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News Alert Archives
It's Never Too Late: Adding Milk to Daily Diets Slows Bone Breakdown in Older Adults
Chicago, Ill., October 1, 1999 - It may never be too late to reap the bone benefits of drinking milk, suggests a new study published in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association .
This multicenter, randomized, controlled trial found that by drinking three servings of fat free or lowfat milk each day, older adults could significantly improve their skeletal health. Additionally, this dietary change - which increased daily calcium intake by about 750 milligrams - helped improve the overall quality of their diets.
The study examined a group of 204 healthy men and women, aged 55 to 85 years, who habitually consumed fewer than 1.5 servings of dairy foods per day. Half of the group maintained their normal diets for the 12-week intervention period, while the other half were instructed to consume three servings of fat free or lowfat milk as a part of their daily diets.
In the milk group, the consumption of three dairy servings helped favorably affect bone remodeling - or the continual process in which old bone is broken down (resorption) and replaced by fresh new bone (formation). If resorption exceeds formation, bone mass declines. A loss of bone mass can lead to osteoporosis, a painful bone-crippling disease that affects 28 million Americans.
The individuals who drank more milk experienced a significant decrease in bone resorption (13%), which is the first step in maintaining bone density, explained co-author Robert P. Heaney, MD, John A. Creighton University Professor at Creighton University in Omaha, one of the six coordinating medical centers.
"Not only did bone health improve by drinking three daily servings of fat free or lowfat milk, but these individuals also improved the nutrient-density of their diets without increasing the overall fat intake or blood cholesterol levels," Heaney said.
While numerous studies have documented calcium's role in increasing bone density and reducing fracture risk, most of the investigations have used calcium supplement tablets. Heaney said this current study is significant because it used natural food sources of calcium - demonstrating not only that dietary changes can achieve the desired results, but that they may offer additional benefits over supplementation.
"Sometimes people object to increasing calcium intake through food because they mistakenly think it's too hard or they're concerned about increasing fat intake or body weight," Heaney said. "But this study shows that it's not only doable, it should be the first approach."
Heaney and colleagues indicate in the article that many popular nutrition supplements tout the value of extra magnesium and zinc, alone or in conjunction with added calcium. Yet, food sources of calcium provide these important nutrients, and those on the milk diet significantly increased their intake of both these nutrients. Additionally, vitamin D, phosphorus and protein intake was significantly increased in the milk group.
Also not commonly appreciated, the authors assert, is the fact that milk costs less per calorie than most foods in the American diet, making it a cost-effective way to improve calcium nutrition.
"Dietitians and public health officials need to emphasize ways to meet optimal calcium intake recommendations through increased intake of lowfat dairy products," Heaney concluded.
Calling For More Calcium
For more information on creative, cost-effective and natural ways to boost your daily calcium quota, call 1-800-WHY-MILK or visit www.whymilk.com for a free copy of "Consider Your Calcium Source," a new 'got milk?' brochure that was developed with technical assistance from The American Dietetic Association Foundation's National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics.
The 'got milk?®' Milk Mustache marketing campaign is jointly funded by the nation's fluid milk processors and America's dairy farmers. The multi-faceted campaign was initiated to educate consumers and correct misconceptions about milk.
Source: Heaney, R.P., et al: "Dietary changes favorably affect bone remodeling in older adults," Journal of The American Dietetic Association , 99: 1228-1233, 1999.
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