Got milk - or more? - a study by Harvard University researcher Walter Willett found no evidence that consuming dairy products helps prevent osteoporosis - includes related article on the calcium controversy - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Nov, 1997

You might want to ask what you get with milk besides a mustache. The ubiquitous TV ads suggest milk goes well with cookies. Fair enough. But will consuming dairy products also strengthen bones and stave off osteoporosis, as the National Dairy Council and some nutrition experts insist?

Probably not, says Walter Willett, M.D., professor of preventive medicine at the Harvard School of Public Health and a lead researcher in the Nurses Health Study, one of the nation's largest ongoing investigations of the role of diet in disease prevention. His latest study, published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, challenges the popular assumption that dairy products decrease the risk of osteoporosis, a crippling bone disease that afflicts about 20 million people every year.

Willett and his colleagues analyzed dietary information gathered from nearly 80,000 women, ages 30 to 55, over a 12-year period. They found no evidence that women who consumed one to three servings daily of milk or other calcium-rich foods--like cheese or yogurt--reduced their risk of hip fractures, the standard measure for osteoporosis.

The findings became even more dramatic when the Harvard researchers examined women who consumed three or more servings of dairy a day and found that none had any added protection against bone fractures. Three servings contain 1,000 milligrams of calcium, which the National Academy of Sciences has set as the new Recommended Dietary Allowance (see box).

Although Willett's findings are consistent with those of other studies that look at large populations--only one of the six major studies of calcium and bone loss concluded that dairy products have a long-term protective effect--may experts still believe dairy is a healthful dietary staple for other reasons. For one, dairy products are a good source of nutrients, such as vitamin D and protein. Also a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a diet rich in low-fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables lowered blood pressure better than drugs and surprisingly--more--effectively than a diet of just fruits and vegetables.

So what's the take-home message? According to Willett and other experts, calcium is essential to building strong bones, but there's absolutely no guarantee that getting it from dairy will prevent osteoporosis later in life--taking supplements and consuming calcium-rich plant foods such as broccoli, tofu processed with calcium salts, sesame seeds and kale are all wise alternatives.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Calcium Controversy

The National Dairy Council may not be too happy about Walter Willett's newest study, but they're thrilled that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has boosted recommended levels of calcium consumption. While these new guidelines are already generating debate--some claim that the link between calcium intake and bone density is a weak one--the NAS, concerned over rising rates of osteoporosis, hopes an increase of calcium will reverse this trend. The NAS has concluded that in order to stave off osteoporosis, most women need to consume between 1,000 and 1,300 milligrams (mg.) of calcium a day. The old RDA was set at 800 mg., but many women and teens still get less than 600 mg. a day. Calling such low levels a "crisis," spokesperson for the dairy council, Jean Ragalie, R.D., exhorts everyone to fill up on dairy products.

Not so fast. According to Mark Messina, Ph.D., co-author of The Dietitian's Guide to Vegetarian Diets (Aspen, 1996), dairy is not the only option for boosting calcium intake. Although Messina admits calcium is harder to come by if dietary dairy is eliminated, he cites the importance of attempting to meet the guidelines. "The new guidelines provide an incentive for people to get more than they are presently getting. If people get their calcium consumption up at all, say from 500 mg. to 800 mg. a day, they'll be better off." Messina recommends drinking calcium-fortified beverages such as soymilk and orange juice. Another key to keeping calcium levels high is retention--smoking, coffee and intense physical exercise all deplete calcium stores.