Can milk consumption cause osteoporosis? No, that's not true: The Pediatric Nutrition Association of Thailand has confirmed that milk consumption cannot cause this disease. Milk is often recommended as a source of calcium and other nutrients that could strengthen bone health.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @ideaphysicsonline on December 28, 2023. The caption (translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff) read:
Milk is dangerous more than you think
The man speaking in the video said: "Milk causes the most osteoporosis" (as translated). He also blamed the calcium in milk as a cause of osteoporosis.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Mar 6 10:09:13 2024 UTC)
After this claim was widely circulated on TikTok, Atirut Asasuek, an influential doctor in Thailand, posted a video (archived here) on TikTok to refute this claim. He said (as translated): "Dairy milk does not cause osteoporosis. So far there is no research proving that milk causes osteoporosis and drinking 2-3 cups a day cannot affect the mineral content in our body. Milk contains casein, a protein that promotes muscle building. Therefore, we can drink it if we have no problem digesting casein protein."
On February 19, 2024, the Pediatric Nutrition Association of Thailand confirmed on its website that milk cannot cause osteoporosis (archived here). The Harvard School of Public Health writes on its website: "Milk contains nutrients important for bone health: calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, and protein." It adds that "research has not shown a consistent benefit on bone health with high intakes of milk," but does not link milk to osteoporosis.
