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As you would be aware, the Government released food guidelines for schools earlier this year.
These guidelines effectively forbid the sale of whole milk in school tuckshops, in favour of the more refined low-fat milk.
Earlier this year I wrote to Hon. Pete Hodgson, bringing his attention to a meta-analysis of ten studies which follow the health of (whole) milk drinkers. The results showed that the more milk the subjects drank, the lower their risk of heart disease and stroke, and the lower their Body Mass Index (BMI)1.
On the other side of the coin, a study of 12,000 US children showed that the more (low-fat) milk they drank, the more their BMI increased.2
Pete Hodgson replied to my letter by saying that he could not base his policy on just “one” study (in actual fact, a meta-analysis of ten studies). However, he was not able to produce a study of whole milk which refuted these results. To my knowledge, such a study does not exist.
Instead, he advises that he bases his policy on the recommendations of NZ and Australian nutritionists3.
I am concerned that the Minister bases his policy on the theories of nutritionists when they are in direct opposition to the results of research conducted in the field.
- Time to value milk. P Elwood. International Epidemiological Journal 2005;34:1160-2. .
- A randomised controlled trial of the effect of the provision of free school milk on the growth of children. Baker IA, Elwood PC, Hughes J, Jones M, Moore F, Sweetnam P. J Epidemiol Community Health 1980;34:31-34.
- Milk drinking, ischaemic heart disease and ischaemic stroke II. Evidence from cohort studies. Elwood PC, Pickering JE, J Hughes, Fehily AM, Ness AR. European J Clinical Nutrition 2004;58:718-24.
- Milk drinking, ischaemic heart disease and ischaemic stroke I. Evidence from the Caerphilly Cohort. Elwood PC, Pickering JE, Fehily AM, Hughes J, Ness AR. European J Clinical Nutrition 2004;58:711-7
- Milk Consumption, Stroke and Heart Attack Risk: evidence from the Caerphilly Cohort of Older Men. P. C. Elwood, J. J. Strain, Paula J. Robson, Ann M. Fehily, Janie Hughes, Janet Pickering, Andy Ness. J Epidem Community Health 2005;59:502-5.
- Milk and cardiovascular disease: a review of the evidence. PC Elwood. The Amer J of Dairy Technol 2005;60:58-60.
- Milk coronary disease and mortality. Elwood P. J Epidem & Comm Health 2001;55:375.
- Milk, heart disease and obesity: an examination of the evidence. Elwood P, Hughes J, Fehily A. Br J Cardiol 2005;12:283-90.
-Rosemary Abetz-Rouse
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Current Poll Results
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The milk I consume most is: |
Naturalea 4% unhomogenised (
13 %)
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Farmhouse (4%) unhomogenised (
5 %)
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Standard (3.3%) homogenised (
8 %)
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Low Fat Milk Homogenised (
33 %)
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Real Farm Milk - non pasteurised (
41 %)
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