How much milk is too much?

[TommyD]

Before I start, I'm not asking this question to anyone who sees milk as the devil. I guarantee that I'll find something better to die from than milk. :

Anyway, right now I'm drinking 9 glasses (~72oz) of 2% milk a day (three per meal). I'm not trying to cut weight or anything, I'm actually trying to a little bulking (or at least maintaining...). That comes up to about 1125 calories, 81g of protein, 108g of carbs, 45g of fat.

I'm just worried that I'll end up with kidney stones because of the calcium or some gastrointestinal problem. Tell me what you think!

[sooner_ed]

I feel that as long as that much milk falls within your daily caloric and fat/carb/protein intake, go ahead. If you're worried about kidney stones, just drink at least a half gallon of water a day. You must drink lots of water to avoid the kidney stones. Trust me on that one--I know this from personal experience ! :

[threenorns]

yup. definitely you're putting yourself at risk for kidney or gallstones, IMO.

also, you're increasing the probability that you'll develop an intolerance or an outright allergy to milk. such allergies are not made in childhood: they can crop up at any age. mom used to work for de Havilland and told me of a guy who had to quit because after working there for 17 years, he developed an allergy to Kevlar.

[cursor]

Nine cups (72 oz) of 2% milk comes to

0072 grams protein
0103 grams carbohydrate (all lactose)
0043 grams fat (27 grams is saturated)
1098 cal total

From that intake, you get absolutely no dietary fiber.

Note that 89% of reduced fat milk is water. If you're getting too much calcium (and fat), don't have more water ... simply have less calcium (and fat). By simply diluting with more water, you're diluting the nutritional value of all other foods that you're eating as well.

Make better choices.

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by threenorns

definitely you're putting yourself at risk for kidney or gallstones,

I believe this is more genetic, not acquired. I have a co-worker that quit using whey protein because he was gentically predisposed to getting kidney stones. He didn't know this until he actually passed one! Not a fun experience. His brother has had kidney stones as well.

[TommyD]

Originally Posted by cursor

Eight cups of 2% milk comes to

0072 grams protein
0103 grams carbohydrate (all lactose)
0043 grams fat (27 grams is saturated)
1098 cal total

From that intake, you get absolutely no dietary fiber.

Note that 89% of reduced fat milk is water. If you're getting too much calcium (and fat), don't have more water ... simply have less calcium (and fat). By simply diluting with more water, you're diluting the nutritional value of all other foods that you're eating as well.

Make better choices.

I'm not sure who that's directed at since I didn't bring up drinking more water in the first place (by the way it was 9 glasses, not 8), and I do get dietary fiber from other sources...

... but as far as making "better choices" - I don't really have the luxury of doing that. Dorm food consists of fried food and ice cream. I don't have money to go out and buy health food right now, and I figured milk beats fried food and ice cream. So besides "make better choices", anything else?

[cursor]

I meant to type '9' cups. I've corrected the mistake. The added-water comment was aimed at sooner_ed's recommendation above.

Glad to hear that you're getting plenty of fiber.

[sooner_ed]

Originally Posted by cursor

I meant to type '9' cups. I've corrected the mistake. The added-water comment was aimed at sooner_ed's recommendation above.

Glad to hear that you're getting plenty of fiber.

That comment was made because he was afraid of kidney stones. To avoid excess calcium deposits and kidney stones, making sure to drink water is good advice. Drinking more water is good advice anyway since most people don't drink enough. Even if he were to cut back on the milk, drinking more water is always an excellent decision.

[armorforsleep]

Originally Posted by Tom_Drahos

... but as far as making "better choices" - I don't really have the luxury of doing that. Dorm food consists of fried food and ice cream. I don't have money to go out and buy health food right now, and I figured milk beats fried food and ice cream. So besides "make better choices", anything else?

Tom i'm in the same boat as you. College student, no kitchen nearby and such, and the dorm food isn't exactly stellar. My solution was to buy a blender. With this you can make tons of excellent meals. I recommend Cursor's shake for one, which consists of milk/cottage cheese/fruits, very tasty and well balanced protein/carbs (fats too depending which type of items you add). i also make oatmeal/whey/peanut butter shakes as my main MRP. i planned to buy a george foreman grill earlier this year to make chicken breasts, but never got around to it, and finally decided against it since the school year is almost over and im moving to an apartment next year with a kitchen.

but yes there are many solutions to dorm life and keeping up a good diet : :

[cursor]

Tom: What can you have in your dorm room, in terms of small appliances?

[TommyD]

Originally Posted by cursor

Tom: What can you have in your dorm room, in terms of small appliances?

Microwave and small fridge for sure... I know I can't have any sort of grill though.