The Benefits And Risks Of Drinking Milk
You have probably always heard that drinking milk is important for growth. It also helps keep bones and teeth healthy. However, drinking milk and consuming dairy products can also cause certain health problems.
Still, it’s not just bad news. After all, consuming milk is also beneficial in many ways. We explain more through this article.
What are the benefits of drinking milk?
Milk is one of nature’s most important sources of calcium. It is very important for babies. Among other things, calcium is important for bone formation and maintenance.
This food also provides other important minerals. This is why milk is one of the most complete foods available.
Milk is also a raw material for the production of many dairy products such as butter, cheese, yoghurt, cream or curd. Since the milk most consumed in the world is cow’s milk, we decided to focus on its composition:
The composition of milk
- Water : The majority component. Milk consists of 80-87% water.
- Carbohydrates : Lactose is the most important sugar in milk. This component is one of the reasons why it is risky to drink milk.
- Proteins : The proteins in milk are considered to be of high biological value and contain many essential amino acids. Milk consists of 3-4% protein.
- Fat : This makes up 3 to 6% of the milk. However, this varies greatly depending on the industry and breed of the cow. In total, 90% of the fat in milk is in the form of triglycerides.
- Vitamins : Among all the vitamins that milk contains, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin (B2), cyanocobalamin and thiamine are worth mentioning in particular.
- Minerals : Milk is very rich in minerals which are usually in the form of salts. Milk contains calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iodine, sodium, chloride, magnesium and zinc.
The risks of drinking milk
As we mentioned earlier in this article, drinking milk also has many risks that should be considered. Some of them are:
1. Lactose intolerance
1 in 2 people is lactose intolerant. As we mentioned above, lactose is the most important sugar in milk. However, most people are not aware that they are intolerant to this drug and continue to consume milk.
In this connection, a high percentage of the world’s population is lactose intolerant. Thus, lactose intolerance is not a disease but a normal condition. This is because between two and four years of age, the body begins to stop synthesizing the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for the digestion of lactose.
Since humans usually continue to drink milk, the lactose they consume is not digested, which means that it remains in the intestine where it is fermented by colon bacteria. This leads to gas, pain and sometimes diarrhea.
2. Malabsorption of calcium after drinking milk
Consumption of animal proteins constitutes the pH acid of the blood. As a reaction , the body uses some of the calcium in the bones to neutralize the acidity. It has been shown that consuming dairy products or calcium-rich foods is not a protective factor against the risk of breakage.
Although milk contains essential nutrients, you do not need to drink milk to get them. In fact , vegetables are some of the most calcium rich foods.
Drinking milk increases the risk of allergies and asthma
Cow’s milk has three times more protein than breast milk, and some of them are very difficult to digest.
In some people, these proteins (such as casein) attach to lymphatic vessels in the intestine, which prevents the absorption of nutrients. Thus, they can cause problems with the immune system, allergies and asthma.
Conclusion
It is important to know if you are lactose intolerant or not to avoid complications related to milk intake. However, it is beneficial for the body to consume these foods in moderate amounts (only after ruling out lactose intolerance).
