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"The standard four food groups are based on American agricultural lobbies," maintains Marion Nestle, a nutrition policy researcher based at New York University and author of Food Politics. "Why do we have a milk group? Because we have a National Dairy Council." As she wrote in her book, "Certainly, much of the credit for the public's favorable views [of milk] must go to the National Dairy Council [NDC], which adopted the Basic Four for its own purposes and made its version of the guide widely available in schools ... [and] it stacked the food groups vertically and placed the milk group at the top. NDC's spin on the Food Guide Pyramid dodges the fat issue and pumps the daily servings recommendation from '2-3' to '3-4.'"

Excess fat, however, may not be milk's biggest drawback. Increasing numbers of medical studies indict dairy products as contributors not only to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, but prostate cancer, allergies, and possibly breast cancer. In children, dairy products can cause chronic constipation, ear infections, colic, asthma, and skin disorders. Milk also is deficient in fiber, niacin, vitamin C, and iron, and often contains traces of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Lactose intolerance, with its nasty gastrointestinal side effects--especially prevalent among non-Caucasians--presents yet another major issue. "There's no reason to drink cow's milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, not humans," advises Frank A. Oski, former Director of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

Even milk's main selling point--its presumed ability to strengthen bones and stop osteoporosis--snaps like a twig. In the 12-year Harvard Nurses' Health Study of 78,000 women, heavy milk drinkers actually suffered more fractures than those who consumed little or no milk. Nevertheless, like a cynical version of Chicken Little, dairy industry operatives busily keep proclaiming a so-called "calcium crisis" in the . That phrase, though, is more marketing lingo titan health care catastrophe, intended to panic the public into gulping down more milk to beef up dairy sales.

In June, 1999, and January, 2002, the NDC, Milk Processor Education Program, and dairy industry's hired public relations guns put on one-day milk promotions disguised as scientific meetings in the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Washington, . They were dubbed "Calcium Summit" and "Calcium Summit II," but, at both events, to paraphrase a line from George Orwell's Animal Farm. some calcium sources--dairy ones--were a lot more equal than others. For example, organizers billed 2002's $750,000 event as a way to bring together leading scientists, nutrition educators, and public health professionals for a closer look at calcium deficiency in youth and how to increase dietary calcium consumption. Yet, no scientific consensus exists about how much calcium children need. More importantly, a study published in the journal Pediatrics shows high calcium intakes are no more efficient than low ones at increasing bone density in teenage girls. Bone density is affected significantly by how physically active they are as teens, reinforcing results from previous studies.

When it comes to bone health, teenagers are not in their "make-it-or-break-it" years based on milk-consumption habits. This dairy industry claim implies that if kids merely drink enough milk as teens, they will enjoy healthy bones for life. Actually, just like our hair, skin, and lungs, bone is living tissue that constantly is being broken down and made anew. For a good part of our adult lives, bone building and bone breakdown keep pace with each other so bone strength stays even. As we age, though, our bones weaken slowly over time.

Indeed, when the Physicians Committee tot Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a Washington, .-based health and research organization, filed a complaint that dairy ads should not claim calcium intake alone can cut osteoporosis risks, the Department of Agriculture concurred, its expert panel noting that exercise and nutrients other than calcium rank equally important. No calcium emergency exists, contends Harvard University's Walter Millett, author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. just a "slick, but misleading" ad campaign. "When it crones to calcium in the diet, the United States is near the top of the list of per capita intake, second only to some Scandinavian countries and parts of Latin America (where calcium is used to make tortillas).... There's tittle proof that just boosting your calcium intake to the high levels that are currently recommended will prevent fractures."

With childhood obesity rates expanding alarmingly, Calcium Summit II speaker Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (which distributes "Milk Matters" posters), acknowledged fluid milk as the number-one source of fat for American children aged 2-18, topping beef; cheese: margarine; cakes, cookies, and donuts; chips and popcorn; and salad dressings and mayonnaise. Another dairy cluster, ice cream and frozen yogurt, ranked 11th.

Calcium and your health

Calcium, of course, is essential to a well-balanced diet, but various other nutritional and lifestyle factors impact bone health as well. Moreover, there are many healthier, less expensive, more absorbable sources of calcium than dairy products. Needed calcium can be found in dried figs; calcium-set tofu; broccoli, beans, and dark-green, leafy vegetables; and calcium-fortified orange, apple, and grapefruit juices. To strengthen bones and teeth, daily exercise, vitamin D from sunlight or supplements, and assorted fresh fruits and vegetables are essential. In addition, limiting salty foods while steering clear of caffeine, animal protein, and tobacco help.

The serious calcium issue--the one the dairy industry dodges--is making sure kids do not lose what calcium they do take in. "I no longer recommend dairy products. ... Plant-based diets help keep calcium in the bones and may actually reduce calcium loss via the kidneys," wrote Benjamin Spook in Baby and Child Care. Few North Americans know that animal products and salt actually leach calcium from bones, as do inactivity and smoking. Giving a child voluminous amounts of milk to ensure he or she gets enough calcium--while feeding a salty, meat-heavy diet--is akin to running water into a bathtub without closing the drain.

True, calcium may reduce osteoporosis risk. However, scientific evidence does not support the claim that cow's milk consumption does so. On the contrary, epidemiological research shows that countries with the highest osteoporosis rates, including the ., Sweden, and Finland, consume the most dairy products. Remember, too, that Eskimos, who consume, on average, 250 to 400 grams of animal protein and 2,200 milligrams of calcium from fish bones daily, suffer the highest osteoporosis rate of any population in the world.

The key, it seems, to building strong bones in children (and adults) is generating a positive calcium balance--that means a rich array of fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods, with plenty of exercise and vitamin D. In addition, as children age, many lose their ability to digest the milk sugar (lactose) contained in the milk of humans and cows, which probably is why no other species except humans ordinarily drinks milk past the weaning age. Nevertheless, milk proponents often claim that lactose-intolerant individuals can digest lactose successfully if they just sneak small amounts throughout the day. As evidence, they often cite a study funded by the dairy industry. Yet, as noted in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the research was inconclusive because of poor design, as it skewed toward individuals least likely to be bothered by digestive difficulties.

Despite heavy marketing to Hispanic and African-American communities, no scientific evidence indicates these ethnic groups benefit from increased milk consumption, even setting aside the lactose intolerance dilemma. Rather, the medical literature shows that Hispanics and African-Americans have higher peak bone mass than Caucasians, even with low calcium intake. They also have much less risk of osteoporosis later in life. So, why does the dairy industry lavish extra attention on populations of color? Apparently because it has feared financial losses since PCRM and others began educating the public about lactose intolerance and alternate calcium sources.

An article published in the Journal of the National Medical Association points out that the majority of Americans of African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native descent cannot digest lactose, causing gastrointestinal symptoms of flatulence, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea. The condition also is common among those whose ancestry is Middle Eastern, Jewish, Italian, or Greek. In fact, 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant, indicating that not being able to digest lactose actually is the norm. Consequently, three out of four people are likely to experience gastrointestinal distress after consuming milk and other dairy products.

There is no reason why people with lactose intolerance should push themselves to drink milk. All nutrients contained in milk can be found in healthier fare, and lactose intolerance should be regarded as nature's protective warning not to "do dairy," like the impulse to pull your hand away from a hot stove.

Meanwhile, the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued every five years since 1980 continue to promote dairy products, albeit with a notation in the 2000 version that some people amy choose soy milks instead. In 1999, PCRM led an effort, including a successful lawsuit and an expose of dairy industry ties with members of the Federal 2000 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, to make dairy products optional in Federal food guidelines. For the 2005 edition, the dairy group ideally would be eliminated, or at least presented as a "calcium group," with a wide range of cholesterol-free, calcium-rich plant foods recommended instead. A 1993 international heart research conference concluded, "The optimal intake of cholesterol in the adult is probably zero." The Framingham Heart Study, ongoing since 1948, suggests 150 as an ideal maximum total cholesterol level to avoid heart attacks. All dairy items pack cholesterol, often augmented by unhealthy levels of fat and saturated fat.

"Any time you pour dairy on the fire, oil on the fire, meat on the fire, you're pouring on gasoline. And, we shouldn't be throwing even one thimbleful of gasoline on the fire," concludes Ohio cardiologist and nutrition researcher Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. As the dairy controversy escalates, the best we can do to protect our health is to look beyond flashy advertisements to the cold, hard scientific facts--and perhaps remember who Mother Nature really intended cow's milk for.

Amy Joy Lanou is nutrition director for the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, . . Hogan is a freelance science writer residing in Maryland.