# Can you drink too much milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2007, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271 "2007-08-03T12:15:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/1 "2007-08-03T12:15:31Z")
My boyfriend loves milk. Loooooves milk. To the point that I find it almost repulsive. I’m not a fan of it myself (I even lied in kindergarten and said I was allergic so they’d give me orange juice at snack time), but I appreciate its use in cereal, and maybe with some cookies. Other than with cereal or the occasional glass, though, I am really grossed out by it. The boyfriend says that he used to drink a gallon of milk a day, and probably still would if it weren’t so expensive. I was thinking, that can’t really be healthy for you, can it? Even children, who need the fat and calcium, only drink a couple of glasses a day. Is too much milk harmful? I’m thinking things like kidney stones, maybe. Are there any complications from excessive milk consumption? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/2 "2007-08-03T12:42:00Z")
Until we get some formal nutritional advice–I’d venture that fat is the only possible problem. That’s why I drink skim milk. Is your boyfriend seriously overweight? For quick results, there’s always [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk#Nutrition_and_health). “Detriments” are listed, but are indicated to come from questionable sources. Does your boyfriend buy his milk from a Chernobyl area dairy? If not, perhaps you should just accept that he loves milk. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/3 "2007-08-03T13:26:05Z")
Milk is expensive where you live? ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/4 "2007-08-03T13:32:58Z")
Too much of it may make him anemic – [calcium may inhibit iron absorption.](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n3_v10/ai_10600750) ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/5 "2007-08-03T17:38:17Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] Milk is expensive where you live? [/QUOTE] In [Chicago](http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_208190235.html) it could go as high as $5 per gallon by the end of the summer. That’s about 2.45 british pounds for 2 liters of milk. Just curious - what would 2 liters of milk cost in London? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/6 "2007-08-03T17:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=Baffle] Too much of it may make him anemic – [calcium may inhibit iron absorption.](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n3_v10/ai_10600750) [/QUOTE] But participants in that study took calcium supplements. They did more than just drink milk. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/7 "2007-08-03T17:44:54Z")
I love milk too! I have a big glass of skim milk at every meal, and love chocolate milk a ridiculous amount (though try to keep that for the occasional snack or dessert). I once asked my doctor if there was any chance I could be drinking too much milk, thinking of kidney stones like in the OP, but she told me (something along the lines of) that the amount of fluid you take in when drinking milk lowers the possibility of calcium buildup, because any calcium over what your body can absorb will be washed out when you pee. She said over-consumption of cheese is another story, but that milk is hard to o.d. on. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/8 "2007-08-03T17:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=RedRosesForMe] Is too much milk harmful? I’m thinking things like kidney stones, maybe. Are there any complications from excessive milk consumption? [/QUOTE] One thing to remember is that milk, juice, etc aren’t just drinks, they are food and contain caloric content. You can add a big excess of calories if you drink these things like they’re water. Aside from that I can’t think of anything except maybe digestive distress, even lactose tolerant people can have problems processing massive amounts of milk. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/9 "2007-08-03T18:14:18Z")
[QUOTE=zoid] In [Chicago](http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_208190235.html) it could go as high as $5 per gallon by the end of the summer. That’s about 2.45 british pounds for 2 liters of milk. Just curious - what would 2 liters of milk cost in London? [/QUOTE] Holy..er…cow! The corner shop has a litre for 79p. I don’t recall seeing 2 litre bottles - there are 4 litre bottles but I’m not sure of the price. Obviously that would be a bit cheaper in a supermarket where things like milk and bread are considered loss-leaders. It does seem that milk in the USA is extremely expensive! ---
**Author:** ![dynamitedave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed655f/32.png) [@dynamitedave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dynamitedave)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/10 "2007-08-03T18:40:55Z")
Mum would get 18 pints so we could get through the weekend. I never drank water back then (or coke etc), so only milk. I’d have a pint at a time, with the milk being full cream. Because my activity level was high, my weight was normal. As much as I still like milk, I’m down to 2 litres a week now due to cost (NZ$4.50/ 2 litre), and because my cholesterol was a bit high. I’ve found a filtered milk that has 4mg/100ml of cholesterol and has the usual taste of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/11 "2007-08-03T18:46:52Z")
[QUOTE=zoid] In [Chicago](http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_208190235.html) it could go as high as $5 per gallon by the end of the summer. That’s about 2.45 british pounds for 2 liters of milk. [/QUOTE] Um, no, that’s £2.45 (Pounds sterling) for 3.8 litres of milk, or about 64p per litre. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/12 "2007-08-03T18:58:19Z")
[QUOTE=Cerowyn] Um, no, that’s £2.45 (Pounds sterling) for 3.8 litres of milk, or about 64p per litre. [/QUOTE] Whoops! My mistake! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/13 "2007-08-03T18:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Cerowyn] Um, no, that’s £2.45 (Pounds sterling) for 3.8 litres of milk, or about 64p per litre. [/QUOTE] However, \*\*organic \*\*milk is right now $4.50 or more a \*\*half-\*\*gallon in Chicago, while conventional milk is around $3 a gallon. Milk seems to have the greatest percentage difference between organic and conventional of any food. Even organic meat isn’t 3 times the price of its conventional counterpart. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/14 "2007-08-03T19:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=zoid] Whoops! My mistake! [/QUOTE] You know when annoying posters correct you with, “Google is your friend?” Well, Google is your friend! 🙂 If you do a “search” on a string like “1 US gallon in liters” (using the American spelling of litre, obviously), Google will, instead of actually searching, do the conversion for you. Very handy in cases like this. Oh, and it’s important to remember than Imperial gallons and US Customary gallons are not the same! ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/15 "2007-08-03T19:09:25Z")
Glad there’s somebody around here with arithmetic (or google) skills. 🙂 That seems a much more reasonable price - how is that considered expensive? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/16 "2007-08-03T19:09:56Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] However, \*\*organic \*\*milk is right now $4.50 or more a \*\*half-\*\*gallon in Chicago, while conventional milk is around $3 a gallon. Milk seems to have the greatest percentage difference between organic and conventional of any food. Even organic meat isn’t 3 times the price of its conventional counterpart. [/QUOTE] I was nitpicking **zoid** ’s arithmetic, not disputing any other point. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/17 "2007-08-03T20:30:37Z")
> [@](#): > > If you do a “search” on a string like “1 US gallon in liters” (using the American spelling of litre, obviously), Google will, instead of actually searching, do the conversion for you. Very handy in cases like this. [You can get even fancier](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=5+dollars+per+gallon+in+pounds+per+liter&btnG=Google+Search), and let it do the monetary conversion too. And I’ve never heard of milk going for $5 a gallon… The highest I’ve seen is $3.29, and in some places, you can find it as a loss-leader for as low as $2. The half-gallon containers are of course proportionately more expensive, but even those, I’ve never seen at more than $2.19. Is there something local to Chicago in particular, to make it that expensive? ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/18 "2007-08-03T20:47:21Z")
In the Boston area, right now, a gallon of Hood Whole Milk goes for about $4.59. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/19 "2007-08-03T22:21:47Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] And I’ve never heard of milk going for $5 a gallon… [/QUOTE] He said “In Chicago it could go as high as $5 per gallon by the _end of the summer_.” It may, because everything has gone wrong this year for farmers. [http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/news29672/supply-of-farmers-drought-fuel-costs-drive-milk-pr.shtml](http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/news29672/supply-of-farmers-drought-fuel-costs-drive-milk-pr.shtml) > [@](#): > > In January, milk cost $3.29 per gallon in most stores. It now costs $3.99. That’s a 20 percent increase, said Tommie Shepherd, an economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. > > The price increase comes in part from a seasonal reduction in the milk supply, he said. Dairy cows produce less milk during hot summer months. But, this year’s natural slow-down coupled with sharp increases in production costs resulted in steep prices at the dairy counter. > > They will likely go even higher. > > Drought conditions contributed to rising milk production costs here and around the region. “Cattle that normally would be eating grass are being fed as if it were winter,” said Tom Thompson, a Georgia dairyman and president of the Georgia Milk Producers. > > The invigorated ethanol industry also contributed to higher milk prices, he said. Feed is the major cost of milk production. And corn is a primary feed ingredient. > > “Our nation’s drive for energy independence has resulted in a tremendous expansion of corn-based ethanol plants,” Thompson said. “This has raised the price of corn, and other feed ingredients, by a minimum of 50 percent.” > > Raising fuel costs have also affected dairymen’s transportation costs. I’ve read lots of articles specifically blaming ethanol. [http://www.theindependent.com/stories/07292007/new\_drudik29.shtml](http://www.theindependent.com/stories/07292007/new_drudik29.shtml) > [@](#): > > The ethanol industry is consuming 30 to 35 percent of the corn Nebraska produces. Anytime there is a large commodity changing hands from one group to another, prices will increase. In addition, the price of corn has increased nationally. Of course, some farm groups are disputing this. [http://www.hpj.com/archives/2007/aug07/aug6/AFBF-Cornpriceshavesmallimp.cfm](http://www.hpj.com/archives/2007/aug07/aug6/AFBF-Cornpriceshavesmallimp.cfm) > [@](#): > > The “food versus fuel” issue is one of rhetoric, not reality, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation economic report released July 11. Corn demand to make ethanol has little to do with the recent rise in food prices, said the organization, instead weather and high energy costs are more to blame. However, I keep reading about record milk prices and every expectation that prices will continue to rise. I don’t know if they’ll hit $5.00 by fall or not. I’ll bet $4.00 with some certainty since they hit a national average of $3.80 in July. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20072879/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20072879/) > [@](#): > > Kraft chief executive Irene Rosenfeld on Wednesday warned of a slowdown in milk consumption as soaring milk prices lead people to eat and drink fewer dairy products. > > “2007 is shaping up to have the highest average dairy prices on record,” Ms Rosenfeld said. “The high cost of milk is beginning to slow consumption.” ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271/20 "2007-08-03T22:32:31Z")
I can and have done, at least 3 times, the drink a gallon of milk in an hour bet. Easiest $100 I’ve ever made. The first two times, I had all day, but I did it in under an hour. The last time, the bettor heard of my feats (of strength ;)) and told me to do it within an hour. If I have cookies or cereal, I can do it a lot faster (I prefer fresh baked chocolate chip). Other than feeling full for like a couple of hours, I don’t have any issues at all. Skim milk is the easiest for me to down. Whole milk tastes better, but definitely need something to wash it down with. I can even do the equivalent bet if done with ice cream (I did 4 ben and jerry’s in about two hours). If it weren’t so cold, I could probably do it faster. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-drink-too-much-milk/414271.md?page=2)