Over the years, milk's popularity has ebbed and waned. With an increased focus on the environment and plant-based diets, dairy consumption may no longer be as popular as it used to be.
Malik, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, said that we have long been told that for children, drinking milk regularly is a great way to ensure they get multiple nutrients with just one or two cups. Adults tend to have a more varied diet, so they are likely to get these nutrients from elsewhere. In addition to the importance of calcium**, milk also contains other essential nutrients such as protein, vitamins, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iodine.
Healthy bones are one of the biggest selling points of milk consumption, but it turns out that you can also do a lot for your memory when you drink milk every day. This time, the advice is for adults who want to avoid brain disorders such as cognitive decline. You have an antioxidant called glutathione in your brain, and drinking milk regularly boosts the activity of this antioxidant, which is good for brain health and memory.
Glutathione prevents your brain from "rusting".
Scientists at the University of Kansas Medical Center have found that drinking three glasses of milk a day can have a positive effect on the production of glutathione in the brain, which in turn prevents the brain from "rusting" due to oxidative stress.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in 2022, employed 73 adults between the ages of 60 and 89 and divided them into two groups — one with a daily intake of less than 1The control group with 5 glasses of milk and the other group was the intervention group with three glasses of low-fat milk per day for three consecutive months. At the end of the trial, brain imaging scans were performed on the subjects to monitor glutathione levels. Older subjects in the control group showed no signs of an increase in antioxidant levels, while participants in the intervention group increased by about 5% on average.
We've long believed that milk is very important for both your bones and muscles. This study shows that it's also important for your brain," said Sullivan, co-author of the study. In another study published in the International Dairy Journal, in which 972 people between the ages of 23 and 98 participated, the researchers found that those who self-reported consuming dairy products 5-6 times a week performed better on memory tests than those who did not, according to the Daily Mail. This time, the researchers attributed the improvement in brain health to the magnesium in the milk.
Does this mean that adults should drink milk every day?
When drinking too much milk is associated with acne, inflammation, and increased total calories, it can be confusing whether adults should drink milk or not. The saturated fat content in whole milk can also negatively affect your cholesterol levels.
Well, the amount of nutrients you can get from a glass of milk cannot be underestimated. If you're not sensitive to cow's milk, there's no harm in including milk in your daily diet, even as an adult. In fact, for the elderly, it is advisable to drink milk regularly to prevent muscle degeneration and osteoporosis. As Stadler, an assistant professor of medical research at Oregon Health & Science University, shared, "[Dairy] is an extremely important food group for people as they age. The body's need for calcium is high and has always been high, and you can't get any other food that contains as much calcium as dairy. ”
If you want to add milk to your daily diet to improve memory as you age, stick to low-fat or non-fat milk. As for whether it's necessary to drink three glasses a day, according to Euronews, as researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center say more research is needed to determine exactly how milk raises glutathione levels, perhaps we should wait until there are more findings on the subject