The main reason why you may take milk is for strengthening your bones as milk is the main source of calcium. Calcium also helps you prevent osteoporosis. So as a culture, you may find yourself downing about three glasses of milk every day. This is an acceptable amount your body could tolerate. Does this mean that too much milk may be harmful to your health?
There are various dangers to taking too much milk. Here are four of the side effects of drinking too much milk in your diet:
- Weight Gain
You may have heard or seen whole-fat milk in the milk section in your local store. This kind of milk has a lot of calories and drinking too much means you get more calories into your body. More calories translate to weight gain.
Whole milk contains 149 calories while skimmed milk has 91 calories. If you may suspect that your daily milk intake is high, you could switch to skimmed milk and bring your calorie count low. Otherwise, milk is a rich source of calcium.
Vegans cannot eat milk and its products. Therefore, they can access calcium via vegan supplements.
- Digestive Troubles
Milk contains sugars called lactose. Some people are lactose intolerant meaning that their bodies cannot break down lactose. The condition causes some symptoms to emerge that is rather uncomfortable. They include:
- Nausea
- Abdominal cramping
- Gas
- Diarrhea
The symptoms occur 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming the milk. This kind of problem develops over time. You could consume milk as a child but when you can develop the problem when an adolescent or an adult. If you’re lactose intolerant, then even a sip of milk could affect you.
- Allergies
Milk allergies are not the same thing as lactose intolerance. You will have an immune response to the proteins in milk unlike having problems with digesting milk. Milk allergy symptoms include:
- Upset stomach
- Throat tightness
- Wheezing when breathing
- Itchy eyes
- Coughing
- Vomiting
- Hives and swellings
The symptoms tend to begin a few minutes after you consume milk. However, in severe cases, people with milk allergies can develop an anaphylactic reaction. This is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical intervention.
Excess milk consumption can enhance you to develop a milk allergy.
- Iron Absorption Problems
Sometimes, milk can cause trouble in iron absorption in the body. This can reduce iron absorption especially for people who use supplements. Therefore, consuming too much milk would cause a deficiency in iron thus increasing the risk of developing anemia. While this is not an issue for adults, it could cause problems in small children. This is the reason why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that babies below 12 months should not be fed cow milk. Also, children under 5 months should be limited to three- or eight-ounce servings of milk per day.
Rather than drink too much milk to gain calcium, look for vegan discount supplements from the best multivitamin stores and buy calcium supplements.