The Truth behind the Got Milk PMS commercials

The term "Got Milk" refers to an advertising campaign that aggressively promotes milk consumption. It is paid for by the USA milk industry. Got Milk came out of the Californian Milk Process Board in 1993.

It was created to increase milk consumption in the Californian region, but it has now grown into an international advertising and promotion program. In March 2004 the Got Milk campaign was launched in the United Kingdom. In the UK like the US, milk consumption has suffered at the hands of the increase in soda drinks. The move into the UK and other countries is an attempt to reverse the process.

The 'got milk' ads usually show celebrities with a "milk moustache" and exhort you to drink plenty of milk for the sake of your health. The ads typically give promises of lower blood pressure, stronger bones, and better sports performance, and you see these milk moustache ads everywhere. They are so pervasive that they have become a primary source of nutrition information. But instead of helping, these ads are confusing and miss-educating consumers according to the PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, USA). Some Got Milk ads make reference to PMS (Pre-Menstrual Symptoms) in women, implying that the consumption of dairy milk is somehow helpful in alleviating PMS. Of course, this is completely incorrect.

If anything, dairy milk makes you feel bloated, more likely to get a headache, and less healthy and can therefore make the symptoms of PMS worse. The Got Milk PMS commercials were prompted by a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and carried out by Dr. Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts. This study concluded that women had a "significantly lower risk of developing PMS with intakes of vitamin D and calcium from food sources.

" But it does not follow that dairy milk is a good source of vitamin D and calcium. On the contrary, milk is a bad source of these nutrients, and there is no research showing that milk alleviates PMS. Most of the milk moustache ads that make health claims are false and misleading, and in violation of federal advertising guidelines, according to a PCRM petition filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in July 2000. In its petition, PCRM requested an investigation of milk moustache ads, holding them to be scientifically unsubstantiated, purposefully deceptive, and harmful advertising. PCRM's petition has been referred by the FTC to the USDA for investigation because-believe it or not-it is actually the USDA that is promulgating these ads on behalf of the private dairy industry.

To find out more please go to Got Milk PMS Commercials. See also www.about-milk.info for a ground-breaking report about organic milk.