Milk: Essential nutrition or dairy industry scam?

TORONTO — The Toronto author of a book criticizing the role milk plays in a healthy diet and the dairy industry at large is defending her claims that milk does more harm than good to the human body.

Milk and other dairy products are a cornerstone of many people’s diets; Canada’s Food Guide recommends between two and four servings a day depending on a person’s age.

A page promoting Got Milked? What You Don’t Know About Dairy, The Truth About Calcium, and Why You’ll Thrive Without Milk on the Harper Collins website states author Alissa Hamilton “breaks down the science to illustrate how the milk kick is making us sick — and what we can do about it.”

Global News health reporter Crystal Goomansingh spoke with Hamilton about her claims and research methods.

Although Hamilton cites work by reputable doctors, Goomansingh found she didn’t bother to actually interview the medical professionals for her book.

Dr. Michael Dickinson told Global News he feels his work was taken out of context. Dickinson wrote an article for The Globe and Mail examining the health benefits, and potential risks, of milk consumption for children.

“I think what Alissa Hamilton and her book and her chapters where she referred to my article really kind of cherry picked the parts where I talk about the potential pitfalls of drinking too much milk, but really didn’t acknowledge the fact that a good chunk of the article talked about the potential nutritional benefits of having some dairy products in a diet,” said Dr. Dickinson.