Can Milk Help You Lose Weight?
May 22, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
When I was first told to “lose weight” or else, my doctor suggested many things to me – one of the best suggestions he had given me was to drink milk. At the time he said that there was new research that showed that the calcium in milk will help break fat down.
So I started drinking milk regularly – at least before I went to bed each night.
Now I don’t think that the milk was entirely responsible for me losing 100lbs in around one year – it may have helped or quite possibly it was the placebo effect
As you know I’ve been struggling to start losing weight again, and about 2-3 months ago when I was super hungry one evening rather than gulp down soda pop and chips I stopped for cereal. Of course cereal isn’t complete without milk – so had some 2% with it.
I’ve noticed that since I started drinking milk in the evenings, I am starting to lose weight again — remember I’m also combining this with important lifestyle changes such as controlling the types of food that I eat and exercising or getting more active.
There is research being done on this topic – here are a few sources for you:
- http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_4406_ENU_HTML.htm
- http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/weight_loss_tips/milk_calcium.htm
- http://www.webmd.com/news/20000417/calcium-low-fat-diet
- http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00729170 (STUDY)
- http://www.physorg.com/news156076519.html
Now that being said, there is also information out there that says calcium does nothing to promote weight loss. Who is right? Who knows. Here are a few links that say otherwise:
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15939853
- http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/calcium.asp#h6 - …”Despite the hopeful results of these studies, other recent clinical trials make it clear that the involvement of calcium and dairy products in weight regulation and body composition is complex, inconsistent, and not well understood. For example, one study in young women of normal body weight found that higher intakes of dairy products had no effect on weight or fat mass over the course of one year. Another study in which 100 overweight and obese pre- and post-menopausal women on reduced-calorie diets received either 1,000 mg/day calcium or a placebo for 25 weeks found no significant differences in weight or fat loss between the groups. Similar results were obtained in a study of 1,471 postmenopausal women (somewhat overweight on average) who were randomly assigned to take 1,000 mg/day calcium or a placebo for 30 months, though there was a trend toward greater weight loss in those who took the calcium supplement and whose calcium intakes from food averaged less than 600 mg/day. Clearly, larger clinical trials are needed to better assess the effects of calcium and dairy products on body weight, composition, and fat distribution.” (Note that the emphasis is mine)
The other advantages I found by drinking milk is that it made me feel full longer. Milk is also refreshing – much better than soda pop, and a cold glass of milk cools the body down as well on a hot day.
So while more research need to be done, ultimately the way to lose weight is not by looking for the magic pill – because there is none – but by making positive lifestyle changes.
Here is to your health!
Mohamed
