Got Truth? Rethinking Dairy, Calcium, and Bone Health

Milk has long been sold as the key to strong bones, but research
challenges that claim: many people don’t tolerate dairy, calcium
needs are lower than advertised, and higher milk intake doesn’t
necessarily prevent fractures. Politics and industry marketing
helped set “three glasses a day,” even though healthy bones depend
more on overall diet and lifestyle—things like vitamin D, movement,
and avoiding soda, excess sugar, and stress that drive calcium
loss. Dairy may be helpful for some diets, but it can also trigger
bloating, acne, congestion, or digestive issues. The good news is
that strong bones and good nutrition are still very doable without
cow’s milk—think leafy greens, sardines, almonds, chia, and
sunshine for vitamin D. In this episode, I discuss, along with Dr.
David Ludwig and Dr. Elizabeth Boham why bone health depends more
on diet, lifestyle, and nutrient balance than on dairy. David S.
Ludwig, MD, PhD, is an endocrinologist and researcher at Boston
Children’s Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical
School, and Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School
of Public Health. He co-directs the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center and founded the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL)
program, one of the nation’s largest clinics for children with
obesity. For over 25 years, Dr. Ludwig has studied how diet
composition affects metabolism, body weight, and chronic disease
risk, focusing on low glycemic index, low-carbohydrate, and
ketogenic diets. Called an “obesity warrior” by Time Magazine, he
has championed policy changes to improve the food environment. A
Principal Investigator on numerous NIH and philanthropic grants,
Dr. Ludwig has published over 200 scientific articles and three
books for the public, including the #1 New York Times bestseller
Always, Hungry? Dr. Elizabeth Boham is Board Certified in Family
Medicine from Albany Medical School, and she is an Institute for
Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and the Medical Director
of The UltraWellness Center. Dr. Boham lectures on a variety of
topics, including Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention,
insulin resistance, heart health, weight control and allergies. She
is on the faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine. This
episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to
bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN to save 15%. Full-length
episodes can be found here:Why Most Everything We Were Told About
Dairy Is Wrong Is It Okay To Eat Cheese And What Types Of Dairy
Should You Avoid? Is Lactose Intolerance Causing Your Gut Issues?