milk
© www.bluewaikiki.com Researchers find link between high milk consumption and increased mortality risk.
A recent report from Sweden has not only added proof to the growing consensus that drinking milk doesn't help our bone strength at all but also suggested that it may be compromising our lives. The study even found a correlation between high milk consumption, bone fracture occurrences, and increased mortality risk. Although at this point cause and effect cannot yet be proven, the findings may still be enough to get you to decrease your daily milk consumption.

Mankind's relationship with milk post-infancy is still relatively new. In fact, two-thirds of the human population still lack the enzyme needed to break down the lactose in milk and will most surely end up with the monster of all stomach aches if they drink too much. Still, for those of us who are able to drink milk without too much of a discomfort, we've drank with the idea that we were somewhat improving our bone health.

However, many scholars have noticed that when it comes to osteoporosis and milk consumption, the numbers just don't add up. The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis, such as the United States and countries in the European Union, are some of the biggest global milk consumers, Slate reported. Could it be that milk actually doesn't do all that much for bone health after all?

In order to answer this question, which could potentially lead to a revision of medical books throughout the world, a team of Swedish researchers followed 61,433 women and 45,339 men for between 11 and 20 years, tracking their diet and bone health. Results showed that for women, higher milk consumption was not associated with a reduction in fracture risk. On top of this, women who drank more than three glasses of milk a day were found to have a higher risk of death than women who drank less than one glass. The men showed similar results with an even more pronounced association between high milk consumption and higher risk of death.

"Our results may question the validity of recommendations to consume high amounts of milk to prevent fragility fractures," wrote the study's authors in a press release. "The results should, however, be interpreted cautiously given the observational design of our study. The findings merit independent replication before they can be used for dietary recommendations."