Bilked by Milk?

Remember that old motto, “Milk: It does a body good”? It was a brilliant motto thought up by the National Dairy Council, most of us remembering it years after we first heard it on our television sets or read it in our magazines.

But according to a new study, milk may not be so good for your mind.

According to a study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, men who consume milk frequently are more likely to acquire Parkinson’s disease—the degenerative disease that has affected luminaries like Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali—than men who consume milk infrequently.

Parkinson’s is a disease that affects the brain and occurs when one section of the brain—the substantia nigra die—produces an abnormally low amount of dopamine. Symptoms of Parkinson’s include continuous shaking (tremor-like movements), difficulty with balance, difficulty speaking, stiffness and depression. It is estimated that 1.5 million Americans currently have Parkinson’s (75 percent of whom are over the age of 50), with 60,000 newly diagnosed cases each year.

After gathering medical background information from numerous men and women between the years of 1991 and 2001 (73,175 women and 57,689 men), researchers found that those who consumed milk more frequently than others (i.e. three to four glasses of milk per day versus consuming less than a cup of milk a day) had a 60 percent greater chance of acquiring Parkinson’s disease. Equally as troublesome was the fact that men exhibited a greater chance of contracting the disease than women. While the researchers don’t know why there’s a correlation between Parkinson’s disease and milk consumption among men, the finding substantiates the fact that Parkinson’s disease affects more men than women.

As with all studies, more research needs to be done to determine if these findings are significant. Whatever ends up happening, the findings are somewhat confounding for the researchers. For instance, one would assume that since milk is a dairy product, other dairy products would also play a role in one’s contraction of Parkinson’s. While the researchers found that other dairy products played some factor (such as with yogurt and cheese), milk consumption played the biggest role. Equally as confounding is their inability to determine what compound of milk—or of dairy products in general—accounts for the troublesome link. The researchers hope to discover the “underlying mechanisms” that explain the link (if there even is one).

That said, if you're a milk lover I recommend you try fresh raw milk, if it's available to you as not all states are allowed to sell it. Fresh raw milk provides an excellent sources of calcium, nutrients and “friendly” bacteria. Another option, which is my personal favorite is delicious almond milk, which you can prepare yourself using almonds (preferably organic), water and a blender.