10 Science Myths You Probably Still Believe

1. Drink Lots Of Milk For Healthy Bones

This is hammered into us from an early age, but is milk really all that good for bones?

It turns out that the answer is not as clear cut as the dairy industry would have you believe. A massive study in Sweden, conducted with 61,400 women and 45,300 men over the course of 20 years, found that drinking milk could actually increase the risk of fractures in women, and increased mortality for both sexes. The explanation offered for this unexpected result was the possibility that milk's sugar content increases oxidative stress in the body, aging it prematurely.

Other studies have also failed to find a protective relationship between milk and osteoporosis and others suggest that it may even contribute to the risk of prostate and ovarian cancers, autoimmune diseases, and some childhood ailments.

Whilst we can't rule out the possibility that other factors, such as general lifestyle and activity levels of those in milk-drinking countries, are playing a part in the results - correlation is not causation after all - things aren't looking good for the cows.

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