Why Most Everything We Were Told About Dairy Is Wrong with Dr. David Ludwig

Aug 19, 2020

In this engaging discussion, Dr. David Ludwig, an endocrinologist and Harvard professor, dives deep into the myths surrounding dairy consumption. He reveals that the traditional belief in milk as a 'perfect food' is misleading, particularly since many people are lactose intolerant. Ludwig emphasizes the importance of dietary composition over mere calorie counting, challenging the recommendation for three daily servings of dairy. He advocates for rethinking our approach to calcium and highlights the benefits of personalized nutrition, questioning old dietary guidelines.

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INSIGHT

Conflicting Missions

The USDA's dual mission promotes public health while advancing food industry interests.
This can lead to skewed dietary recommendations, like the three daily servings of dairy.

INSIGHT

Dairy Not Essential

Half the world's population doesn't regularly consume dairy, yet children grow up healthy.
Milk isn't strictly necessary for bone health, as seen in populations with low dairy intake.

INSIGHT

Calcium's Role in Bone Health

High calcium intake doesn't guarantee strong bones long-term; short-term gains are transient.
Lower calcium requirements can be met through diverse diets, not just milk.

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Why Most Everything We Were Told About Dairy Is Wrong | This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market and Tushy

There are so many myths when it comes to nutrition and health. One of the most prominent, that is still being supported by our government policies today, is that we need three servings of dairy a day to get enough calcium and achieve optimal wellness. We now have plenty of research to show us this just isn’t the case. Not to mention, upwards of 65% of the world’s population are lactose intolerant after infancy! Cow’s milk is not nature’s perfect food for human adults, despite what the lobbying efforts of the dairy industry say. On this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I was excited to sit down with Dr. David Ludwig, whose research I’ve followed for the past 20 years and has helped shape the way I practice medicine.

David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD is an endocrinologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital. He holds the rank of Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Ludwig is co-director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center and founder of the Optimal Weight for Life program, one of the country’s oldest and largest clinics for the care of overweight children. For more than 25 years, Dr. Ludwig has studied the effects of dietary composition on metabolism, body weight, and risk for chronic disease. Described as an “obesity warrior” by Time Magazine, Dr. Ludwig has fought for fundamental policy changes to improve the food environment. He has been a Principal Investigator on numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and philanthropic organizations and has published over 200 scientific articles. Dr. Ludwig was a Contributing Writer at JAMA for 10 years and presently serves as an editor for The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and The BMJ. He has written 3 books for the general public, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Always, Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently.

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Here are more of the details from our interview:

Examining the potential impact of people following the US dietary guidelines for drinking milk, and how these guidelines originated (10:59)

Debunking the “Got Milk?” campaign (14:40)

The importance of considering the impact of milk in the context of its interaction with overall diet quality (17:19)

Do you really need to drink milk to get enough calcium, and for healthy bones? (19:54)

How industrial agriculture results in higher amounts of naturally occurring hormones in milk (30:13)

The misguided school lunch requirements for milk (34:35)

Whole milk vs skim milk (36:40)

Butter and saturated fat from dairy (40:02)

How is the quality of the dairy we consume today different than it was 100 years ago? (49:43)

Summary of Dr. Ludwig’s findings on dairy consumption (58:38)