Should I Drink Milk, Doctor?

Prohibitions, Balance, and the Individually Varying Effects of Milk

Lately, when I tell my patients that they can benefit from milk and dairy products for their stomach complaints, I often encounter this objection: "Doctor, there are publications saying it's extremely bad and unhealthy to drink milk after 40. What do you think?" At this point, I'd like to remind you of something first: Be wary of such absolute prohibitions. We once banned eggs for a long time. We banned olive oil with songs. We said "don't eat fat" for butter. Today, we have reintroduced them all. Tomorrow, a similar reversal might happen for milk.

In my opinion, drinking a small amount of milk, consuming as much milk as you need, is more beneficial than harmful. However, these statements might hold some truth; when we look at the potential harms of milk after a certain age, lactose intolerance comes first.

Lactose is a carbohydrate; it is a carbohydrate found in milk. Some people may have it from birth. But after a certain age, a decrease in the enzymes that break down lactose in the small intestine can occur, making lactose indigestible; it passes from the small intestine to the large intestine, where it can cause uncomfortable conditions like bloating, gas, and sometimes diarrhea due to the action of bacteria.

Apart from this, the fats and carbohydrates in milk can be too much for some people; they can pose a risk for certain age groups due to increased cholesterol and fats in the blood. Another claim is the presence of growth-promoting hormones in milk. When the offspring of a newborn bovine suckles its first milk, it can become very active; the effect of growth factors is discussed during this period. However, this is more related to the milk from the first week to fifteen days, referred to as "ağız" in Anatolia; similar to colostrum formed after childbirth in women. Therefore, I don't think such a risk is very high.

Recently, it's also mentioned that casein increases intestinal permeability due to its effect on the small intestine. Or it can be said that large animals are "diabetic" because they don't leave the barn and eat whatever feed they are given, and their sugar content might be high. Despite all this, I am not convinced that drinking milk at a certain age has a very sharp, very significant harm: It doesn't cause cancer, it doesn't cause ulcers, or it shouldn't be interpreted as such definitive results. It varies for everyone; your flora, your microbiota, your gas levels can be different. Therefore, for some, milk can become a more uncomfortable process; for those who have no complaints, such a problem may not exist.

For this reason, I don't think it's right to say "definitely don't drink milk after a certain age." Because milk contains many components like vitamin D, B vitamins, zinc, copper; it contains beneficial peptides and products formed from animals eating greens. Especially vitamin K2 and calcium cannot be overlooked.

Of course, without forgetting balance: Don't drink two to three liters of milk a day after a certain age. For me, for example, drinking a large glass of iced milk with a cinnamon cookie in the late afternoon seems like a better choice than drinking some fizzy beverages, some diet drinks, or drinks containing harmful substances. But as I always say, one must not overlook the element of balance.