Don’t drink milk on an empty stomach in the morning? Nutritionists debunk 4 milk myths

"I'm almost late for work, I'd better drink some milk before going out!" "But the Internet says that drinking milk on an empty stomach in the morning will cause diarrhea and make you sleepy!" The modern Internet is full of information from various content farms. Are you sure you are receiving the correct ideas? Below, professional nutritionists will answer the four most common myths about drinking milk that are popular on the Internet and teach you how to drink milk in a healthy way!

Myth 1/You can’t drink milk on an empty stomach in the morning?

Many people are accustomed to drinking milk for breakfast when they get up in the morning, but some people think that drinking milk on an empty stomach in the early morning can easily cause diarrhea; others think that there is too much stomach acid in the morning, and drinking milk on an empty stomach will react chemically with the calcium in the milk to form precipitated chemical substances, which is not conducive to nutrient absorption.

In this regard, Hou Wenyi, director of the Nutrition Department of St. Martin's Hospital, said that drinking milk on an empty stomach can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, which is not common in clinical practice. There are generally only the following situations: (1) Patients with "lactose intolerance" cannot effectively digest and absorb lactose due to insufficient lactase in their bodies, so they will experience abdominal cramps, bloating or diarrhea after drinking milk; (2) Some patients' intestinal mucosa atrophies after illness, and the number of miscellaneous bacteria in the intestines increases, causing the function of breaking down lactose into galactose to deteriorate, making it difficult for the intestines to absorb, so they may experience diarrhea after drinking milk; (3) Some people's stomachs are more sensitive to temperature, and drinking cold milk on an empty stomach may also cause mild diarrhea. This means that if you are not one of these 3 types of people, drinking milk on an empty stomach will not have much impact, so don't worry!

As for whether drinking milk on an empty stomach will hinder the absorption of nutrients, nutritionist Hou Wenyi pointed out that although the "casein" component in milk has the property of coagulation, overall, milk is still a food that is easy to absorb and digest. It is more important to note that osteoporosis patients should not consume high-tannin foods (such as black tea, green tea or coffee) or high-iron foods at the same time when drinking milk. High tannin plus high calcium, high iron plus high calcium, can easily hinder the body's absorption of milk calcium. It is best to leave more than 1 hour between drinking coffee and tea to avoid affecting absorption.

Myth 2/Does drinking milk in the morning make you sleepy?

Milk contains tryptophan, a precursor of a neurotransmitter that calms nerves and soothes emotions. It has long been considered a good helper for helping you sleep at night. However, it is this effect that makes many people worry that drinking milk in the morning will make them more sleepy.

Nutritionist Hou Wenyi said that if you don’t sleep well the night before, you will feel listless and sleepy when you wake up the next day. No matter what you eat at this time, you will still feel sleepy. Therefore, you should not confuse cause and effect and mistakenly regard drinking milk for breakfast as the reason for lack of energy. What's more, compared with sleeping pills, tranquilizers and other drugs, the effect of milk in helping you sleep is far inferior, and it is impossible for you to feel sleepy immediately after eating it.

Myth 3/Drinking milk increases women’s risk of ovarian cancer?

It is said online that the lactose in milk will release galactose after digestion, and high concentrations of galactose will damage the ovaries and may cause ovarian cancer. Nutritionist Hou Wenyi said that indeed, a prospective research analysis found that women with high lactose intake (equivalent to drinking 3 cups of milk a day) have a "slightly" increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to ordinary women. She also emphasized that the increase is not large and the evidence is not sufficient. Therefore, whether drinking milk really increases the risk of cancer still needs to be supported by more empirical research.

From a practical perspective, modern people rarely drink milk as water and drink more than 3 cups a day. Therefore, most people don’t have to worry about drinking too much and causing cancer. They should not negate the benefits of milk to the human body and become "milk-rejecting people" because of excessive worry. Milk is a good calcium supplement and an excellent source of protein. The current Chinese dietary guidelines recommend that adults should consume 1.5 to 2 cups of low-fat milk every day.

Myth 4/Drinking whole milk can help you lose weight?

Observing the articles on the Internet about "drinking whole milk can help lose weight", most of them cite the literature published by nutritionist Mario Kratz and others in the "European Journal of Nutrition" in 2013. They found 16 papers on the study of milk and obesity, and found no evidence that consuming more high-fat milk would increase the risk of obesity. Among them, 11 papers found that the subjects who consumed more whole milk or high-fat dairy products had a smaller increase in weight than those who consumed less.

However, the conclusion of this paper has gradually changed after being cited and disseminated again and again. "Drinking high-fat milk has not been found to increase the risk of obesity" has become "Drinking whole milk or high-fat milk can help lose weight." Little do people know that "not getting fat" does not mean "being able to lose weight"!

Moreover, researchers believe that the smaller changes in body weight caused by consuming more high-fat dairy products may also be affected by other dietary or lifestyle factors. Therefore, we cannot directly conclude that "consuming higher-fat dairy products will make you thinner."

As for why whole milk, which has a relatively high fat content, does not increase the obesity rate as everyone imagines? Nutritionist Hou Wenyi pointed out that taking a cup of 240c.c. of fresh milk as an example, the fat content of whole milk is 8 grams, and the fat content of low-fat milk is 4 grams. The difference of 4 grams and the calorie difference is only 36 calories, so the impact is not that great. On the contrary, fat can increase satiety. People who drink whole milk may feel less hungry and reduce the chance of consuming more snacks. A small portion of snacks on the market can easily contain more than 180 calories. In comparison, the extra 36 calories from whole milk are no big deal!

However, nutritionist Hou Wenyi reminds that if you keep your usual snack intake the same regardless of whether you are hungry or not, it is recommended to give priority to low-fat milk. After all, although the extra 36 calories in whole milk may not seem like much, drinking one cup a day will still make you gain 1 kilogram after 7 months.