Milk and dairy products are rich in vitamin D and calcium substances essential for building and maintaining bones Many people therefore say that a diet rich in dairy products can help prevent osteoporosis a disease that is linked to both environmental and

The author states that milk and dairy products are rich in Vitamin D and calcium, which help in building and maintaining bones, and therefore, may help prevent osteoporosis, a disease in which bones weaken with age. But a long-term study states that people who consistently consumed dairy products had a higher rate of bone fractures, which are associated with osteoporosis, than people who did not consume dairy rich products. The author, therefore, contends that dairy rich products may do more harm than good. The argument delineated by the author may seem cogent at first, but after perusing it thoroughly and ruminating it, we find that it is rife with holes and assumptions, and the implications made by the author do not have a logical base.

The author censures the argument that dairy rich foods may decrease the risk of osteoporosis by asserting that a long term study of a large number of people found that those who consumed dairy products have a higher rate of bone fractures than any other participants in the study. The author has made several assumptions in this statement. He/she fails to provide the evidence of the credibility of this study. The author has assumed that the results shown by the study are unbiased and credible, but there is no proof of the study. It is also contended that a large number of people were a part of this study. It is a very subjective statement. It could mean a hundred people, but if those hundred were chosen from a population of 10,000, then any conclusion cannot be made. Similarly, the age group of people of the study is not defined by, the author. It is quite plausible that extreme cases were taken under study like, children under 18 and adults above 50 years of age. If this were true, the study would be biased, as people above 50 will naturally have weak bone density compared to children, even after consuming dairy rich products.

It is also delineated by the author that osteoporosis is linked to both environmental and genetic factors, so the people under the study may have this disease running in their families for a long time, and therefore even they happen to develop it even after consuming dairy. The environmental factors are also not taken into account by the author. A single product cannot help cure a disease and it takes veritable efforts to prevent something. Nutrient intake of the people is unknown. They might have depended only on dairy products, not taking into consideration the importance of other nutrients and products to help prevent the disease. If manual work is greater than the necessary nutrient intake, then also, this disease can occur.

It might be true that milk and other dairy products increase, rather than decrease, the chances of osteoporosis, but nothing logical and reasonable can be concluded from the argument delineated by the author. In order to prove the statement, the author needs to provide with – credibility of the study, age group of people taken into consideration, family history of the subjects, diet plan and their working conditions. After considering all these factors, any cogent decision can be taken about the success or failure of dairy products in decreasing the chances of osteoporosis.