People who suffer from both lactose intolerance and back pain often wonder if there is any connection between the two. Although medical research hasn’t turned up any direct link, in a roundabout way it all makes sense. If you think it’s a long stretch to say that a person’s inability to digest milk products is in anyway related to having back problems, keep reading while we try to put the pieces together.
The place to start our discussion is by examining how good cow’s milk actually is for human beings. Although we’ve all been told to drink our milk for strong bones all our lives, that bit of wisdom is turning out to be nothing but an old wives’ tale. A number of doctors and medical experts have gone on record saying that when the new food pyramid was designed, milk products should have been left off completely. A Harvard doctor has been quoted saying that although it’s better to drink milk than cola, it isn’t much better.
Mom was actually right in that the calcium which is found in milk is good for strengthening bones and keeping them repaired. If a person doesn’t get enough calcium in his diet, his bones will become brittle enough to break. It has been found, though, that milk is not the best way for human adults to acquire their needed calcium.
People who don’t drink milk, including those with lactose intolerance, often don’t get the calcium they need to keep their bodies running smoothly. Scientists are even finding that everything in cow’s milk can be harmful to humans. In its unaltered state, cow’s milk is the perfect diet for a baby cow. What does that say to you?
Milk contains lactose which is proving just as harmful for all adult humans as it is for those with lactose intolerance. Cow’s milk also has a number of proteins in it that are substantially different from human milk proteins. The incompatibility between the cow proteins and the human body has been proven to cause problems with digestion, impaired absorption of nutrients, and autoimmune reactions. While few of these proteins are in human milk, none of them are present at all in adult foods.
So far all we seem to have accomplished is to prove that cow’s milk is not the human blessing it was once thought to be. The only beneficial ingredient in milk is calcium. We need plenty of calcium in our diet to strengthen bones and joints and maintain overall good health. By looking at the situation in this manner, we can see that a calcium lack brought about by not drinking milk can cause conditions which create back pain.
Now we’ve learned that all adult humans should eliminate milk from their diets, not just those with lactose intolerance. You’ll be glad to know that there are a few other good sources of calcium on and beyond milk. It’s worth noting that people who can’t tolerate the lactose in milk may be able to eat cheese, yogurt and ice cream with no problem. Processing the milk changes it somehow. You can also find orange juice with added calcium, tofu, soy beverages, broccoli, almonds, and many other foods which will inject calcium into your daily diet. Calcium supplement pills are available, also.
The bottom line is, there is no real relationship between lactose intolerance and back pain. Just be sure to get plenty of calcium-rich foods in your diet.