Health & Medicine
Milk Intake May Actually Increase The Risk Of Bone Fractures
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Oct 29, 2014 11:55 AM EDT
Milk is oftentimes an essential ingredient in many dishes or even a favorite drink for numerous Americans and Europeans, alike. Yet health officials are uncertain just how healthy milk is for you.
While previous studies have shown that drinking milk and consuming dairy products can help build strong bones, recent findings also show that it could be linked to higher levels of oxidative stress that are connected to increased risk of fractures and even death, in more severe cases.
As it stands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that adults get the equivalent of 3 cups of milk a day. However, study findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that this was not always a good option for some individuals.
For the study, researchers analyzed information from two large groups of men and women who filled out food frequency questionnaires about 96 common food items, including milk, cheese and yogurt. Height, weight and other lifestyle data was also collected for the study, including such factors as marital status and education level. To keep track of fracture rates and deaths, national registers were also analyzed.
Over a 20-year-period, researchers tracked 61,433 women. They found that 17,252 experienced at least one fracture (4,259 of the cases were hip fractures) and 15,541 died. For this group, there was no reduction in risks for fractures when higher milk consumption was involved. Furthermore, those who drank more than three glasses a day were at increased risk of health problems.
The study was only carried out for 11 years for male participants. Researchers also found that 5,066 of them had fractures (1,166 hip fractures) and 5,066 of the 45,339 men died. Just like the women, the men also had a higher risk of dying when drinking more milk.
"That compound might induce oxidative stress andlow-grade inflammation, and that type of inflammation can affect mortality and fractures," Michaelsson said, via Live Science. "The funny thing is that if you provide galactose to experimental animals, they will die faster by induction of oxidative stress and inflammation."
The study questions the validity of current milk recommendations. However, researchers also add that further studies are needed to confirm the validity of the results.
"The results should, however, be interpreted cautiously given the observational design of our study," researchers concluded. "The findings merit independent replication before they can be used for dietary recommendations."
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Oct 29, 2014 11:55 AM EDT
Milk is oftentimes an essential ingredient in many dishes or even a favorite drink for numerous Americans and Europeans, alike. Yet health officials are uncertain just how healthy milk is for you.
While previous studies have shown that drinking milk and consuming dairy products can help build strong bones, recent findings also show that it could be linked to higher levels of oxidative stress that are connected to increased risk of fractures and even death, in more severe cases.
As it stands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that adults get the equivalent of 3 cups of milk a day. However, study findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that this was not always a good option for some individuals.
For the study, researchers analyzed information from two large groups of men and women who filled out food frequency questionnaires about 96 common food items, including milk, cheese and yogurt. Height, weight and other lifestyle data was also collected for the study, including such factors as marital status and education level. To keep track of fracture rates and deaths, national registers were also analyzed.
Over a 20-year-period, researchers tracked 61,433 women. They found that 17,252 experienced at least one fracture (4,259 of the cases were hip fractures) and 15,541 died. For this group, there was no reduction in risks for fractures when higher milk consumption was involved. Furthermore, those who drank more than three glasses a day were at increased risk of health problems.
The study was only carried out for 11 years for male participants. Researchers also found that 5,066 of them had fractures (1,166 hip fractures) and 5,066 of the 45,339 men died. Just like the women, the men also had a higher risk of dying when drinking more milk.
"That compound might induce oxidative stress andlow-grade inflammation, and that type of inflammation can affect mortality and fractures," Michaelsson said, via Live Science. "The funny thing is that if you provide galactose to experimental animals, they will die faster by induction of oxidative stress and inflammation."
The study questions the validity of current milk recommendations. However, researchers also add that further studies are needed to confirm the validity of the results.
"The results should, however, be interpreted cautiously given the observational design of our study," researchers concluded. "The findings merit independent replication before they can be used for dietary recommendations."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone