The Benefits And Harms Of Milk, As Well As Lactose Intolerance

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

The benefits and harms of milk

Content:

• Milk harm
• The benefits of milk
• Milk intolerance (lactose)

The benefits and harms of milk are of interest to a large number of people who monitor their health. Conflicting data do not allow us to accurately establish whether there is a need for milk consumption for an adult.

Milk harm

We are told from childhood that we need to drink more milk in order to grow up to be a healthy and strong person. However, the statistics say about completely different indicators. Modern doctors have found that in the United States and in some European countries where milk consumption is higher than normal, hip fracture is diagnosed more often, which is the main symptom of osteoporosis. In most cases, osteoporosis develops in women during menopause. Previously, it was believed that this disease is caused by a lack of calcium in the body.

But today it has been proven that milk breaks down bones, despite the fact that it is rich in calcium. Statistically speaking, eating animal protein causes fractures. Unlike vegetable protein, animal protein acidifies the human body very strongly. This means that tissues and blood acquire increased acidity, which the human body does not like at all and it begins to resist.

Our body uses its own calcium from bones to neutralize acid. These colossal calcium losses significantly increase the risk of fractures and fractures, weakening bones. The fact that animal protein negatively affects the indicators of calcium in the body, doctors started talking at the beginning of the twentieth century. Already at that time it was known about a significant increase in acidity, while the calcium content in the urine also increases. Such patterns of consumption of dairy products have been carefully studied since the late seventies of the last century.

If you double the daily intake of animal protein by 2 times, then the increase in the excreted calcium in the urine reaches more than 50%. The famous Atkins Center sponsored a six-month study, where it was shown in the course of work that all people on a protein diet excreted much more calcium in their urine after six months. The results of the earliest studies are impressive, the relationship between fracture statistics and milk consumption is clear.

In 2000, published the results of research work carried out at the University of California San Francisco in the Department of Medicine. Exactly 27 statistical questionnaires from 34 countries were used. The main criterion is a certain ratio of bone problems with plant and animal proteins. With the predominance of vegetable protein in the human menu, the absence of various fractures is observed. These studies look pretty convincing.

The reports of these unique individual studies have been published in the most renowned scientific research publications, showing how significant the link between animal protein and the fragility of human bones is. Recently, a group of modern researchers at the University of California published a new paper. The focus was on 1000 women over 65. In this case, the required data from many participating countries were compared, considering only the ratio of the consumed plant and animal protein.

The observations were carried out for about 7 years. It was found that women who consumed more animal protein had about 3.7 times more bone fractures than those who had a diet high in plant protein. Manifestations of bone loss are found 4 times more often in those who drank milk compared to those who drink vegetable protein.

The results of such an experiment provide a clear comparison of the progression of osteoporosis and fracture statistics in all the women studied. Exceeding the indicator by 3.7 times is incredibly important from the point of view of the need to consume milk.

However, there is evidence that there is no risk of developing bone problems when consuming small amounts of animal protein, for example, no more than 10%. Research has also been carried out in China's sparsely populated rural areas. There, the ratio of animal protein to vegetable protein does not exceed these 10%. At the same time, the rate of bone fractures is 5 times lower than in the group of women studied in the United States. In Nigeria, this percentage is even lower, and the statistics on common hip fractures has been reduced by 99%.

Such observations invite every sane person to think about the question of the harm of milk to the body of an adult. Indeed, it has been absolutely proven that various dairy products do not protect our bones, but destroy them step by step.

The benefits of milk

But does milk have absolutely no benefit for people? First you need to understand the composition of this product. Milk can be called an emulsion from a biochemical point of view. It contains incredibly small droplets of fat, whey and casein. The fat phase of milk is rich in vitamins A, D, and vitamins E and K are also dissolved in it. It should be mentioned that they are present in much smaller quantities in skim milk. Dissolved vitamin B12 gives the whey an unusual bluish-greenish color.

Milk sugar - lactose accounts for about 5-6% of the total weight of milk. When lactose breaks down in the human gastrointestinal tract, galactose and glucose are formed. This should be taken into account by all diabetics.

It is known that one glass of milk can cover about a third of the daily requirement of an average adult for vitamin B2, as well as half of the norm and vitamin B12. In addition, a quarter of the daily requirement for calcium and essential vitamin D is covered. Milk also contains a lot of magnesium, potassium and selenium.

Milk is rich not only in minerals and vitamins. Conjugated linolenic acid CLA, a biologically active substance contained in whole milk, helps to strengthen the immune system, prevents the development of atherosclerosis, reduces the risk of obesity and the development of certain types of cancer. Another component does not give type II diabetes - the important trans-palmitolenic acid. According to some research data, regular consumption of whole fat milk significantly accelerates muscle growth.

For a long time in the East, milk was the best way to quickly calm the nervous system. In those days, doctors recommended drinking milk in the morning to get rid of drowsiness and activate the brain. The Indian Vedas believed that this drink must be consumed in order for a person to become more rational and acquire the correct vision of evil and good.

In addition, milk has a very beneficial effect on the stomach lining. It is considered a very effective remedy for excruciating heartburn because it reduces the acidity in the stomach. The benefits of whole milk in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases are also great, since it contains potassium.

It perfectly strengthens heart function, and most importantly, prevents strokes and heart attacks, reducing the risk by 37%. It is potassium that maintains the elasticity of blood vessels, lowers blood pressure. In small quantities, milk is recommended to be drunk daily for hypertensive patients.

It is no coincidence that milk is attributed to the property of reducing human body weight. Research was conducted in Canada for 15 weeks. The group of persons drinking a glass of milk per day reduced their weight by an average of 4 kg more than those who were on a similar diet and did not drink milk. The authors of this experiment believe that when calcium deficiency is detected, the brain increases cravings for dairy products, which is why there is no rapid weight loss.

The phosphorus in this drink is extremely important for the well-coordinated work of the entire nervous system. It should be noted that both phosphorus and other trace elements are preserved during sterilization and pasteurization of milk, while the quality and taste of the product does not change. Do not forget that in the reconstituted milk from powders, trace elements and vitamins in their natural form are practically absent. It should also be remembered that fat content of more than 3.6% reduces the benefits of milk, provoking an increase in blood cholesterol.

Milk intolerance (lactose)

If a person is lactose intolerant, milk can cause irreparable harm to health. Under these conditions, milk provokes bloating, cramps, flatulence, vomiting, and even diarrhea. With a lack of the enzyme lactase, the human body is unable to digest this product. It is also not recommended to consume milk for those people who have problems with the intestines and stomach.

The main reason for this dangerous lactose intolerance is considered a certain deficiency of the enzyme lactase. This enzyme must be produced in the small intestine in humans. With the use of very modest amounts of various dairy products, the main symptoms of this deficiency may practically not appear or be very mild.

Instead of giving up the daily intake of milk, for a start, experts recommend doing an analysis and determining the level of lactose in the body of a particular patient. Such analyzes will help you choose the right dairy products. You can eat lactose-free dairy products that have the same nutritional value as whole milk.

Since lactose is a carbohydrate in milk, it is considered a disaccharide for its chemical structure. It is lactose that helps calcium and other minerals to be absorbed in the human intestine. In addition, it is lactose that is used in food production to improve the taste of many popular food products. The modern pharmaceutical industry also uses lactose as an excipient.

The enzyme lactase easily breaks down lactose into its simplest sugars, which is necessary for its absorption. In this case, the direct deficiency of lactase can be both primary and secondary.

In most newborns, lactase is always produced in sufficient quantities. With age, in some people, this essential enzyme may disappear partially or completely. Statistics show that this happens in 70% of the total population. This process is called primary.

Hypolactasia is caused by a lack of the enzyme lactase. The symptoms of this condition are abdominal pain and inevitable bloating. Typically, these symptoms often occur when lactase activity is reduced to 50% of the typical level that is considered normal for infants. In many adults, about 10% of lactase activity is quite enough for the complete breakdown of lactose so as not to cause unpleasant symptoms of intolerance.

Congenital lactose intolerance is a very rare form of complete absence of the lactase enzyme. In this case, this enzyme is not produced at all in the human body. In newborns, this leads to severe diarrhea, even from the mother's breast milk.

Secondary lactose deficiency is caused by external factors that negatively affect the villi, damaging them. The cells that make lactose are instantly destroyed.

Often, such pathologies provoke various inflammations of the small intestine and serious intestinal cancer. When such an influencing factor on the intestinal villi disappears, they are restored on their own, while the ability of epithelial cells to produce the important enzyme lactase is also normalized.

The inevitable symptoms of lactose intolerance are always caused by certain conditions of lack of the enzyme lactase, when all or its predominant part in the digestive tract is not broken down. Under the influence of osmosis, undigested lactose attracts water, which provokes an increase in the water content in the intestine. The volume of intestinal contents also increases. An increase in peristalsis is observed, digestion in the intestine is faster than usual.

Further, as the speed of movement of the existing intestinal contents in humans increases, the digestibility and breakdown of lactose are always weakened. The colon receives water and undigested lactose. It is as a result of an inevitable fermentation process in the intestine that gases and acids, fatty acids with a typically short carbon chain, are formed. The acidity of the medium in the colon increases due to acetic and lactic acid. Fecal liquefaction is diagnosed, leading to unpleasant diarrhea.

Bloating is caused by generated gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In this case, the intestines are significantly stretched, and the person feels pain. It should be noted that in addition to the main symptoms, the patient may complain of other individual manifestations of milk intolerance. It should be mentioned that even in one particular person, the symptoms can change, depending on the diet, psychological and physiological factors.

In extremely rare cases, complete elimination of lactose from the daily diet sometimes does not significantly reduce the main symptoms of intolerance. Against their background, in this case, such reasons as a combination of insignificant symptoms characteristic of irritation of the intestinal walls appear.