A version of this article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of SELF.
An ice-cold glass of milk was once the beverage equivalent of comfort food: wholesome, quintessentially American.
It paired perfectly with cookies and completed a healthy breakfast.
Ryan Liebe
These were facts that you probably didn’t question as a kid.
I know I didn’t, coming of age in the “Got Milk?”
Today, I eat Greek yogurt for breakfast and gulp organic (full-fat!)
chocolate milkafter working out.
But I find myself among an ever-shrinking minority of dairy-loving Americans.
Celebs like Alicia Silverstone and Megan Foxwho have espoused vegan or paleo dietstrumpet the supposed evils of dairy.
But what facts justify this widespread milk mutiny?
True, milk provides a lot of calcium.
But it’s not the only sourceandhow much calcium you needis a matter of some debate.
The NIH advises women ages 19 to 50 to consume 1,000 milligrams per daynearly impossible without dairy.
(Women under 30, who are still actively building bone, are most in need of calcium.)
Tofu, broccoli, sardines, almonds and calcium-fortified orange juice are additional sources.
(As for bone health: Leafy greens and weight-bearing exercises help, too.)
Some experts believe the USDA-recommended three daily servings of dairy may actually be too much.
It’s not clear that more Dbeyond the 600 IU per day recommended by the NIHis always better.
Still, if you avoid dairy, talk to your doctor about the right D levels for you.
Research also supports the value of protein for muscle recovery.
“If you eat a balanced diet, your body has what it needs,” says Dr. Katz.
(Some people still have problems with tiny amounts of dairy, but they’re rare.)
Unfortunately, thelow-fat-diet craze backfired.
But the science onhow dairy affects your healthis far from definitive.
(Dr. Katz says it’s “murky at best.")
Nothing I’ve learned has persuaded me to quit, full stop.
Dr. Willett has shown that eating yogurt may even correlate with alowerrisk for key in 2 diabetes.
And cheese and ice cream give my life joy.
I have learned that dairy products aren’t superfoods, fortifying my bones into steel.
But I’m skeptical that they’re wreaking havoc on my health.
