MILK INHIBITS WEIGHT GAIN

http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/134/11/3054

Calcium and Dairy Products Inhibit Weight and Fat Regain during Ad Libitum Consumption Following Energy Restriction in Ap2-Agouti Transgenic Mice1,2

Xiaocun Sun and Michael B. Zemel3

We demonstrated previously that dietary calcium suppression of calcitriol reduces adipocyte Ca2+, suppresses lipogenesis, and increases lipid utilization during energy restriction. Notably, dairy calcium sources exert markedly greater effects...Thus, high-Ca diets elicit a shift in energy partitioning and reduction of weight gain during refeeding, with dairy Ca sources exerting markedly greater effects.

MILK: OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE FOR BENEFIT

When valid nutrition research makes something overwhelmingly clear, it gets a page with Nutrition Investigator. Below is a compilation of links from literature summaries which show the many benefits of drinking milk. Most important in starting these studies was the correlation that the 25% of people in the USwho drink the least milk are most likely to be obese, and the 25% who drink the most milk are most likely to be thin. Studies cited below indicate milk and calcium reduce weight, LDL "bad" cholesterol, colon cancer, and absorption of cholesterol The final one discusses lactose intolerance based on the milk gene.

DAIRY WEIGHT LOSS: http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/134/8/1905 Multiple regression with age, ethnicity, height, Tanner breast stage, physical activity, energy, soda, and calcium intake explained 17% of the variation in iliac skinfold thickness. Calcium intake, age, and physical activity were significantly negatively associated with iliac skinfold thickness whereas height,,,,Soda intake was significantly positively associated with weight in both models (P = 0.01, both models). Decreasing soda and increasing dairy consumption among Asians may help maintain body fat and weight during adolescence. INTERPRETATION: Soda makes you fat, milk and exercise keep you thin.

MILK AND EGG BENEFIT http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/134/10/2611

We reported previously that egg sphingomyelin (SM)[fat found in eggs] inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and fat in rats...However, milk SM is a more potent inhibitor than egg SM. The strong inhibitory effect of milk SM may be associated with the higher degree of saturation and longer chain length of its fatty acyl groups,inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and fat in rats...[in other words, eggs and especially milk helps prevent absorbing cholesterol]

DIET DAIRY: "A predominance of small dense LDL particles is a well-establishd component of the ... phenotype associated with insulin resistance and increased risk for ...heart disease... 291 healthy men 62-64 yrs. old... individual fatty acids typically found in milk products were associated with a more favorable LDL profile...LDL particle size distribution appears to be modified by dietary factors with an apparently beneficial effect of milk products." J. Nutr. 134: 1729, 2004.

DIET DAIRY "Calcium intake may play a role in the regulation of body weight. Increased Ca intake has been assocatied with lower body weight, BMI, and adiposity measures in cross-sectional studies. 362 men...462 women...black and white...The strongest invers assocations appeared in black men and white women...Low calcium intake may be associated with higher adiposity, particularly in men and white women." J. Nutr. 134: 1772, 2004

MILK AND OVARIAN CANCER: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/5/1353 Conclusions: Our data indicate that high intakes of lactose and dairy products, particularly milk, are associated with an increased risk of serous ovarian cancer but not of other subtypes of ovarian cancer. Future studies should consider ovarian cancer subtypes separately. ROC'S NOTE: This is the sort of study often reported by the media. It is "statistically significant", but the worry it causes may be more harmful. servings of dairy cases of epithelial tumors <2 61 2-3 71 >4 69 So women who consumed more dairy had more epithelial cancers. However, people who consume more milk are also much thinner. And obesity is one of the greatest causes of disease. See next article and July and August, 2004 articles below.

CALCIUM REDUCES COLON CANCER: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/5/1358 Conclusion: High calcium intake, particularly from supplements, is associated with a reduced risk of distal colorectal adenoma.

MILK AND EGG BENEFIT http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/134/10/2611 We reported previously that egg sphingomyelin (SM)[fat found in eggs] inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and fat in rats...However, milk SM is a more potent inhibitor than egg SM. The strong inhibitory effect of milk SM may be associated with the higher degree of saturation and longer chain length of its fatty acyl groups,inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and fat in rats...[in other words, eggs and especially milk helps prevent absorbing cholesterol]

GOT MILK? See link to "A Marxian Approach towards Nutritional Politics". It is ironic that milk turns out to have so many benefits. The Got Milk campaign sponsored by the USDA has been extremely effective, even though when it was started, there was little evidence that milk was actually beneficial. See this poster based on student research.

MILK GENE: Science, Vol 306, Issue 5700, 1284-1285 , 19 November 2004

By some estimates, less than half of all people can digest milk easily when they are adults.The gene that permits easy digestion of milk in adults may first have appeared in farmers in the Ural Mountains about 6000 years ago. The lactase gene provides lactose tolerance. Inducing that gene may require regular exposure to milk. As an inducible gene, gradual progressive exposure to milk may increase tolerance.