You've heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but it turns out that the fruit isn't the only food with special powers.
According to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, milk might also help us stay in tip-top shape.
You're probably thinking, "Of course milk is good for us!" After all, many grew up under the impression that drinking milk would help us grow strong and healthy bones.
In fact, it was this understanding that led me to guzzle down glasses of whole milk as a child.
While this may remain true, the findings from the study reported that high calcium levels are also important for maintaining heart health and preventing cardiac arrest.
Again, milk isn't the first thing you think about when considering cardiovascular health, but you'll probably be sporting a milk mustache a lot more from now on.
As you well know, our hearts are the center of our entire being. We depend on this muscle day in and day out to pump blood around our bodies where it needs to go.
There are plenty of things that can go wrong with this extremely important organ. The first we think of is usually heart attack, which is often confused with cardiac arrest.
According to the American Heart Association, "A heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is blocked, and sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart malfunctions and suddenly stops beating."
According to the Mayo Clinic study, sudden cardiac arrest (or SCA) is far more deadly.
In fact, it's fatal in 90% of the patients who suffer from it. The scariest part about the problem is that many of the people who fall victim to SCA do not have a history of heart disease and don't show symptoms.
For this reason, researchers set out to find out what might be causing SCA to occur.
Researchers studied 267 patients who survived SCA and compared them and their bodies to 445 control subjects.
Researchers found that members of the study who were more likely to suffer from cardiac arrest also happened to have lower levels of calcium in their blood.
While this is bad news for the members of the study who are vulnerable, the good news is that restoring calcium levels is as easy as drinking milk!
The National Institutes of Health recommends a daily calcium intake of about 1,000 mg for the average adult.
One glass of milk will meet about one third of your daily needs. So, if you don't love to drink milk, there are other ways, such as calcium supplements.
Of course, the entire dairy group provides good milk alternatives that taste a lot better than plain milk.
Try eating a little more cheese every day ,or even a yogurt to help meet your daily calcium needs.
In fact, many fruits are high in calcium. For instance, oranges and tangerines are packed with it!
With that said, the Global Healing Center lists figs as one of the best calcium sources there is. One small fig has about 250 mg of calcium alone.
Last but not least, legumes like beans and lentils are also rich in calcium.
No one will mind how gassy you are after telling them that you're preventing cardiac arrest!
Be sure to SHARE this information with your loved ones to remind them to drink some milk!
