Is milk really good for you? Not for everyone

January 9, 1997
Web posted at: 6:20 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Eugenia Halsey

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When was the last time you had a glass of milk? If you can't remember, the milk industry and many health experts are trying to change that with a new slogan.

Olympic athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner, a spokeswoman for the milk campaign, says milk has helped make her what she is today. The milk industry and health experts hope she and other celebrities who don't mind being photographed with a milk mustache can make milk fashionable again.

Milk is a good source of calcium that may help prevent brittle bones. Some 25 million Americans a year, mostly women, suffer from osteoporosis.

The problem is, say many health experts, most Americans drink only one glass of milk a day, if that.

Many adults think milk is just for kids and teens often prefer colas to milk.

So the milk industry and the National Osteoporosis Foundation have come up with a new slogan: "Drink Three," as in three glasses of milk a day.

It's a follow-up to the popular milk mustache campaign.

But some people have a problem with these messages, including Mayme Grant.

"When I drank just plain milk on an empty stomach, it was like I took a poison," she said.

She's what doctors call lactose intolerant. She lacks an enzyme needed to digest milk.

David Paige, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says Grant is not alone. Two-thirds of the world's adults have this problem including many African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.

"For those who can't comfortably drink milk, who experience symptoms with it, we should look to alternatives," he said.

Paige added that people who find lactose-reduced milk too expensive can get calcium by eating yogurt, cheese, and vegetables such as broccoli and collard greens.

Others insist milk is still the best and easiest source of calcium, provided it's low in fat such as skim milk or 1 percent milk.

 

Related stories:

• Milk that cuts fat, keeps flavor - August 8, 1996
• Debate over hormone-free milk rages on in Vermont - April 19, 1886

Related sites:

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• Milk Products Industry
• National Osteoporosis Foundation
• Johns Hopkins University

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