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Erin Brophy
Dr. Werner
English 113
6 April 2015
Milk: The Perfect Food
You cant leave the table until youve finished your glass of milk. How many
times has this banal threat been used at countless dinner tables with a myriad of
children throughout the nation? Hundreds? Millions? For decades in America, milk
has been commonly viewed by parents as a dietary necessity for their growing
children. Over time, views of milk have changed as a result of new diet studies,
recommendations set forth by government agencies, and/or advertisements
released by the dairy industry. Presently, in the wake of many ups and downs,
many of us are left wondering whether or not this animal byproduct is really all that
beneficial to our health. Even though industry and government opinion and
promotion of milk has changed over time, milk remains an important ingredient to a
healthy diet because of its nutritional benefits to the growing body.
In the 1860s and up through the early 1900s, it was possible that milk was
almost too dangerous to consume. During the mid-1800s milk was unregulated,
unpasteurized, and carried a lot of bacteria that was associated with deadly
diseases such as typhoid, diphtheria, and scarlet fever which increased the rates of
infant deaths (Levenstein 18)(Miller 160). In addition, greedy milk vendors would
often mix their product with water from wells that were frequently contaminated by
animal waste to increase the volume of milk they had to sell, which introduced more
bacteria to the milk (Miller 160). This nonexistence of regulation and limited
knowledge of deleterious effects of bacterial colonies that were introduced to milk

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through its transportation and sale made milk a beverage that shouldnt be
consumed because it was the cause of so much disease, despite the health benefits
pure milk provides.
Changes in milk processing have made its consumption safer and more
beneficial to the human body. The very first step in this process was that of
pasteurization, a process of heating and cooling milk to rid it of most harmful
bacteria (Kush 42). This new, vitally important idea of pasteurization decreased the
rates of infant mortality by almost half in just 20 years after its introduction in the
late 1800s (Kush 42). Even though pasteurized milk was created, it was not always
available to everyone because of its price. So, social reformers and philanthropists,
like Nathan Strauss, kicked into high gear (Kush 42)(Miller 173). Strauss set up milk
depots around the city of New York that provided pasteurized milk and milk formula
for babies where milk was sold at nominal costs (Miller 174). Strauss deemed the
milk free for people who didnt have the money to pay because he knew that milk
was the perfect food defiled by greed and corruption and believed that everyone
should have the means to maintain good health (Kush 42)(Miller 174). These were
steps in the right direction.
Not only have changes in processing made milk safer to consume, but
promotion of milk by government and the dairy industry plays a major role in public
of milk. In the 1920s, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National
Dairy Council (the dairy industry) started to promote the consumption of milk as a
beneficial ingredient to a healthy diet. This included creating a Milk Week in 1921
where the mayor of New York City along with the citys commissioner of health
drank a quart of milk at lunch every day for a week to show their belief that milk
was an important aspect of a regular healthy diet (Levenstein 21). All of these

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changes, pasteurization and promotion, lead milk back on the path to being a
healthy addition to ones diet. Louis Pasteur, reformers, and the USDA knew that
milk was an important aspect to the diet, especially of children, so change was
necessary for the health of all individuals. These positive changes in favor of milk
were necessary to regain the publics belief that milk is an important aspect of a
healthy diet.
Since the changes in milk consumption and regulation in the early 1900s,
milk has undergone even more scrutiny that has led to the idea that milk leads to
weight gain, which is actually not the case. In the early 1960s, a dietician named
Ancel Keys advised the general public to eat less saturated fats in the form of
animal products, which included milk, and eat more foods high in carbohydrates
(Teicholz 328). His paper led the American Health Association to include his
information in their 1961 dietary recommendations (Teicholz 326). Since then, rates
of obesity have increased in America from 13% to about 35% of individuals (Ogden
et al 5). In a chapter of her book The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat & Cheese
Belong in a Healthy Diet about the importance of saturated fats, journalist Nina
Teicholz talks about her personal story of weight loss. She ended up losing 10
pounds in two weeks on a diet high in saturated fats from animal products and dairy
products (Teicholz 2) With the increase in obesity since Ancel Keys dietary
recommendations and Nina Teicholzs personal account that milk and saturated fat
consumption actually aids weight loss as opposed to recent popular belief, then we
need to reassess the popular assumption that regulations about diet may not
always be correct.
The argument that saturated fats from animal products such as milk is based
on the idea that eating fat from animal products leads to increased fat in the body

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which is inherently a bad thing; however, fat present in milk and other animal
products is actually essential at baseline levels. Saturated fat is necessary for
providing insulation and transporting vitamins throughout the body (Grosvenor et al
228). Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins meaning the only way they
can be absorbed and utilized by the body, is by being broken down by fat (Teicholz
149)(Grosvenor et al 228). Without fat, the body would become deficient in these
specific vitamins even if they were consumed because the body would have no
means of breaking them down (Grosvenor 228). Because fats are needed by the
body and milk contains saturated fats that are capable of breaking down important
vitamins, milk should be included in a healthy diet, in regulated amounts.
Milk should be consumed in regulated amounts, especially by growing
children because of the vital nutrients it provides their bodies. A study performed by
Connie Weaver, a nutritionist at Purdue University, showed that nutrients,
phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, riboflavin, (and in North America, added
vitamin D), in addition to calcium, have significantly [correlated with] bone mineral
density (Weaver). The added vitamin D in North American milk helps absorb the
calcium into the body more readily (Grosvenor 283). Bone health is vital to growing
children because it reduces their risks of fractures, allowing for proper development.
Strong bones also decrease the risk of development of osteoporosis later in life.
Because of the high correlation between milk and bone density, parents should be
giving their children milk to drink to protect them against these bone related
diseases.
In relation to bone density, milk is the best source of bioavailable calcium for
people looking lose weight or sustain a healthy weight. SA Faghih performed an 8
week long study that compared the effects of consuming low fat whole, fortified soy

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milk, and calcium supplements as sources of calcium on weight loss and
management (Faghih 499). After the 8 weeks, Faghih found that the participants on
a low fat milk diet lost the most weight out of each of the three groups (501). I
agree that milk is the healthiest option, in terms of weight loss, a point that needs
emphasizing since so many people still believe that the consumption of milk leads
to weight gain and that calcium should be found elsewhere. This study by Faghih
shows definitive evidence that calcium from low fat milk is the best option for
people wanting to shed some pounds.
Calcium consumed in milk is not only important to consume for strong bones
but also for many other necessary bodily functions. Calcium supports muscle
contraction, neurotransmitter release, cell to cell communication, and regulation of
blood pressure and blood clotting (Grosvenor 281). All of these functions are crucial
to survival and are regulated heavily by calcium. Since calcium is necessary for a
multitude of bodily functions and because milk is the best calcium source for weight
loss according to the calcium study performed SA Faghih, milk should be included in
a healthy diet to maintain proper calcium stores while supporting a healthy weight.
Not only is milk an important addition to diet, especially that of a child, due to
its protective properties, it is also healthier than other options. A study by Saelens
and colleagues provides evidence that milk is a better alternative to juice because
juice consumption correlates with a higher body fat percentage (Pediatric
Obesity). This is important to take note of because over the last 30 years,
childhood obesity has doubled (Childhood Obesity Facts). Parents are often confused
as to what is the best to feed their child because of all of the options the modern
day food and beverage industry presents to them. There are juices that have added
vitamins and minerals but they are also incredibly loaded with excessive amounts of

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sugar. All of this added sugar has contributed to the large increase in childhood
obesity over the last 30 years. This study performed by Saelens and his cohorts
provides evidence that milk is the better option over juice and supports my belief
that milk is necessary to maintaining and supporting a healthy diet, which includes
maintaining a healthy body weight by avoiding obesity.
Government regulations and industrial advertising have played a huge role in
changing public opinion on milk consumption time and time again. Recent low fat
diet recommendations have done little to combat obesity and have actually
correlated with a rapid increase of obesity since the 1960s. With that being said,
milk and dairy consumption should be promoted because of the health related
benefits such as increased bone density and weight loss. So far, milk has been
proven a healthier option than other beverages, such as juice or soda, because the
large amount of sugar in these products. Milk is also considered the best source of
calcium when compared to supplements. However, like any controversial topic,
there is still room to debate how much milk and who should or should not drink milk
or consume dairy products as beneficial substances possibly due to dietary
restrictions or genetic risk of cardiovascular disease. (WC 1726)

Works Cited
Childhood Obesity Facts. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Center for
Disease Control and Prevention - USA Government. Web. 26 March 2015.

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Faghih, S, Abhadi, AR, Hedayati, M, Kimiagar, SM. Comparison of the effects of
cows milk, fortified soy milk, and calcium supplements on weight and fat loss
in premenopausal women. Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease
27.1 (2011): 499-503. Print.
Grosvenor, Mary and Lori Smolin. Visualizing Nutrition: Everyday Choices. 2nd ed.
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2012. Print.
Kush, Linda. Death in a Bottle: Tainted Milk Scandal. History Magazine 12.4
(2011): 40-43. Print.
Levenstein, Harvey. Fear of Food: A History of Why We Worry About What We Eat.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Print.
Miller, Julie. To Stop the Slaughter of the Babies: Nathan Straus and the Drive for
Pasteurized Milk, 1893-1920. New York History 74.2 (1993): 159-184. Print.
Ogden, Cynthia, and Margaret Carroll. CDC Division of Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey: National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of
Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States,
Trends 19601962 Through 20072008. Georgia, 2010. Print.
"Pediatric Obesity; Milk, Calcium, and Child Weight Status Associations are
Inconsistent." Biotech Week (2006): 989. ProQuest. 27 Apr. 2015.
Teicholz, Nina. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat & Cheese Belong in a Healthy
Diet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. Print.
Weaver, CV. Dairy nutrition beyond infancy. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology
58.2 (2003): 58-60. Print.

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