Does milk make you sick?

The great nutritional myths put to the test

Created: 07/26/2022, 12:00 p.m

By: Sarah Neumeyer

How healthy or unhealthy is milk?

The most important myths in the check.

©Oliver Berg/dpa

Is milk part of a healthy diet or does it make you sick?

We name facts and prejudices about the controversial food.

Frankfurt – When it comes to few foods, opinions differ as much as they do with milk.

After the food was long considered an important part of the diet, the positive image has gradually deteriorated.

Milk makes you sick, could increase the risk of cancer and is bad for animals and the environment.

Reports of negative effects from milk are piling up.

More and more people in Germany are switching to plant-based alternatives.

But what is the point of the criticism?

Does milk really make you sick or is the food healthy after all?

Healthy diet: Recommendation for milk and milk products

Whether in muesli, coffee or baked goods, for many people milk is still part of their daily diet.

The per capita consumption of milk has fallen in recent years, but in 2019 it was still almost one liter per week.

However, per capita consumption fell by 3.9 percent in 2019 and thus to less than 50 kilograms per year for the first time, according to figures from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Every German consumed a total of 49.5 kilograms of milk in 2019.

There are also other dairy products such as butter, cheese and skimmed milk powder.

Milk consumption in Germany is therefore below the recommendation of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE).

This recommends about 250 milliliters of milk, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk and 50 to 60 g of cheese (corresponding to 1 - 2 slices) per day.

Scientists from Harvard University recommend limiting the consumption of milk and dairy products to one or two servings per day.

Nutritional myths put to the test: how healthy is milk?

"Milk makes you strong", this statement is often included in advertisements for milk.

But is that so?

"24garten.de" also dealt with the question of whether cow's milk is really healthy for the body*.

Milk contains calcium, the main component of our bones.

It is therefore reasonable to assume that milk consumption strengthens our bones and is therefore healthy.

But that's not entirely true.

The body needs vitamin D so that the calcium can flow into bone formation.

Milk has health benefits for growing children, emphasizes the scientist and "mailab" presenter Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim.

However, there are also studies that suggest that milk increases the risk of fractures.

A study from Sweden concludes that women who drank three or more glasses of milk a day could be at increased risk of osteoporotic fractures in old age.

In addition, an increased risk of death in old age was found in men and women, reports aerzteblatt.de.

The author of the study, Karl Michaëlsson, agrees that this does not yet prove that milk has a harmful effect.

Other studies see no connection between milk consumption and the risk of osteoporosis, and mailab moderator Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim also points out that there is no scientific evidence that milk is the cause of an increased risk of osteoporosis.

Does milk make you sick?

Increased risk of cancer in only one type of cancer

Milk is also repeatedly associated with an increased risk of cancer.

A clear connection between the consumption of a single food and an increased risk of cancer is difficult to prove.

The Max Rubner Institute (MRI) has evaluated numerous studies and came to the conclusion that there is only evidence of a connection for one type of cancer

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According to the study evaluation by the MRI, it is "possible" that the consumption of milk and dairy products increases the risk of prostate cancer, and increased calcium intake "probably" also increases the risk of prostate cancer, according to the MRI.

According to Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, correlations proven in studies are only of limited significance.

"But if you suspect cancer, you should take possible risk factors seriously," says the "mailab" moderator.

The risk of colon cancer is probably even reduced by increased milk consumption.

According to the Max Ruber Institute, there is no evidence of an increased risk for breast cancer or any other type of cancer. 

Is milk healthy or unhealthy?

Positive association with type 2 diabetes

For other diseases, too, there is more evidence of a positive connection to the consumption of milk and milk products.

Current findings suggest that the daily consumption of a portion of fermented milk products such as yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, writes the German Society for Nutrition.

This is also confirmed by the analysis of the MRI.

The scientists at the MRI also see a positive effect of milk on cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure.

However, not everyone tolerates milk equally well.

Anyone suffering from abdominal pain, flatulence or diarrhea after drinking milk should be tested for lactose intolerance.

The reason for the health problems is a missing enzyme in the human body that breaks down lactose.

According to Öko-Test, about every fifth German suffers from lactose intolerance.

For good skin, you should only consume a small amount of milk and dairy products.

(Sarah Neumeyer)