Benefits of Milk: The False Health Claim

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One of the great modern age benefits is found in the abundance of health information readily available to the public. However, while the vast majority of it is well researched and essential in helping people, a great deal is also false and can lead to trouble. In the early 2000s, the problem of false claims made on health-related websites was already widespread and worrying (MacFarlane et al., 2020). False or inflated claims about various products and foods’ nutritional and health benefits concern medical professionals. One of the most commonly consumed items in our larders is also one with some of the most myths attached – milk. While many myths have been debunked, many remain convinced that milk can do no wrong, regardless of the lack of scientific support.

Everyone has seen media supporting the seemingly endless health benefits that come with drinking milk. While milk certainly has certain health benefits, particularly in the early developmental stages, some of the tales about its powers verge on the fantastical (Fardellone, 2019). As public confidence in health claims is high, these tales widely impact public opinion (Roe et al., 2018). One of the critical claims made surrounding the benefits of milk centers around the role of milk in severely diminishing the risk of osteoporosis (Eguez, n.d.). A further claim centers around the role of milk as a weight-loss stimulant, a claim endorsed by the ultra successful ‘Got Milk?’ campaigns that dominated dairy advertising for nearly thirty years (Daddona, 2018). One of the claims made about the benefit of milk is specific to women and focuses on the need to consume milk in pre-menopausal years to prepare for upcoming bone loss (Shiffer, 2019).

Indeed, the information regarding the benefits and risks of dairy consumption is at times so little based on scientific fact that rival claims exist side by side. While some claim that milk consumption leads to clear skin, others speak of the possible risks of acne incurred through daily consumption (Hart, 2020; Eguez, n.d.). This is, however, an improvement on those sources that solely focus on listing the seemingly endless benefits of drinking milk, without any reference to possible drawbacks or a lack of any effect at all (8 reasons to drink milk, 2018). The overall claim of milk’s great benefit to the human body has grown hugely in the public conscious, thanks mainly to successful advertising from dairy firms; the constant enumeration of its many health benefits has allowed the myth to be taken for fact by many.

A focused study by Fung et al. (2017), looking at the link between milk intake and the lessening of the risk of hip fracture, found no association between the two. A specialized study looking to locate the benefits of dairy consumption on the bone health or risk of fractures of menopausal women found no significant changes brought on by its consumption (Wallace et al., 2020). Indeed, this study seems to directly contradict many of the claims made about the benefits of milk for women entering menopause (Shiffer, 2019). However, while consumers’ interest in a healthy diet has increased, many tend to have a positive attitude towards the health claims on dairy products and continue to purchase them apace (Granato et al., 2020). In this way, consumer belief in and reliance on health claims encourages the falsification of health claims on product labels and rewards it.

Establishing the true extent of the positive impact of milk on health is made difficult by the many contrasting testimonies. Perhaps then, the correct view is the one examined in a study by Fardellone et al. (2016). It highlights how conflicting the findings from the many studies are and considers that to disclaim all health benefits of the consumption of milk and other dairy products would be false (Fardellone et al., 2016). Indeed, bone health is much affected by the presence or absence of calcium and protein, of which milk is an optimal though by no means exclusive source (Fardellone, 2019). However, the claims of an overall increase in health and the promise of good bone health and prevention of fractures on which much dairy advertising hangs are not foolproof and thus must be considered false.

Health is one of the primary concerns of people around the world, regardless of age, gender, wealth or any other factor. A facet of this concern is the perceived access to health, which varies considerably based on various factors (Tanner et al., 2020). Still, it is partially influenced by the amount of information readily available online or through verbal communication channels. Health professionals must always search for the most current research in their fields of work, as humanity’s knowledge is constantly expanding, and oftentimes previous hypotheses are disproven. For example, the debate regarding the role of dairy products in reducing osteoporotic risk is still very much debated in the scientific community due to contradictory findings in several studies (Van den Heuvel and Steijns, 2018). The issue of false information is particularly crucial to nutritional claims, as they heavily impact consumer opinion and consumption and can lead to misconceptions about health benefits and risks in certain products (Roe et al., 2018).

On the whole, the spread of false health claims is a serious problem to health professionals, as it can lead to mistaken assumptions and consumption of wrong and even dangerous medication by patients. Of particular worry in the case of the false advertising of medical miracles and solutions is the success of repetitive claims made through media in solidifying people’s belief in the claims (Brashier et al., 2017). Solutions for weight loss, cancer, arthritis, and incurable viruses such as HIV are particularly popular in the market of misleading information and falsified medical claims (MacFarlane et al., 2020). Notably, advertisements and websites boasting of scientific breakthroughs and secret ingredients are the ones typically found to be full of misinformation (MacFarlane et al., 2020). Thus, healthcare professionals must keep themselves aware of verified sources of information and dates and appraise the most current research in their fields.

In conclusion, whole milk certainly has particular health benefits, it is not the paragon of bone density and overall health that it has been perceived as for years. That milk has certain health benefits is undeniable; that it is not responsible for the multitude of health benefits tied to it in the popular imagination and through the spreading of false claims is equally valid. It is vital for health care professionals to be aware of trends in false health claims and be mindful of the latest research and findings in healthcare to function effectively and not be distracted by false claims the public takes to be true.

References

Brashier, N. M., Umanath, S., Cabeza, R., & Marsh, E. J. (2017). Competing cues: Older adults rely on knowledge in the face of fluency. Psychology and aging, 32(4), 331. Web.

Daddona, M. (2018). Got Milk? How the iconic campaign came to be, 25 years ago.Fast Company. Web.

Eguez, S. (n.d.) 10 benefits of milk that you never knew even when you drink it every day. Life Hacks. Web.

Fardellone, P. (2019). The effect of milk consumption on bone and fracture incidence, an update. Aging clinical and experimental research, 31(6), 759-764. Web.

Fardellone, P., Séjourné, A., Blain, H., Cortet, B., & Thomas T. (2016). Osteoporosis: Is milk a kindness or a curse? Joint Bone Spine, 84(3), 275-281. Web.

Fung, T. T., Meyer, H. E., Willett, W. C. & Feskanich, D. (2017). Protein intake and risk of hip fractures in postmenopausal women and men age 50 and older. Osteoporosis International, 28(4), 1401-1411. Web.

Granato, D., Barba, F. J., Bursać Kovačević, D., Lorenzo, J. M., Cruz, A. G. & Putnik, P. (2020). Functional foods: Product development, technological trends, efficacy testing, and safety.Annual review of food science and technology, 11(1), 93-118. Web.

Hart, K. (2020). Here’s what happens when you drink milk every day.Mashed. Web.

MacFarlane, D., Hurlstone, M. J., & Ecker, U. K. (2020). Protecting consumers from fraudulent health claims: A taxonomy of psychological drivers, interventions, barriers, and treatments. Social Science & Medicine, 112790. Web.

Roe, B., Levy, A. S., & Derby, B. M. (2018). The impact of health claims on consumer search and product evaluation outcomes: results from FDA experimental data. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 18(1), 89 – 105. Web.

Shiffer, E. (2019). How do you sell a work of art built into the earth? Oprah Daily. Web.

Tanner, C., Vann, R., & Kizilova, E. (2020). Consumer-level perceived access to health services and its effects on vulnerability and health outcomes. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(2), 240-255. Web.

Van den Heuvel, E., & Steijns, J. (2018). Dairy products and bone health: How strong is the scientific evidence?.Nutrition Research Reviews, 31(2), 164–178. Web.

Wallace, T. C., Jun, S., Zou, P., McCabe, G. P., Craig, B. A., Cauley, J. A., Weaver, C. M., & Bailey, R. L. (2020). Dairy intake is not associated with improvements in bone mineral density or risk of fractures across the menopause transition: data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.Menopause, 27(8), 879–886. Web.

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Benefits of Milk: The False Health Claim

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