Too Much Milk Could Heighten Risk of Bone Fracture and Even Death

It's long been known that milk is good for you. An excellent source of calcium and a host of essential nutrients, drinking milk is associated with stronger bones and a healthier body. However, new research implies that drinking too much "cow juice" could lead to some serious consequences.

A study recently published in the British Medical Journal details how heavy and regular consumption of milk may increase oxidative stress on the human body, leading to a heightened risk of bone fracture despite the drink's beneficial nutrients. Alarmingly, this same heightened stress was found to be associated with a higher mortality rate.

This was determined after researchers analyzed data from two long-term health study groups: the Swedish Mammography Cohort - a group of 61,433 women, aged 39-74 (1987-1990) - and The Cohort of Swedish Men - a group of 45,339 men, aged 45-79 (1997).

Data on regular milk and milk-product consumption was collected from these groups through a series of questionnaires, and their medical histories were tracked and analyzed. Important factors that can influence things like mortality, stress, and fracture risk (obesity, lifestyle, etc.) were also taken into account.

Among the women, it was clear to the researchers that increased milk consumption did not lead to reduced risk of bone fracture. In fact, women who drank more than the recommended daily amount of milk (three glasses) had a higher risk of death than women who drank less than one glass of milk a day.

The same trend was noticed among the male population, although the results were less pronounced.

Even with these stunning results from a large pair of cohorts, the authors are hesitant to say that the nutrition book should be utterly rewritten. Instead, they recommend that this obvious trend in their data easily merits more investigation.

However, they are quick to say that like all good things, milk should be consumed in moderation. Drinking milk like all the cows are dying could understandably put anyone in a worse state.