Is cow’s milk good food for people, especially people with diabetes? The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) say yes. Given how I feel about ADA and USDA’s record on nutrition advice, I think we should check for ourselves.
ADA recommends two to three servings of low-fat milk (or other low-fat dairy food such as cheese and yogurt) each day. “Including sources of dairy products in your diet is an easy way to get calcium and high-quality protein,” according to their nutrition page.
USDA says three cups a day for people age nine and up. But what do independent experts say? And what does the data say?
Many disagree about milk’s being healthy. Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution, wrote,
I typically advise most of my patients to avoid dairy products completely… From an evolutionary point of view, milk is a strange food for humans. Until 10,000 years ago we didn’t domesticate animals and weren’t able to drink milk… The majority of humans naturally stop producing significant amounts of lactase — the enzyme needed to [deal with] lactose, the sugar in milk — sometime between the ages of two and five.
OK. So some experts disagree with the government. But we have to start at the beginning. What is milk anyway?
What Milk Is Made Of
Milk is food produced by mammal mothers to feed their young. Mammal milks are all similar, but they have important differences in the specific proteins. It may be that cow’s milk is not a good match for most human populations.
Milk has significant amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrate in one package. Normal cow’s milk contains 30–35 grams of protein per liter, mostly in the form of casein. It also contains dozens of other proteins in small amounts, various minerals, and vitamins A, B complex, C, D, K, and E.
What could be wrong with that? Let’s look a little more closely.
Milk Protein Linked to Type 1 Diabetes?
There are four different types of casein proteins, called alpha-S1, alpha-S2, beta, and kappa caseins. Other milk proteins are called “whey” proteins.
A variant of beta-casein known as A1 beta-casein has been implicated in causing Type 1 diabetes. In genetically vulnerable children, A1 beta-casein may set off an immune response that later turns against the beta cells in the pancreas.
Children who drink cow milk have been found more likely to develop Type 1 later on. Other scientists say this evidence is weak and the studies were flawed. I think children should be kept off cow’s milk formulas at least until their first birthday.
Milk Fat
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) defines a serving of dairy as 8 ounces of nonfat or low-fat milk or yogurt.
This low-fat advice appears unsupported by science. Most of the good stuff in milk is in the fats. According to Wikipedia, “the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K along with essential fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acid are found within the milk fat portion of milk.”
Some evidence supports milk fat as being protective against Type 2 diabetes. A study published in the December 2010 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine followed 3,736 men for 10 years and found that those who had the highest blood levels of a type of fatty acid from whole-fat (not nonfat) dairy foods had 60% less chance of developing Type 2 diabetes than men with the lowest levels.
As one of the authors commented, “This is an extremely strong protective effect, stronger than other things we know can be beneficial against diabetes.”
Several other studies have demonstrated that dairy consumption lowers risk for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or diabetes. Researchers credit a fatty acid found in dairy products, trans-palmitoleic acid as the possible protective compound.
In various studies, higher levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were associated with numerous desirable outcomes: lower body-mass index, smaller waist circumference, lower triglyceride levels, lower levels of C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation), lower fasting insulin levels, and less insulin resistance.
Milk Sugars
Milk sugar is called lactose. Lactose gives milk its sweet taste and contributes approximately 40% of whole cow’s milk’s calories.
Lactose can definitely raise your blood glucose. An enzyme called lactase splits it up into glucose and galactose. Because this split takes time, some nutritionists say lactose converts to blood glucose relatively slowly (that is to say, it has a low glycemic index or GI).
But others say that dairy may have a low GI but stimulates insulin as if it had a high GI. Loren Cordain, PhD, of Colorado State Department of Health and Exercise Science, believes this may be due to the combination of lactose and some of the amino acids in whey proteins.
Cordain, author of The Paleo Answer, says the insulin response to milk is “extreme,” and advises people concerned about diabetes to avoid milk products.
It’s hard to reconcile the supposedly healthful affects of dairy fat with the supposedly harmful effects of dairy sugar. Should we drink it or not?
Different Kinds of Milk
There are other milks besides human and cow. Goat milk is gaining popularity. Camel milk is said by many to be extremely nutritious. It’s now for sale in the US. Vegan milks include soy milk, rice milk, and almond milk.
You might consider buying either free-range, grass-fed organic milk or using a vegan alternative. According to Discovery Health, milk cows are given hormones to increase their milk production and antibiotics to decrease infections. Neither of these is good to eat.
Lactose Intolerance
People who don’t have sufficient lactase to digest lactose will be “lactose intolerant,” and may suffer diarrhea, intestinal gas, cramps, and bloating from drinking milk.
It is estimated that 30 to 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant, including up to 75% of Native Americans and African-Americans, and 90% of Asian Americans.
Lactose-free or reduced lactose milk is available. It has been treated with lactase to break lactose down, so it doesn’t cause abdominal problems. It is sweeter than regular milk and has a higher glycemic index.
So is milk good or bad? I am confused. How has it been for you?
Well I do use milk (actually a ’small’ scoop of high fat ice cream) to treat a hypo.. Turns a bad situation into a treat :)
Couldn’t agree more with your conclusions — lactose is sugar! And it certainly takes very little time to raise blood sugar.
I avoid milk for lots of reasons (many in your blog). I do eat a fair amount of ‘real’ cheese, but the fermentation process gets rid of the sugars. Read the back of package: Carbs = 0.
Gee David, I would be careful if someone comes to your door with a violin case that has an ADA sticker on it.
Posted by John_C | Jul 11, 2012 at 2:57 pmI drink milk, but for the protein, only after I have been to the gym or worked out at home. One glass a day during the week. If I drink it any other time my blood sugars go crazy, even though I pump one unit for each 15 grams of carb and have no trouble with my other carbs! Not sure why it happens. I love milk but no can do on a regular basis!
Posted by Dawn | Jul 11, 2012 at 9:11 pmI don’t think any one should stop having milk for diabetes. Milk is natural sugars which are beneficial to health. I was brought up drinking milk at every meal, and I still drink fat free milk every day with meals, and sometimes as my snack as well.
Posted by Smith | Jul 13, 2012 at 5:37 amOur bodies deal differently on the food we eat, we are all different and declaring that one-food-type is good or not good over another-food-type can be misleading.
AS my personal experience i want to suggest it is good to have one and half glasses of milk daily including tea. is it applicable for the patients with diabetes and Stay Diabetes Free.
Skimmed milk contains roughly the same amount of sugar as fruit juice or soda pop and should be handled roughly the same way -as a treat, not a daily food.
Posted by Joe | Jul 18, 2012 at 1:24 pmIf you enjoy milk and it doesnt make your blood sugars go crazy… then have some. I tried so hard to keep my mom away from the milk (before she passed away) She LOVED milk. BUT it would take her blood sugars to 350 ish. She was just a milk lover. My 17 yr old son was having trouble with digestive issues. He would get bouts of diarrhea at school (during class) which was really embarrassing to him. This happened about 3 times.
Posted by Mishelle Whitmire | Jul 23, 2012 at 9:21 amWent to gastroenterologist, they asked him to get off milk. What do you know?? It all went away. He no longer has those stomach issues and he no longer drinks any milk. Will have ice cream from time to time. We are the only animals on the planet that still drink milk AFTER we have been weaned. Just like the article above, we dont have the enzymes anymore. But as far as blood sugar..for most people it raises blood sugar. It just does. Everyone is different and can tolerate different foods. But for our family…Milk is NOT a good addition.
I used to have lots of health problems that I found was caused by milk and other dairy products
Posted by James | Aug 11, 2012 at 9:54 pmand after I quit them my health was much better,just go online and ask if milk is healthy for you and you will find much good advise.
I have found that staying with a healthy serve on my diabetes approved cereal and a little drizzle in my 2 or 3 coffees a day has helped me lose weight and get more improvement in hypertension and type 2 diabetes with high lipids and ldl levels reducing too.My Doctor has had a pleasant surprise with my hba1C and ldl and lipid falls from blood tests at pathology.to
Posted by Greg Nowlan | Aug 20, 2012 at 1:13 pmI have read a lot on cinnamon and intend chatting with my doctor and specialists asap to look at offerings in my local health store, the proprietor of which is quite well informed on miracles and reality for most of us here in the Australian Capital.
I have quite enjoyed reading your chats with people on this site too. Good luck always and I will let you know if Cinnamon becomes more high profile in my diet.
Ys Greg.
Sorry I should have expressed skim milk - cows.
Posted by Greg Nowlan | Aug 20, 2012 at 1:15 pmFind it quite inexpensive here and it lasts with refrigeration much longer than 2% or any alternative in cows milks.
my mom have deibteis problem need information about it
Posted by renu bala | Nov 18, 2012 at 11:10 pmhow much sugar in 1 litre skimmed milk,also how much sugar in 1 litre of whole milk.??
Posted by terence martin uk | Dec 18, 2012 at 4:15 pmI asked the docs about milk and they told me it was okay for diabetics. What I don’t think they realized is that I can easily drink a gallon a day. But now I realize also why my sugar has been 250-300. I think I will just drink water because if Ihave my low-fat milk in the house I will guzzle it down like water.
Posted by Patrick O'Rourke | Jan 01, 2013 at 12:15 pmThat will be my new years resolution to break.
Lately my blood sugar is high some day and normal on another day and as i was concern about this i googled and came to this site. I don’t usually drink milk at night before going to bed but i have done it for last couple of weeks and as my sugar is now high i am going to stop drinking milk and let you guys know of my result.
Posted by Bharti Patel | Jan 23, 2013 at 3:46 pmThanks, Bhari. Please keep us posted.
David
Posted by David Spero RN | Jan 23, 2013 at 4:39 pmThank you for the information I’ve received reading your experiences with cow’s milk and the problems with diabetes. My experience with whole milk after drinking it causes the same reaction. My number rises to 300-400 after a good glass of milk. Does eggs and cheese, also dairy have the same effect? Please advise.
Posted by Rudolph Cambridge | Jan 23, 2013 at 10:21 pmSome useful reading:
“Devil in the Milk: Illness, Health and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk”, from Keith Woodford
“Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases”, Technical Report nº 916, WHO and FAO
“Don’t Drink Your Milk! New Frightening Medical Facts About the World’s Most Overrated Nutrient”, from Frank A. Oski MD
“Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care”, from B. Spock and R. Needlman
“Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs”, from Neal Barnard
“Food Allergy: Adverse Reactions to Food and Food Additives”, from D. D. Metcalfe and Hugh Sampson
“Hold the Cheese Please! A Story for Children About Lactose Intolerance”, from Frank J. Sileo
“Mad Cows and Milk Gate”, from Virgil M. Hulse
Hope that helps.
Posted by Pedro Brandão | Feb 19, 2013 at 12:23 pmI have today discovered this site. I was looking to confirm what I thought I discovered. I am Type 2 Diabetic. I thought I had a thought to discontinue dairy as an experiment about six weeks ago. I don’t usually drink milk but do put either milk or cream in my coffee. To make up for the that lack of calcium, I eat cheese and yogurt. Well, I guess per this site a lot of people do know what I did not. My blood sugar has gone down. I am amazed and happy about it. I thought it was just me. Thank you, all.
Posted by Suzanne Connelly | Mar 04, 2013 at 2:03 pmInteresting article, though I do take issue with one of the quotes provided:
“The majority of humans naturally stop producing significant amounts of lactase — the enzyme needed to [deal with] lactose, the sugar in milk — sometime between the ages of two and five.”
..as it basically states that “the majority of humans” stop producing the enzyme needed to deal with lactose at a very young age; and thusly that “the majority of humans” should - by that assumption - therefore be lactose intolerant to some degree; lacking a substantial enough amount of the enzyme to process it.
While there are quite a many out there who are - or who experience adverse effects due to the blood sugar problems - this is very simply and quite obviously NOT the case. It is nowhere near a “majority” that can’t handle lactose. At least half if not more people out there are capable of handling and digesting it just fine, with no problems.
Obviously, if an individual experiences any sort of problems with lactose-based products, they should most definitely look into reducing and/or cutting out intake of them altogether; however, purporting a statement such as the above as all-around fact as Dr. Mark Hyman was quoted as doing does disincline me to bother with anything else he would say.
I personally think that all things considered, the advantages and/or disadvantages of milk/lactose-products as a whole is something that can really only be gauged on an individual level. As with most things related to food intolerance / allergies / blood sugar, it’s really up to each individual to figure out the “best mix” for themselves with the aid of their doctor/nutritionist. It’s really just trial and error until a good, stable solution is found (and even that may change eventually).
There are just some things that “studies” can’t give answers for to everyone across the board. Honestly, that’s most things in general; but in my opinion, this is definitely one of them.
Posted by Addy | Apr 04, 2013 at 2:31 pmi am having a type 2 diabetics, i am having problem making love to my wife, secondly i don’t see fluid coming from my penis each time i make love pls advise
Posted by framklin panama | Apr 05, 2013 at 6:34 am