What's the Fuss About Milk?

CLAIM: “Milk is an essential part of a healthy diet”

EVIDENCE: Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council says milk is one of the most complete foods. As well as calcium it contains carbohydrate, protein, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, vitamins A and B12, magnesium and zinc.

The further good news: milk delivers these nutrients in an absorbable and relatively low-kilojoule form.

Research shows that drinking milk may lower the risk of high blood pressure and colon cancer. Three serves of milk in a diet low in fat and salt but high in fruit and vegetables can also reduce risk factors for coronary heart disease, such as elevated cholesterol.

Calcium from dairy, as opposed to calcium supplied from a supplement or fortified food, has a much greater effect on weight- and body fat-loss.

Dairy foods are low GI and there’s good evidence cheese can help protect teeth against decay. Still, you can get too much of a good thing. Milk is designed to sustain and grow young mammals; some of the nutrients that are essential for infants, such as saturated fat, are not so important to adults.

CLAIM: “Lots of people are allergic to milk”

EVIDENCE: It’s true that milk is implicated in one in five allergies and one in four severe food allergy reactions. Among children under 12 months, around one in 50 are allergic to milk, which can result in symptoms ranging from anaphylaxis and eczema to colic and reflux.

That said, there’s a lot of confusion in our minds. A true milk allergy involves an immediate immunological response, and even the tiniest amounts – for example, the milk powder used to make many potato chips – will set it off.

Many of the common reactions that people attribute to milk allergy – tummy aches, rashes and runny noses – are not allergies but due to a food intolerance.

The good news: children with milk allergy tend to outgrow it by school age and it’s extremely rare to develop it as an adult. If you suspect you have an allergy, the only way to be sure is through a skin test or blood test done by a doctor. You can’t diagnose yourself, and if you try you risk malnutrition or misdiagnosis, says Alan Barclay, spokesman for the Dietitians Association of Australia.