Who Needs Milk for Calcium?

Babies and kids! Babies and kids need more calcium for their little developing bone structures. RDI is based off an adults need, I believe. I get lots from my calcium enriched Sunny D!

Milk also provides other nutrients. In one cup (% of daily requirements)... iodine 40% -for proper thyroid function), vitamin D 25%, Vitamin B2 25% -for energy, Vitamin B12 15% -for cardiovascular health & energy, Vitamin K, Phosphorus 25%, Protein 15%, Potassium -cardiovascular health, Vitamin A -for immune function, and others. Milk is ubiquitous. It is easily obtained. It is plentiful.

On the other hand, milk causes so many problems for people with allergies to milk and dairy products. In infants it causes colic, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, asthma, eczema, and so on. I have heard as many arguments against milk, as for milk consumption. One opponent actually argues that humans should not drink the milk of other mammals. He stated that the only reason that we drink cow's milk is that the cow is so docile and the milk is easily rendered. But he said it would be like us drinking the milk of any other mammals..Consider rat's milk on your cornflakes, or bat milk ice cream; have a glass of squirrel milk with your cookie. You get the idea. He said that cow's milk should only be consumed by calves and that humans are not getting the nutritional value out of it that a calf would. Also, he cited the fact that mammals, including humans only drink mother's milk for the first few months to a year after birth. The lesser animal kingdom knows that after that, the value of drinking the mother's milk is gone. We need it only to sustain us through the first weeks and months. It gives us immunity to illness and is easy on our digestive systems. We should not be drinking ANY milk after a year or two...and we should only be drinking the milk of the mammal to whom we belong during that time.

Soy milk brings to mind what chalk mixed with albumin might taste like. Gross. I'd rather crunch on egg shells; they have more calcium than anything you listed.

Please, give us a break Brandon. You've covered this topic before. With time dedicated to 2 posts on the subject, we all know you have a strange personal vendetta against cow milk.

In medicine we usually cater to patients' tastes, as long as they intake the vitamins they need. In OB/GYN we see a lot of anemic women, so the first thing we usually suggest is eating more steak. Some women really don't like red meat, even though it contains the iron they need to correct the anemia. Because patients are more likely to take in vitamins if they like the food, we provide alternatives.

My point is this: if people want to drink milk to increase their calcium intake, great! With postmenopausal women I suggest supplementation with calcium citrate, as their calcium needs are higher due to increased bone resorption after menopause. If they like soy, fine! If they prefer the crunch of egg shell, wonderful! It doesn't matter to me, their physician, how they are getting their calcium, as long as it is sufficient. Which makes me wonder, why does it matter so much to you?

I have to admit, Soy is so last year. I"ll tell you who needs milk. I do. I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and soy interacts negatively with my thyroid medication. Unfortunately I had just decided to go on a soy kick prior to being diagnosed and had to throw a huge amount of soy products out. Money down the drain :(

Anyway, enough of my lost income to soy. I agree with romanizzo. Babies need it too, especially babies with congenital hypothyroidism. Check out: Soy formula complicates management of congenital hypothyroidism by Conrad, SC.

Almonds are a great source of calcium too, and mighty tasty.

A totally unrelated fun fact: a green pepper has 100 times the vitamin C of an orange. So, to prevent osteoporosis, you can get 30% of your calcium RDI by drinking orange juice. But to prevent scurvy, eat a green pepper.

Nature confuses me sometimes.

NewsFlash!!!!: 35 + 30 + 10 + 10 = 85. Scientists have also discovered that 85 is almost 100! What a huge discovery.

How is this news again?

there's an enormous website devoted to the evils of milk. or as i call it, the White Horror.

www.notmilk.com

actually, i don't call it the White Horror--that would be kind of weird, wouldn't it? but over the last few years, i've heard a couple times about the supposed links between osteoporosis and milk consumption. the idea is that "dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood, which [is] neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton." so Milk In = Protein In = Blood Acidity Raise = Calcium Leached Out of Bones to Compensate. anyone have the science background to tell me if that's true or not? anyone even still on this thread?

so to wrap it all up--milk's bad for you. and that's why i eat my cornflakes with gin.

Calcium and other vitamins/minerals are absorbed differently from different sources. Just because an item says it has the potential to provide x% of your RDI of calcium doesn't mean that it will provide that amount for every person's body chemistry. I can't find any quick resources that discuss the amount of absorbable calcium of different substances but the Harvard School of Public Health lists milk as having the highest concentration per serving of highly absorbable calcium. Soy milk may also be in this category, the article didn't specify.

Apparently not all calcium sources are created equal.