Calcium and Milk: What’s Best for Your Bones and Health?

From Harvard School of Public Health


Table of Contents

Introduction
What Is Calcium, and Where Do We Get It?
Growing Healthy Bones
What Is Osteoporosis
How Can Osteoporosis Be Slowed Down?
Preventing Bone Loss in Adulthood
Should You Get Calcium from Milk?
The Bottom Line: Recommendations for Calcium Intake and Bone Health
References

Introduction
Those advertisements pushing milk as the answer to strong bones are almost inescapable. But does “got milk?” really translate into “got strong bones?”

The pro-milk faction believes that increased calcium intake—particularly in the form of the currently recommended three glasses of milk per day—will help prevent osteoporosis, the weakening of bones. Each year, osteoporosis leads to more than 1.5 million fractures, including 300,000 broken hip.

On the other side are those who believe that consuming a lot of milk and other dairy products will have little effect on the rate of fractures but may contribute to problems such as heart disease or prostate cancer.

Which view is right? The final answers aren’t in. But here is a summary of what’s currently known about calcium and its effects on the body.

Read more from Harvard School of Public Health.