK’s biggest killers such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers of the breast and prostate. Around 85 per cent of the world’s population (and 11 per cent of people in the UK) are lactose intolerant and get their calcium from plant foods; a much healthier and more natural source. This is important research but let’s understand it properly before we reach for the white stuff. “The healthiest option for heart health is a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in saturated fat and salt.” For more information on the detrimental health effects of cow’s milk and dairy products see the VVF’s scientific report White Lies available online or to buy for £5.00 inc p&p by calling 0117 970 5190 (9am-6m Mon-Fri).
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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