Lifestyle
A New Study Just Linked One Particular Kind of Milk to Better Muscle and Bone Health
Key points
A new study from researchers in China analyzed the impact of consuming different types of milk on muscle and bone health while aging.
This study used mice to learn about the relationship between sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, and four different dairy milks.
Findings revealed that goat milk (in particular low-fat goat milk and low-fat fortified goat milk) was more effective at supporting muscle regeneration and reducing inflammation.
If it seems like everyone is going wild for protein these days, you’re not imagining things. According to Cargill’s 2025 Protein Profile, 61% of Americans increased their protein intake in 2024. As Grand View Research noted in its 2025 report, the “global protein-fortified food products market size was estimated at $66.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $101.62 billion by 2030.”
However, according to one new study, you may not need to rely solely on pricey protein-fortified foods and powders to support muscle health. Simply switching up the milk you drink every day could help.
In July, researchers from Peking University and Hyproca Nutrition in China published their findings in the journal Food Science & Nutrition, giving greater insight into four dairy products and whether they have the potential to delay the progression of sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss.
“Sarcopenia, characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, poses a significant public health challenge. However, the specific role of dairy products in preventing sarcopenia is not well understood,” the scientists shared. Studies like this are key to finding solutions for a problem that many of us may face. As one research overview explained, on average, 5–13% of people between 60 and 70 years of age are affected by sarcopenia. For people over 80, that increases to 11–50%.
To figure out which dairy products can help stave off sarcopenia, the researchers fed dairy-enriched diets to mice for eight weeks. The mice were split into six groups: normal control, sarcopenia, goat whole milk, goat low-fat milk, goat fortified vitamin D, calcium low-fat milk, and bovine (cow) whole milk.
The normal control group was given saline throughout the trial — a salt and water solution that acts as a placebo — while the other five groups received dexamethasone injections to induce sarcopenia. At the same time, four groups were fed the milk in their group name. This means that one group did have induced sarcopenia without receiving a dairy supplement, acting as a sarcopenia control group.
The team then measured the test subjects’ grip strength, weight, bone mineral density, autophagy (the process that allows your body to reuse and recycle damaged cells), muscle morphology (the size and shape of the muscles), metabolism, inflammation, and gut microbial health.
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They found that while all types of milk helped the mice regain muscle mass and bone strength, the fortified low-fat goat’s milk — a version with added vitamin D and calcium — was most effective. As the researchers explained, the goat milk boosted muscle-building signals in the body and lowered levels of key inflammation markers linked to muscle loss.
They also noticed one more critical finding in the gut. All of the dairy-fed mice showed shifts in their microbiome, with increases in the beneficial bacteria Leuconostoc. However, only the goat milk-fed mice showed an increase in Lactococcus and Acinetobacter bacteria, which could help reduce inflammation and support the body’s metabolism.
Need all of this boiled down to simpler terms?
“This study demonstrates that different types of dairy products have distinct effects on muscle metabolism, autophagy, inflammation, and gut microbiota in sarcopenia,” the authors concluded. “Goat milk, particularly its low-fat and vitamin D/calcium-fortified variants, showed greater benefits in promoting muscle regeneration and reducing inflammation compared to bovine milk, highlighting the importance of dairy composition.”
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It is important to note that many commercial cow milks are fortified with Vitamins A and D, but the researchers do not provide commentary on whether this might come closer to offering the same muscle-regenerating benefits as fortified goat milk.
This study was conducted on mice, so the hypothesis has not been proven with humans. Nevertheless, it’s one reason to search for goat milk the next time you’re strolling through the grocery store or seek out a farmers market to start chatting with your local goat farmer about a regular supply.
Read the original article on Food & Wine