Milk and Calcium - Too Much Not Good for You

Drink milk because it contains calcium was the mantra.  Now more evidence is accumulating that the message should perhaps be the opposite: avoid milk because it contains calcium.

A recent Swedish cohort study published in the British Medical Journal showed people who drink three glasses of milk daily have a significantly higher chance of dying from all causes than those who drink just one glass of milk a day.

The theory that drinking milk leads to strong bones also suffers yet another setback. There was no evidence drinking more milk reduced the rate of hip fractures. Indeed the apparent paradox that the nations that consume the most calcium have the highest fracture rates remains. Other non-milk dairy products like cheese and yogurt, however, do seem to provide some of the advertised benefits.

This negative finding for milk is consistent with previous findings questioning the value of calcium supplementation that also found correlation between increased calcium supplementation and increased mortality.

Magnesium and Calcium?

It is unmentioned anywhere but could it be that the antagonistic properties of magnesium towards calcium and vice versa is part of what makes magnesium beneficial?  This is one of those relationships that are unaddressed but should be.

References

• Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Dawson-Hughes B, Baron JA, et al. (December 2007). Calcium intake and hip fracture risk in men and women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 86(6):1780-1790.
• Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Dawson-Hughes B, Baron JA, et al. (March 23, 2011). Milk intake and risk of hip fracture in men and women: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 26(4):833–839.
• Bolland MJ, Avenell A, Baron JA, et al. (July 29, 2010). Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis. BMJ 341:c3691.
• Bolland MJ, Grey A, Avenell A, Gamble GD, Reid IR. (April 19, 2011). Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis. BMJ 342:d2040. 
• Feskanich D, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Frazier AL, Willett WC. (January 2014). Milk Consumption During Teenage Years and Risk of Hip Fractures in Older Adults. JAMA Pediatrics 168(1):54-60.
• Kuanrong L, Kaaks R, Linseisen J, Rohrmann S. (May 21, 2012). Associations of dietary calcium intake and calcium supplementation with myocardial infarcation and stroke risk and overall cardiovascular mortality in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC-Heidelberg). Heart 98:920-925.
• Michaelsson K, Wolk A, Langenskiold S, et al. (October 28, 2014). Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies. BMJ 349:g6015
• Xiao Q, Murphy R, Houston DK, et al. (2013). Dietary and Supplemental Calcium Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality The National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study. JAMA Internal Medicine 173(8):639-646.