Milk, does it do a body good?
The jury is still out on that question, but it turns out that this popular TV slogan from the 1980’s is at least true for women who are trying to avoid early menopause.
A 30-year study done by the University of Massachusetts Amherst of 116,430 women between the ages of 25-42 showed that high levels of dietary vitamin D and calcium were associated with a lower chance of early menopause.
In this study, women who drank the most amount of milk (approximately 2 cups per day) were the least likely to experience early menopause. In fact, women with highest levels of dietary calcium intake were 13% less likely to go through early menopause than the women with low dietary calcium intake.
The women with the highest level of dietary Vitamin D intake were 17% less likely to go through early menopause than the women with low dietary calcium intake.
Early menopause is considered the onset of menopause before the age of 45. Early menopause is associated with other health problems later on for women including cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and osteoporosis.
If you’re concerned about early menopause, you can read more here about recognizing the signs menopause.