Studies have also found a link between milk intake and heart disease, due to milk’s saturated fat content. It’s very unlikely that humans are a thousand times more sensitive to oestrogen levels in milk than mice, says the study’s author, Gregor Majdic, a researcher at the University of Ljubljana's Center for Animal Genomics in Slovenia. Researchers found that oestrogen levels only start to affect mice’s reproductive systems when supplemented with 100 times the levels found in cow’s milk, and researchers only detected an increase in oestrogen levels in female mice and a decrease in testosterone levels in male mice after the dosage reached 1,000 times normal levels. But when it comes to adults, research as to whether cow’s milk helps to keep our bones healthy is conflicting.Ī more recent review of studies looking into whether the amount of oestrogen consumed via milk is harmful found no cause for concern. The UK’s National Health Service recommends children between the age of one and three consume 350 milligrams of calcium a day, which just over half a pint of milk would provide, for healthy bone development. It also contains magnesium, which is important for bone development and muscle function, and whey and casein, which have been found to play a role in lowering blood pressure. What if the world suddenly went vegetarian?Ĭow’s milk is a good source of protein and calcium, as well as nutrients including vitamin B12 and iodine.We don't need nearly as much protein as we consume.(Read more about which humans evolved to drink milk, and why).īut are there any health benefits to ditching cow’s milk for an alternative drink, or does cow’s milk provide us with vital nutrients we can’t get elsewhere? And does milk actually aggravate most people’s lactose intolerance? Even those who can digest it might wish to reduce their milk intake because of other concerns, such as our health and the environmental costs of animal agriculture, which has been driving the growth of dairy-free alternatives to cow’s milk. Among people of European descent in the US, only around 9% are lactose intolerant. Most people, then, become lactose intolerant, making milk-drinking Europeans, along with some African, Middle Eastern and Southern Asian populations, the exception rather than the rule. The rest cut back their production after the weaning phase of infancy. As a result, around 30% of the world’s population continue to produce lactase, the enzyme required to be able to digest lactose, into adulthood. People living in parts of the world where cows were domesticated – starting in south-west Asia and spreading into Europe – only evolved to digest lactose around 10,000 years ago. Most other animals are weaned off milk in infancy, once we start to need more complex foods. As the only animal to drink the milk of another species, humans have an unusual relationship with the white stuff.
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