People with diabetes wonder if it is safe to drink milk, whether it will increase their blood sugar levels and how many glasses of milk can they drink.
Published Jul 16, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 17, 2024 | 3:22 PM
Diabetes (Representative image)
When it comes to diabetic diets, there is always contradictory advice and differing opinions, leading to confusion for the patients. One common question that arises is whether drinking milk is safe for patients with diabetes. South First spoke to experts to understand the nutritional aspects of milk, its effects on blood sugar, and whether people with diabetes can safely drink cow’s milk.
Dr. V Mohan, world-famous diabetologist and Chairman of Dr V Mohan’s Diabetes Specialists Centre in Chennai, addressed a popular myth circulating on social media – people with diabetes should not drink milk. “Some nutritionists even go to the extent of saying that milk is what causes diabetes in the first place. However, there is no basis for such statements. This is a pure myth,” he clarifies.
“It is true that there were some studies from Scandinavia many years ago suggesting a possible link between Type 1 diabetes in very young children and milk consumption. However, that theory was disproved later. The association between childhood Type 1 diabetes and cow’s milk was proposed because exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months was not followed. Instead, children were weaned off mother’s milk and fed cow’s milk, which contains some antigens that the child’s body might not tolerate. Even here, there was no proof that cow’s milk caused Type 1 diabetes, and that theory was discarded,” Dr Mohan explained.
Dr Mohan says some of the people in the West have said that drinking milk can lead to diabetes. However, he clarifies, “Our studies have shown opposite findings, that milk is good for people with diabetes. Dairy, in general, including milk, has been found to be protective against Type 2 diabetes in our studies.”
Explaining further, he says, “This was first shown in our cross-sectional study, the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study. Later, it was confirmed in prospective studies like the PURE study (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological Study), conducted in 27 countries involving over 200,000 people followed for over 15 years.”
He also asserted that these studies showed that dairy, in general, was protective against diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and even cardiovascular disease. In fact, mortality was also lower in those who consumed dairy. The strongest evidence for protection came from yogurt, while milk and cheese were found to be neutral. Given all these facts, a person with diabetes need not avoid milk.
Speakng about nutritional benefits of milk he says, “Milk is one of the most wholesome foods and also inexpensive. It provides the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. For vegetarians, it is one of the few sources of protein. For pregnant and lactating women, those in menopause, and growing children, it is essential.”
“One glass of milk contains about 500 mg of calcium, which is sufficient for adults. Pregnant women should have two glasses. It all depends on individuals and how they split this intake. Some people take milk only in their coffee or tea. One can have three to four cups of tea or coffee per day with milk,” he adds.
Meanwhile, metabolic health coach and low carb high fat practitioner Ira Sahay though suggests that it is better for people with diabetes to avoid milk as much as possible due to the presence of sugar and lactose in it. However, they can easily have other variants of dairy like hung curd, paneer, cheese, and cream, according to her.
She also suggests that for tea and coffee specifically, cream or coconut milk are better and healthier options. “people with diabetes can have a small quantity of full-fat milk in their tea or coffee, varying between one to three cups a day, which would mean a maximum of 50 ml-70 ml of full-fat milk per day,” she added.
Speaking on lactose intolerance, Sahay adds that an important point to keep in mind is that a lot of people, including diabetics, may also be lactose intolerant. Many people are not aware of this. Since milk has more lactose in it, overconsumption should be avoided. Instead, they can try cream or coconut milk are healthier and more delicious options.
However, Dr Mohan says that anything in moderation is okay and that adage applies to drinking milk for people with diabetes as well. He further says, “Some say that large quantities of milk, say two or three huge glasses per day, have been linked to prostate cancer in men, but even for this, the evidence is not very strong. The adage ‘everything in moderation’ applies well to milk as well.”
(Edited by Neena)
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