For decades, milk was the undisputed pillar of any healthy breakfast. However, in recent years we have witnessed a real demonization of dairy products and we have heard practically everything, from being “unnatural” for adults, to being the culprit of increased cholesterol or even the risk of cancer. But we are faced with several myths that are important to deny.
We are designed for it. One of the most repeated arguments is that we are the only mammal that consumes milk in its adult stage. Experts explain that, although a part of the world’s population loses the ability to digest lactose after childhood, many others maintain this enzyme active throughout life thanks to a genetic adaptation. Therefore, there is no basis to recommend that all adults stop drinking milk because of this enzyme.
Here science is quite clear, since a population study carried out in Galicia with 850 people showed that, although the alteration of lactose metabolism affects 38% of individuals, when normal physiological quantities are consumed such as a simple glass of milk or yogurt, symptomatic intolerance plummets to 2% for milk and 8% for yogurt.
Mortality. Another of the most widespread myths is precisely that dairy consumption in adults increases the risk of mortality and cardiovascular diseases, but science says the opposite. Here, a monumental 2021 umbrella review noted that the evidence does not support that milk is harmful and in fact, in most scenarios its impact is neutral, and in several it is clearly favorable.
But if we want to sharpen our aim, a 2026 dose-response meta-analysis, based on 29 cohorts and more than 1.6 million participants, has drawn the exact curve of how dairy interacts with our life expectancy. The researchers found a “U”-shaped association, seeing that the optimal consumption point is between 250 and 300 grams per day.
Cancer. The alleged relationship between dairy products and cancer is another of the great battlehorses on the internet. However, the most recent reviews point in another direction, since it has been seen that dairy consumption reduces the risk of colorectal, bladder, liver, oral cavity and even ovarian and breast cancer.
The calcium dilemma. With the rise of plant-based diets, it is common to hear that “spinach or oat drinks have as much or more calcium than milk.” This is where a crucial scientific concept comes in that the nutritional label doesn’t cover, which is bioavailability and the food matrix.
We see this in a study published in 2024 that measured exactly how much calcium our body actually assimilates, and it was seen that the consumption of dairy products had a bioaccessibility of between 19 and 34%, while vegetable alternatives were 5 and 20%. And this is explained because the joint presence of lactose and casein peptides in milk acts as a “vehicle” that favors the absorption of calcium in our intestine. But in addition, many vegetables rich in calcium are loaded with phytates and oxalates, compounds that “sequester” calcium and prevent us from absorbing it.
Your proteins. From a protein point of view, dairy products play in a higher league. If we use the DIAAS index, dairy proteins obtain scores above 1, and this means that they provide an excellent amount of highly digestible essential amino acids, far surpassing most plant proteins.
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