# Does Milk Cause Parkinson's Disease? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584 "2002-12-23T20:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![don\_willard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@don\_willard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_willard)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/1 "2002-12-23T20:23:31Z")
I heard on the radio that a scientific study has proved that when men (not women) eat too much dairy products their chances of getting Parkinson’s Disease are greatly increased. I just love cheese and also drink milk now and then and I like cottage cheese and butter. I think now with dairy products ruled out there actually is nothing left to eat since everything causes something. 2) Should I keep on eating dairy products until I become slightly absent minded and unsteady, or quit right now and is it too late to stop eating dairy products? My background is Swedish on one side and Scotch or Scottish and Belgian on the other side, and here all my ancestors have been eating dairy products for millions of years! 3) Also, I certainly hope that dairy products don’t include eggs, as I love eggs. My grandmother ate two eggs a day all her life and lived to be almost ninety. Now I heard you can only eat one egg a week because it has too much cholesterol. I have two a day also. ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/2 "2002-12-23T20:27:03Z")
As with many diseases, diet influences your risk factors. [New Evidence That Diet Plays Role in Parkinson’s](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=571&ncid=751&e=7&u=/nm/20021213/hl_nm/parkinsons_diet_dc) > [@](#): > > “Like other chronic diseases, Parkinson’s disease is multi-factorial. Many hypotheses have been proposed and nearly all of them need further evidence for their relevance in human Parkinson’s disease. Diet, if it plays a role in Parkinson’s disease, is going to be one of the factors that predispose a person to Parkinson’s disease,” Chen said. > > … > > In the newest venture into an understanding of the role of food in Parkinson’s, Chen and colleagues found that men who ate the most dairy products had a higher chance of developing Parkinson’s than did men who ate the least dairy products. The biggest dairy lovers ate at least 3 servings a day, while the lowest consumers said they downed less than 1 serving per day. > > The authors report their findings in the December issue of Annals of Neurology. > > … > > Chen and colleagues base the findings on a follow-up of 47,331 adult men and 88,563 adult women from the 1980s to 1998, tracking what they ate and noting if any developed Parkinson’s disease. During the study period, 210 men and 184 women developed Parkinson’s disease Google News is great for finding information like this. ---
**Author:** ![trader\_of\_shots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trader\_of\_shots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trader_of_shots)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/3 "2002-12-25T08:42:49Z")
People think i am a bit of a crank when i start up on my milk rants… but … i blame milk for a lot of health issues only _stringly_ affecting modern man. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/4 "2002-12-25T10:38:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by trader\_of\_shots \* > i blame milk for a lot of health issues only _stringly_ affecting modern man. Typos being first and foremost. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/5 "2002-12-25T11:03:47Z")
Last I read, Parkinson’s is likely caused by neurons in a particular part of your brain killed or damaged by toxins. ---
**Author:** ![trader\_of\_shots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trader\_of\_shots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trader_of_shots)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/6 "2002-12-25T11:05:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*Typos being first and foremost. \*\* Well spotted ! You get a prize. Here it is corrected so you do not need to puzzle out the strange symbols on your screen. Enjoy People think i am a bit of a crank when i start up on my milk rants… but … i blame milk for a lot of health issues only _strongly_ effecting modern man. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/7 "2002-12-25T11:14:30Z")
Well, I like milk, myself. Just don’t start in with that “no adult mammal drinks the milk of another species, other than humans” bushwah. Unless my cats have just been humouring me. ---
**Author:** ![trader\_of\_shots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trader\_of\_shots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trader_of_shots)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/8 "2002-12-25T11:20:44Z")
Well, I like milk, myself. Just don’t start in with that “no adult mammal drinks the milk of another species, other than humans” bushwah. Unless my cats have just been humouring me. Oh no … Humans actually did require milk at one stage … never to the degree that it is forced on us at the moment though. We required Milk for the vitiman C in it (correct me if i am wrong Guru’s) but Man Kind is the only primate that does not produce its own Vitiman C ? “Unless my cats have just been humouring me.” - Just cos they do does not make it right. ---
**Author:** ![RobertTB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RobertTB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobertTB)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/9 "2002-12-25T12:18:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by trader\_of\_shots \* > \*\*People think i am a bit of a crank when i start up on my milk rants… > > but … i blame milk for a lot of health issues only _stringly_ affecting modern man. \*\* How do we know that _any_ health issues only strongly affect modern man? During the 1750’s, the average life expectancy of a Swede was 37 years. And when they did go, it was due to ‘the consumption’ or ‘ill humours’. They didn’t know about Parkinson’s and whatnot, so how we possibly know what people truely died of back in the day? There is plenty of GD material to deal with the anti-milk crowd, but little GQ material to back up their assertions. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/10 "2002-12-25T12:21:44Z")
Well, that don’t make a lick of sense. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by trader\_of\_shots \* > Oh no … Humans actually did require milk at one stage … never to the degree that it is forced on us at the moment though. Forced? Did the Milk Police come to your house with a rubber hose and a funnel? > [@](#): > > We required Milk for the vitiman C in it (correct me if i am wrong Guru’s) but Man Kind is the only primate that does not produce its own Vitiman C ? Well, [these guys](http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/esterc.htm) say guinea pigs, fruit bats, and higher-order primates (including humans) can’t produce their own Vitamin C. I can’t imagine why you think _milk_, of all things, is meant to take up the slack. We can get C more readily from any number of fruits and vegetables. > [@](#): > > “Unless my cats have just been humouring me.” - Just cos they do does not make it right. Are you accusing my cats of immorality? I am incensed! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/11 "2002-12-25T12:38:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RobertTB \* > During the 1750’s, the average life expectancy of a Swede was 37 years. And when they did go, it was due to ‘the consumption’ or ‘ill humours’. They didn’t know about Parkinson’s and whatnot, so how we possibly know what people truely died of back in the day? Martin Gardner makes a similar point in his _Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science_, a book I highly recommend. According to Gardner, some diet faddists claimed diary products were demonstrably deadly because people in Wisconsin (a milk-producing and, presumably, consuming state) had a high incidence of heart disease and cancer. Gardner pointed out that these diseases are suffered more by the elderly and maybe Wisconsin had a higher rate because people in Wisconsin lived longer. I don’t know if it was true because I don’t remember Gardner citing any studies, but it was certainly interesting. Incidentally, I had to stop in the middle of writing this post because _The Daily Show_ was running an “expose” on the dangers of milk and it was hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/12 "2002-12-25T12:47:42Z")
> [@](#): > > “no adult mammal drinks the milk of another species, other than humans” Well, I would drink only breast milk, but women won’t let me. Meanies. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/13 "2002-12-25T13:33:53Z")
Seems like everything affects the quality of life to some extent. Smoking would be just fine & dandy with me as long as I don’t have to get it 2nd hand. Smokers are willing to partake in their hazardous behaviour in return for some instant gratification. I am willing to continue drinking milk & eating dairy for the time being especially since Parkinson’s is no longer the debilitating condition it once was. Even if science confirms a link between dairy & Parkinson’s tomorrow, I doubt I’d stop my dairy intake completely… might cut back a little though. ---
**Author:** ![superfreakicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@superfreakicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superfreakicus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/14 "2002-12-25T13:44:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don willard \* > \*\*3) Also, I certainly hope that dairy products don’t include eggs, as I love eggs. My grandmother ate two eggs a day all her life and lived to be almost ninety. \*\* my uncle smoked 2 packs a day and lived to be 95. ps I hear heavyweight fighting has also been linked to parkinson’s. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/15 "2002-12-25T16:28:39Z")
This is the first I’m hearing of Parkinson’s, but latest studies have shown you increase your risk of colon & breast cancer by drinking milk. Here’s a link where a Dr. summarizes an August 2000 article from Discover. (I searched but could not find the actual article online.) : [http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/milk.htm](http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/milk.htm) Of course for hysterical propoganda, conspiracy theories, and general “crackpottiness”, you can’t beat: [http://www.notmilk.com](http://www.notmilk.com) (Don’t miss the “Political Intrigue” section, in which our last dozen presidents are accused of being dairy industry pawns.) ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/16 "2002-12-25T16:30:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by voguevixen \* > \*\*This is the first I’m hearing of Parkinson’s, but latest studies have shown you increase your risk of colon & breast cancer by drinking milk. > > \*\* And of course by colon, I mean **PROSTATE**. :smack: (sorry!) ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/17 "2002-12-25T16:37:50Z")
Someone once linked to a “Myths of Vegetarianism” website (written by a doctor) where he refutes the dairy=cancer claims. He even cited a more recent study where vegetable oil consumption was linked to breast cancer instead. My WAG is that you can probably get surveys and research to show - not prove - it either way. Until they find actual substances in certain foods that actually cause cancer cells to grow, I would eat most natural (ie non-chemical-packed) foods in moderation without worrying too much. That said, if the dairy stuff is packed with growth hormones… ---
**Author:** ![Riverama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@Riverama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riverama)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/18 "2010-12-04T17:48:50Z")
The answer to your question is NO. No, milk will not kill you, downing a bag of chips in one sitting might. Always remember that the key to your health is a balanced diet. These studies usually fail in taking other factors in when they’re looking to prove a theory, like drinking and smoking habits, lifestyle, work routine, exercise, living conditions & hygiene … there are hundreds of other factors that will affect your health other than the food you eat. Always remember to eat in moderation and variety; include vegetables, fruits and grains in every meal, keep fried foods to a minimum, drink plenty of liquids, and exercise often. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/19 "2010-12-04T17:52:39Z")
Maybe milk causes Zombies? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584/20 "2010-12-04T18:06:28Z")
I don’t know if it causes Parkinson’s Disease, but maybe… Milk Shakes? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-milk-cause-parkinsons-disease/144584.md?page=2)