Milking the Data

Dairy fairy tales and the truth about milk’s benefits – and risks.

Eat that yogurt, lose that weight? Not so fast…
For years the dairy industry touted studies presumably showing that the more dairy you eat, the more weight you lose. Did these ads and the “research” they quote tell the whole story? In a word, no. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection saw to it that the ad campaign went the way of the dodo bird, at least “until further researcher provides stronger, more conclusive evidence of an assosiation between dairy consumption and weight loss.”

But despite the fact that the ads were pulled off the air, the idea that milk promotes weight loss remains in our minds. So let’s take a look at the research that formed the basis for the claims. Most of it was done by one researcher, Michael Zemel, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and medicine at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and sponsored by the dairy industry. Although the headlines frequently proclaimed a link between dairy and weight loss in the studies, the fine print told a different story. One study, for example, found that those eating three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt did indeed lose a bit more weight, but what was lost in translation was the fact that those who lost weight were low in calcium to begin with (and therefor likely to benefit from added calcium) and were eating a reduced-calorie diet (500 calories a day less than usual).

Another often repeated news story announced, “Calcium and Vitamin D Linked to Weight.” But the details revealed that although postmenopausal women who take calcium and vitamin D supplements may gain slightly less weight that women who don’t, the effect was – get ready- .28 (that’s decimal point 28) pounds less over the course of seven years. Do the math: that’s anout 1/25 of a pound – slightly more than half an ounce – of weight annually.

What is true, points out Walter C. Willet, M.D., Dr.P.H., chairman of the department of nutrition at Boston’s Harvard School of Public Health, is that a diet high in dairy and calcium has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer. Milk has also been linked to acne, and there is a possible connection to ovarian cancer.

Bottom line: By all means, get your calcium, from a variety of sources including sardines, green leafy vegetables and seeds. Just don’t think for a minute that drinking or eating dairy products is going to help you lose weight.

Of Milk and Men
The Prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study confirming milk’s ineffectiveness as a weight-loss food. According to lead author Swapnil Rajpathak, M.D., Dr.PH., “Men who increased their dairy/calcium intake did not lose more weight. In fact, they gained slightly more weight in the 12-year period.” Still, we do need calcium-particularly in combination with other, often neglected bone-building nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin D, boron and vitamin K. Fifteen minutes of sunlight a day on bare skin should help keep vitamin D levels up. Boron is found in almonds, avocados, and peanut butter; magnesium is in dark leafy greens, legumes, tofu, peanuts and unpeeled potatoes. Vitamin K is in Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage.

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