Is animal milk healthy?

Animal milk is unhealthy because it decreases bone growth and health

Question: Is animal milk healthy?
Position‹2 of 4›: No, milk is unhealthy.
Argument‹4 of 4: Animal milk is unhealthy because it decreases bone growth and health

Although popular opinion suggests that milk improves bone health, milk actually contains a protein known as casein, which produces acid when broken down. This acid is believed to be responsible for the breaking down of bones, making them weaker, which can lead to them breaking more easily.

The argument

Despite the hype, proponents of this view argue, animal milk actually robs our bones of calcium. The reasoning runs through the body's handling of acid. Calcium is needed to neutralize and flush out acids, and in addition to the calcium we consume from milk, we also have to rely on the calcium that is stored in our bodies — which is to say, the calcium held in bone. Animal milk contains acid, which on this account works to draw on those stores, so that what the glass supplies at one end it withdraws at the other. If that is right, then milk's reputation rests on counting only the calcium going in and never the calcium being spent to process it. The evidence offered for the claim is epidemiological. Medical studies have shown that the people who consume the most animal milk have significantly higher bone fracture rates than people who consume little to no animal milk — the opposite of what the conventional account predicts, and the reason advocates of this position treat the conventional account as unexamined. Drinking three or more glasses of milk a day may lead to bone fracture, particularly in women, which is the dose at which milk is most often recommended rather than an unusual excess. A proposed mechanism has also been offered. One study found that the cause of this might be related to a sugar known as D-galactose, which is present in milk. That study states that further research is needed for each individual before making dietary changes, and proponents of this position accept that qualification while pointing to the convergence of separate lines of evidence: another study shows that bone fractures in older adults because of osteoporosis are higher in areas that consume more dairy, animal protein, and calcium. Taken together, the argument holds, milk is not the bone-protective food it is marketed as, and animal milk is unhealthy.

Premises

[P1]Animal milk contains acids that draw calcium out of the body's bone stores in order to neutralize them. [P2] Studies show that higher milk consumption is associated with higher rates of bone fractures and osteoporosis. [C] Therefore, animal milk is unhealthy because it decreases bone growth and health.

Counter-arguments

Animal milk is good for bone strength because it contains a good source of calcium. Calcium is a mineral that is extremely necessary for healthy bone and teeth structures. Animal milk also contains Vitamin D, which is also a benefit to bone health. The combination of Vitamin D and calcium can help strengthen bones and prevent osteoperosis.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The counter reverses the account of what milk does to bone stores, identifying it as a good source of calcium — the mineral bones and teeth are built from — rather than as something that draws calcium out of them. [Rejecting P2] It also points to vitamin D in milk, and argues that vitamin D and calcium together strengthen bone and help prevent osteoporosis, which is the opposite of the association the premise reports.