Does milk protect your bones?

“Study: Milk may not be very good for your bones or the body,” reported the Washington Post in 2014.

A newer, better study says otherwise.

Scientists tracked 80,000 women and 43,000 men for roughly 32 years. Those who drank at least one glass of (mostly skim or low-fat) milk a day had a 17 percent lower risk of breaking a hip than those who drank less than one glass a week. Those who drank at least two glasses a day had a 23 percent lower risk.

What they found for other dairy products

Cheese eaters had no lower risk of breaking a hip. Ditto for yogurt eaters, though few people ate even one serving a day.

What to do

This study isn’t proof that milk prevents hip fractures, but it counters some earlier reports that milk doesn’t protect bones.