This is what happens to your body when you drink milk daily

Milk is a staple in a majority of households, and for good reasons. Without it, there would be no butter, cheese, porridge, milkshake, ice cream or yogurt. In some form or the other, most people end up consuming milk daily, with tea being one of the most commonly consumed forms of milk. Not just that. Milk is nutritious, and is so important for the growth and development of babies that all mammal mommies produce milk to feed their babies. We know that milk contains a lot of beneficial nutrients, but is it all fun and games, or is there more truth behind the drink?

For the purpose of this list, we are going to eliminate non-dairy milk like soy milk or almond milk, and weigh the pros and cons of cow or buffalo milk. While there is truth to the fact that milk provides many health benefits, things don’t quite end there. The nutritious drink can also be responsible for a number of health problems. So to weigh out the effects of milk, both positive and negative, let’s take a look at what happens when you drink milk everyday.

Let’s begin with some health benefits. For starters, here is a well known fact about milk - it is loaded with calcium, and contains other important nutrients like protein, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamin K2. Calcium is essential for the growth and development of bones, and as an excellent source of calcium, milk is essential for optimum bone health and can help in preventing bone diseases like osteoporosis and fractures. Moreover, milk is a good source of protein, which makes up 50% of the bone volume and a third of the total bone mass. Therefore protein is also important for bone health, and it may protect us against bone loss.

Apart from its high nutrient to calorie ratio, proteins in milk such as casein, albumin, and globulin help in regulating the hormones, keeping you satiated for longer. Drinking milk increases the levels of appetite reducing hormones, while reducing the levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. The calcium and vitamin D present in milk help in burning calories by increasing your metabolism, again helping in weight loss or weight maintenance. When it comes to building or maintaining muscle mass, milk is rich in branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) that specifically play a role in muscle growth. Casein and whey provide the perfect combination of muscle building proteins.

Milk has been linked with reducing the risk of chronic conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, and cancer. As discussed earlier, milk helps in diet control and burning calories, which reduces the risk of obesity. The link between milk and normalized blood pressure is created because milk contains the trio of minerals that are responsible for healthy blood pressure levels, namely calcium, potassium, and magnesium. A review conducted by scientists from different European and American universities showed that even a moderate consumption of milk and other dairy products is linked with a lower risk of colorectal and bladder cancer.

Now let’s look at the flipside of drinking milk everyday. Firstly, it is known to cause acne. D-galactose, a by-product of lactose, is known to be pro-inflammatory, which can lead to acne. A study conducted in 2016 showed that teenagers who suffered from acne drank higher amounts of milk. Milk’s pro-inflammatory property has also been linked with other skin conditions like eczema, and can trigger people who suffer from rosacea.

Milk can cause many digestive problems like gas, bloating, diarrhoea, or constipation. These problems are caused largely due to milk undergoing heavy processing, which leads to an imbalance between good and bad gut bacteria, or due to lactose intolerance. Either way, the end result is not pleasant, and it can cause severe discomfort. Lactose intolerance is the most common cause of digestive problems, where our body is not able to properly digest lactose, a sugar present in milk.

This one might be a bit surprising, since we discussed earlier that milk can actually prevent cancer. Although milk possess properties that can reduce the risk of certain cancers, the risk of other cancers can be exacerbated by drinking milk. Most cows nowadays are given growth hormones, which contain chemicals that can increase the risk of cancers like ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. If you can source pure milk, you are safe!

As we can see, the effects of drinking milk everyday are a bit of a mixed bag. While milk packs a hefty dosage of essential nutrients, it can also prove to be detrimental by having some adverse effects. However, if consumed in moderation, milk won’t prove to be deadly. If you feel you are developing an intolerance to milk, you can always switch to non-dairy milk alternatives.