Why osteoporosis is so bad in India

An extensive study published in Jan. 2006 reveals that Indians are increasingly being afflicted with osteoporosis. This study, conducted by the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, shows that an estimated 61 million Indians suffer from osteoporosis. Commenting on the study, the director-general of the World Health Organization (Gro Harlem Brundtland) said that osteoporosis will see a manifold increase in the developing world.

As explained in The Milk Imperative, in India both genders are affected by osteoporosis, as shown by another study by the Britannia New Zealand Foods and the Arthritis Foundation of India. This has revealed that in cities like Kolkata and Chennai, 45 per cent of men have brittle bones. Another disturbing trend revealed by the study is that an increasing number of Indians even as young as 26 are falling prey to this disease.

WHO reveals that one out of eight males and one out of three females in India suffer from osteoporosis, making India one of the worst affected countries. The Arthritis Foundation of India says there has been an estimated 200 per cent jump in cases across Asia in 10 years.

Why is osteoporosis increasing at such an alarming rate in India? As shown in The Milk Imperative, the answer unfortunately is simple: a dramatic increase in milk consumption in India in recent years has gone hand-in-hand with a dramatic rise in osteoporosis. In 2002, some 18,000 million liters of milk where produced by Operation Flood's cooperative unions each day. As a result, milk consumption in India has risen from a low of 107 grams per day in 1970 to over 220 grams per day in 2002; and people in all parts of India are now able to buy and consume dairy milk without scarcity of supply. Since 2002, the increase in milk production and consumption in India has risen enormously, growing at a rate of over 4% per year according to FAO. This makes India the fastest growth market in the world in milk production and consumption.

Russell Eaton
Author of The Milk imperative
www.milkimperative.com

High homocysteine bad for the bones

The Archives of Internal Medicine, January 9, 2006, published the results of a study showing that homocysteine is bad for the bones. The study found that women who have high levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood are at increased risk for low bone mineral density (BMD). The European investigators reported:

"Our finding adds to the increasing evidence that avoiding homocysteine is important for good bone health," lead author Dr. Clara Gram Gjesdal from the University of Bergen in Norway told Reuters Health.

Women with high homocysteine levels were nearly two times more likely to have low BMD compared with women with low homocysteine levels.

It is interesting to note that skim and low fat milk have higher amounts of non-digestible protein and lactose, and lower amounts of folic acid and vitamin B, a particularly harmful combination of factors.

According to Dr. William Grant, a Nasa Research Scientist, this combination promotes a build-up of homocysteine, a promoter of heart disease, stroke, and dementia. This view is reinforced by many studies, including a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal (January 2005) which says that a quarter of all heart attacks could be caused by high levels of homocysteine. This can explain why even some people who are apparently healthy, slim, and non-smoking, get heart attacks – they have high homocysteine levels. This subject is examined in greater detail in The Milk Imperative, available as a paperback or as an ebook which you can download now by going to http://www.milkimperative.com/.

Goat's milk worse than cow's milk

Here is an extract from an article issued by the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE on January 10, 2006:

‘Americans no longer cowed by goat milk

BY MARLENE PARRISH
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Goat milk is different from cow milk in the concentration and forms of its nutrients. Compared to cow milk, goat milk contains 13 percent more calcium and more vitamins. It does not contain the major protein of cow milk to which many people, including babies, are allergic.  As a result, goat milk often agrees with sensitive or weak digestive systems. Many lactose-intolerant people are able to tolerate goat milk well. Cow milk-sensitive seniors in need of calcium often turn to goat milk because of its digestibility. As one grows older, sensitivity to cow milk tends to increase.’

In fact, goat milk is even worse for your health (and pocket) than cow’s milk for the following reasons:

1. The higher concentration of calcium in goat’s milk serves to erode bone making cells, thus increasing the risk of osteoporosis.
2. Goat’s milk contains 10% more galactose than cow’s milk.  Galactose, in this concentration is toxic to the human body and it causes serious disease including a greater risk of cataracts.
3. Goat’s milk contains more calories and more saturated fat compared to regular cow’s milk.
4. Goat’s milk contains about 10% more lactic acid than cow’s milk.  Lactic acid is bad for the digestion and it prevents the efficient assimilation of nutrients from the food you eat.
5. Goat’s milk contains about 14% more casein than cow’s milk, a harmful sticky protein that clogs the respiratory system and coats your organs with a glue-like substance.  This makes goat’s milk more difficult to digest than cow’s milk.
6. The nutritional content of Goat’s milk (vitamins and minerals) is indeed different to cow’s milk, but not sufficiently different to warrant consuming for this reason alone.  The main difference is that it contains about 47% more vitamin A compared to cow’s milk.  However, vitamin A is readily available from a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, and people generally are not lacking in this vitamin.
7. Goat’s milk costs more than cow’s milk.

For more information about goat’s milk see The Milk Imperative.

Free ebook: Osteoporosis Can Be Prevented

US: Dairy farmers say drink milk to lose weight

In a press release issued on 5 Jan 06 the USA Milk Processor Education Program stated:

 

"When women diet they often make two big mistakes that can actually result in weight gain - skip breakfast and ditch dairy," said Somer, author of the new book ‘10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet’. "But in reality, eating breakfast and including 24 ounces of milk each day are two small steps that could make a significant difference in achieving a healthy weight."  (Source: just-food.com).

 

This logic is ludicrous.  Skipping breakfast may not be a good thing, but it does not follow that consuming milk for breakfast helps keep a healthy weight!  The evidence that dairy milk causes surplus body fat and obesity is absolutely overwhelming, and to suggest otherwise simply reflects vested interests.  Any food high in saturated animal fat is fattening, period.  Low-fat milk is even more fattening than regular milk:  as explained in The Milk Imperative, this is so for a variety of reasons that have been proven in numerous research studies.

Free ebook: Osteoporosis Can Be Prevented

No goverment should subsidise school milk

Here is an extract from The Guardian newspaper in the UK:

 

Government may stop school milk subsidies

Felicity Lawrence, consumer affairs correspondent
Wednesday January 4, 2006
The Guardian

The government is considering ending milk subsidies for 1.2 million primary school children in England as they cost too much to administer and do little to improve health, the Guardian can reveal.

 

All I can say is HOORAY!  It is absolutely disgraceful for any government to subsidise school milk.  This is a complete waste of tax payers money - but worse still, dairy milk causes nothing but harm to school children.

 

Russell Eaton, author of The Milk Imperative.

Milk doesn't safeguard against osteoporosis

Here's a news article published in timesunion.com on Jan. 2, 2006:

As a dietitian, I know that, contrary to a recent letter, drinking milk is not a healthy or effective way to prevent osteoporosis ("Milk plays an important role in good health," Dec. 21).   According to a recent review of the role of dairy or dietary calcium and bone health in children and young adults, the majority of scientific studies on this topic found no relationship between dairy or dietary calcium intake and measures of bone health. And in a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 adult women, those who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk.

Studies have shown that physical activity has a positive impact on bone health.

Here in the United States, our level of dairy product consumption is among the highest in the world, yet our osteoporosis and fracture rates are also among the highest.  But science shows that we can build strong bones and healthy bodies by adopting healthier diets, including plant-based sources of calcium-and increasing physical activity.

SUSAN LEVIN
Staff Dietitian
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Washington, D.C.

Free ebook: Osteoporosis Can Be Prevented