Keep osteoarthritis away with milk

We've been taught for as long as we can remember that milk is important for our bones. While we know it's an excellent source of dairy calcium and it's important for bone health, we've never known whether milk's protection of the bones can help prevent osteoarthritis from progressing.

New research shows that women who drink fat-free or low-fat milk may be helping delay the progression of osteoarthritis in their knee.

The study, published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, looked at 2148 people with knee osteoarthritis (3064 knees).

Researchers measured the joint space width between the medial femur and tibia of participants. Joint space width is a common measure of cartilage thinning and compression, one of the main symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Researchers also measured the different amount of milk each group would drink (none, less than three, four to six, or more than seven glasses a week) in correlation to the state of their osteoarthritis and cartilage thickness.

There was no association for men between the amount of milk they drank and the joint space width decrease in their knees.

Researchers also found that women who ate seven or more servings of cheese a week had less of a joint space width decrease, in comparison to women who did not eat cheese at all. Eating yogurt did not affect the joint space width decrease, however.

Why is defending your body from osteoporosis important?

Osteoarthritis is an incurable condition that occurs when the cartilage between our bones wears away. It affects three million Canadians, most of whom are over 60 or have suffered injury to their joints (mainly athletes). Cartilage, the elastic tissue that protects bones, absorbs shock and lets your joints bend and move smoothly. When this erodes, it can lead to the bones to rub against each other, which is painful, feels warm and stiff, and can cause swelling.