Milk - Does it really do a body good?

It is National Dairy Month, so I decided to look into the research that supports, or doesn’t support, cow’s milk as a healthy choice for kids and adults. I have looked at this evidence for years, but it has been a while since I last checked out the data.

First, you should know my biases. I love milk. I sneak milk into restaurants that don’t have milk on the menu. I order milk in Vegas when vacationing. I lobbied for lower fat milk in 2013 at the Indianapolis School Board meeting, which received media attention. As a child my parents didn’t say, “What would you like to drink with dinner?”, but instead said, “Set the table, pour the milks.” With that out of the way, let's look at the data.

Growth - I have been telling patients for years based on memories of older studies that 2-3 servings of milk a day will lead to 3/4s of an inch of height at the end of their childhood. It will not turn them into NBA all stars, but most of us would be happy with an extra 3/4s of an inch. Today my student found a 2018 Iowa Fluoride Study that did in fact show about 1/4 inch of extra height for every serving of dairy added to a child’s diet. So 3 servings would equal about 3/4s of an inch. This effect may be unique to cow’s milk, with milks’ amino acids affecting a growth factor that increases growth. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29924327/

Lean Muscle - I have also been telling kids that milk helps increase muscle mass after work outs. This study was done as a randomized controlled study, which is a better design of a study than the study I mentioned for growth. In this study, increasing dairy correlated with increased lean muscle mass, meaning more muscle with less fat (even though the kids were consuming additional calories). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30839054/

Injuries - This data we can thank the NFL for, and it is about vitamin D deficiency, and not milk consumption. That said, most kids who do not drink milk are vitamin D deficient. Vit D is not found in many foods, mainly cereals, fancy mushrooms, and expensive eggs, and very inexpensive cow’s milk. A 2010 NFL study showed that the injured players on the team had lower levels of vitamin D than players who were not injured, and a 2015 NFL study showed that players with low Vitamin D had 1.86 times higher odds of a lower extremity strain and 3.61 x higher odds of a hamstring injury than players who were not vitamin D deficient. The Association of Vitamin D Status in Lower Extremity Muscle Strains and Core Muscle Injuries

at the National Football League Combine - Johns Hopkins University

Why is this a big deal? Because milk consumption has plummeted in the last few decades, and it seems like it will continue to fall. Kids are no longer routinely getting a drink that makes them stronger, less obese, and decreases their chance of injury, all at a historically inexpensive time to purchase. What are they getting instead? Juice, energy drinks, flavored water, etc, none of which increase health, but many of which contribute to tooth decay, diabetes, and obesity.

Have a great June and think about making milk a routine part of family life once again. My teen patients often ask about supplements, creatine, and protein shakes, all of which are pricey and some of which taste awful, but they usually don’t know that the drink proven to increase lean muscle and decrease injuries is already in the fridge!

Until next time, good luck parenting!

Dr. William J. Fisher, MD Fisher Pediatrics