Exploring the Health Effects, Conflicting Research and Controversies Surrounding Milk

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Milk, is one of the daily necessities in humans, at least we feed our infants with breast milk, and so many of us cannot do without having it on a daily basis but there have been a lot of controversies in recent times over milk. Some people see it as a nutritious food for the body, but there is another school of research or thought that says that milk is a major cause of cancer and early death. These controversies led me to do a little read-up on milk and why we have people having different views on the whitish milky drink called Milk.

Before we start to crucify milk after hearing the word cancer, let's start with the simple truth that milk is the basis of all mammal's diets after they are born. The mammary gland begins to produce milk which would serve as food for the newborn since its digestive system is not mature. So it is the food that is necessary for the growth of body parts and immunity. Doctors advise that newborn mothers feed their babies for six months with breast milk exclusively. Milk is rich in vitamins, fats, minerals, lactose, antibodies, and proteins (from breast milk) which would help keep the body from infection and for regulation of the immune system.


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Basically, all mammals after a while will transition to their adult foods and this is the same with humans. But we have been able to get milk out of dairy animals and have utilized the enzyme lactase in our body to break down lactose in milk so it can be digested and serve as nourishment to the body. You see, so why will something that we drink as children start to become a matter of concern.

In my findings, I realize that as we grow, we start to lose the β-galactosidase enzyme called lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) enzymes thereby causing a lot of problems with milk. I am sure you must have heard of the word lactose intolerance but it would surprise you to know that about 68 percent of the world's population cannot absorb lactose, making them lactose intolerant. For a lot of people, lactose intolerance can be genetic, but then what is the negative light that milk has seen in recent times.


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From causing weak and brittle bones to cancer, allergies, and the ability to cause cardiovascular diseases, the list of the detrimental effect of milk is long, where some research showed that milk had associations with breast, colon, and prostate cancer but meta-analysis didn't prove this as research then showed that the calcium in milk could prevent against developing colon cancer but this doesn't mean that milk had been cleared because some studies from scientist showed that people who took more than 1.25 liters of milk have increased risk of having prostate cancer but then, other studies came to the rescue of our dear milk as they do not find any connection or effect with milk and prostate cancer. Some research also showed that drinking around 250 milliliters of milk daily would send cancer far away, and with meta-analysis, milk is not related to the increased cause of cancer.

When it comes to bones, the researches still vary with no concrete proof that in adult, milk can cause brittle bones, or make bones stronger but then, but more research are being done. The concern of a lot of people when it comes to milk are hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics, but the hormones in milk are very small and they are destroyed by the digestive system. There are regulations to also ensure that both pesticides and antibiotics especially are at the least percentage making it harmless before they can be allowed to leave for sale on shelves.

There has been a lot of back and forth when it comes to the research on milk and its effects on our health but for now, what we can hold as a concrete negative effect would be allergies to milk, and intolerance which could lead to discomfort and after taking dairy products and acne. In general, milk is good and it helps to get a lot of nutrients, especially in children and vegetarians where the milk provides the essential vitamins needed.

When we talk about milk, let's not forget that we have plant-based milk but then, I am well familiar with Soy milk, and it is still the only milk that can contend with cow milk as at currently. We could say that in all this, we can say that there isn't concrete evidence to show that milk can lead to an increased rate of cancer, weak bones, or mortality.

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As you imply, I guess it depends on who's milk and when. If it's your mother's milk when you're 2, that's fine. But if it's cow's milk when you're 20, maybe you're in the majority of the world who stops producing the lactase enzyme and so you can't break down lactose. I think a drink that more than half of humans can't really absorb shouldn't exactly be considered healthy.

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