Milk Increases Mortality

A recently published study shows that consuming 3 or more glasses of milk per day almost doubles the death rate relative to drinking less than 1 glass of milk per day. This same study also reported greater bone fracture rates with increased milk consumption, just the opposite of what the dairy industry would have us believe.

Although this study tracked over 60,000 women for over 20 years, the authors state in their conclusion “a cautious interpretation of the results is recommended.” We certainly should be cautious when considering the elimination of something as pervasive in our western food supply as dairy products. So let's look at what other studies and experts are saying.

Research has shown that dairy consumption increases the following: death from all causes¹, heart disease^2,3, breast cancer^4,5, ovarian cancer^6,7, prostate cancer^8,9,10, type 1 diabetes^11,12,13, bone breakage¹, cataracts¹⁴, ear infections¹⁵, acne¹⁶, allergies¹⁷, constipation^17,18, multiple sclerosis^19,20, and Parkinson’s disease.^21,22 There are hundreds of other studies published in peer-reviewed journals that provide evidence that the consumption of dairy products causes these diseases and others and hastens our death.

But what about the purported health benefits we have been hearing about for decades from the dairy industry? Joe Keon, author of the definitive book on the health effects of dairy products, Whitewash²³, describes the law suits that have shut down many attempts by the dairy industry to claim health benefits for milk that have proven untrue. His article is “Milk: Is It the Elixir We’ve Been Sold?²⁴”

John McDougall responds to the recent study by reminding us of 10 harmful qualities of milk²⁵. He also wrote “When Friends Ask: Where Do You Get Your Calcium?²⁶” and has a short video clip “Milk… it does the body harm.²⁷”

Tom Campbell of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies comments on the recent study and in addition lists “12 Frightening Facts About Milk.²⁸”

Neal Barnard responds to the recent study with “More Milk, More Problems²⁹” and he or other staff of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine earlier posted a well-researched article entitled “Health Concerns about Dairy Products.^30”

Even the New York Times, which is not always a reliable source when it comes to nutrition science, comes through with a solid article by Aaron E. Carroll entitled “Got Milk? Might Not Be Doing You Much Good.³¹”

So with all this science and all this press, are we drinking less milk? Some would point to the USDA figures³² which show a 43% drop in milk consumption from 1975 to 2019 and believe we are making progress. But unfortunately, this decrease in liquid milk consumption is more than offset by our increased consumption of cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products such that during this same period, the US population has increased its consumption of total milk equivalent products by 21%. So we are worse off than we were 35 years ago.

Why is it so hard for us to give up dairy products, even in the face of compelling scientific information on the damage they do to us? One answer is the morphine content of milk³³ which makes it addictive. So for many of us, breaking the addiction to dairy products is not easy. But the rewards are great. I urge you to minimize many diseases and increase the length of your life by breaking the addiction and eliminating dairy products of all forms from your diet.

John Tanner 11-19-14 updated 1-7-21

1. Death all causes, bone breakage Michaëlsson http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6015
2. Heart disease Segall http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167527394902429
3. Heart disease Alamgir http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10485747
4. Breast cancer Cho http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/95/14/1079.full.pdf
5. Breast cancer Kroenke http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23492346
6. Ovarian cancer Cramer http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/130/5/904
7. Ovarian cancer Larsson http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15531686
8. Prostate Cancer Chan http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11566656
9. Prostate Cancer Qin http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17704029
10. Prostate Cancer Song http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23256145
11. Type 1 diabetes Saukkonen http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9498633
12. Type 1 diabetes Kimpimäki http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11206413
13. Type 1 diabetes Dahl-Jørgensen http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1797491
14. Cataracts Simoons http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6804198
15. Ear infections Nsouli http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8092554
16. Acne Adebamowo http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083856
17. Allergies, constipation Caffarelli http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2823764
18. Constipation Iacono http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9770556
19. Multiple Sclerosis Malosse http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1291895
20. Multiple Sclerosis Butcher http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1067488
21. Parkinson’s Disease Chen http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/ana.10381
22. Parkinson’s Disease Park http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15781824
23. Keon http://www.whitewashthebook.com
24. Keon http://nutritionstudies.org/milk-the-elixir-weve-been-sold
25. McDougall https://www.drmcdougall.com/2014/11/01/got-milk-got-disease
26. McDougall https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/feb/whenfriendsask.htm
27. McDougall video https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/videos/mcdougalls-moments/milk
28. Campbell http://nutritionstudies.org/12-frightening-facts-milk
29. Barnard http://www.pcrm.org/nbBlog/index.php/more-milk-more-problems
30. Barnard http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/health-concerns-about-dairy-products
31. Carroll http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/upshot/got-milk-might-not-be-doing-you-much-good.html
32. Milk consumption USDA https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/DataFiles/48685/pcconsp_1_.xlsx
33. Morphine Hazum http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6267691