Does drinking milk everyday strengthen elderly's bones?

In elderly, one of the most common health problems is thinner bones and muscle atrophy, which are mainly caused from loss of protein and calcium. When it comes to protein and calcium, many people might think of drinking "cow's milk" because it is a source of protein and high in calcium, but drinking cow's milk may not be suitable for all elderly. Mostly, we found that there are 2 main problems:

1. As they are getting older, their body cannot effectively digest lactose in cow's milk as the body decreasingly produce enzyme digesting lactose. They may have distension, bloating, and diarrhea after drinking milk. Since they are unable to digest lactose, drink lactose-free milk would be an option.

2. In case they have cow's milk protein allergy or digestive problem of milk protein, they still have bloating, diarrhea, and rashes even drinking free-lactose milk.

Therefore, "drinking plant milk" will be an alternative for elderly to supplement the protein and calcium for their body, especially soy milk and almond milk. Although these nut milks do not have much calcium as cow's milk, but they have high protein, vitamins, and good fats including Omega-3 and Omega-9, which are benefit to heart and blood vessels functions.

In term of calcium, you can intake from small fish or green vegetables such as chinese broccoli, broccoli, or even black sesame. All of these foods are good calcium sources for those who have cow's milk drinking problem.

Another essential key for who wants to drink nut milks everyday is that you must intake those with sugar-free or less sugar, no preservative, no color additives, and no flavor enhancers. Moreover, if you can select organic non GMO nut milks, it will be more beneficial to your health.