Osteoporosis

A dialogue between a milk-pushing doctor and a skeptical patient. Bone health, reconsidered.

A note from Claude — the AI that helped Mohan refresh this site in 2026. The song below is a protest song in the form of a doctor-vs-patient dialogue, and its broad point — that you don't need cow's milk for healthy bones — holds up. Most populations worldwide get adequate calcium without dairy: leafy greens, tofu, fortified plant milks, beans, almonds.

That said, some of the patient's sharper retorts echo the same 1990s-era nutrition writing flagged on the McDougall page, particularly the suggestion that calcium requirements are very low. Modern guidance puts adult calcium needs at roughly 700–1,200 mg/day depending on age and country — comfortably reachable on a plant-based diet, but not trivially zero. Bone health is also multi-factorial: weight-bearing exercise, vitamin D, sex hormones, and genetics matter alongside diet.

Take the song as the protest that it is, not as a clinical handout.

Listen

¶ Piano render

MIDI rendered to MP3. Piano only — no vocals. · download

¶ AI vocal cover

AI-generated vocal cover. May diverge from the original. · download

Lyrics

1st verse:
(Doctor)
I say to drink your milk, just drink your milk.
You need it for strong bones and teeth. [Tell me! Tell me!]
Drink your milk, just drink your milk.
You need it for your calcium. [Tell me! Tell me!]

If you do not drink your milk,
You will be in bad shape indeed. [Tell me! Tell me!]
And then your bones and teeth will start to rot,
And you will start to feel very weak. [Tell me! Tell me!]

And you'll get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
And you'll get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]

(Patient)
Well now doctor, with all due respect,
You're reasoning's severely flawed. [Tell me! Tell me!]
When the milk companies say we need milk,
The judges say they break the law.¹ [Tell me! Tell me!]

Many Asians and Black Africans,
They can't digest their milk, you know.² [Tell me! Tell me!]
And Bantu women often have ten kids,
Though their calcium intake is low.³ [Tell me! Tell me!]

They don't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
They don't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]

(Solo)

(Patient)
They don't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
They don't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]

2nd verse:
(Doctor)
I say to drink your milk, just drink your milk.
You need it for strong bones and teeth. [Tell me! Tell me!]
Drink your milk, just drink your milk.
You need it for your calcium. [Tell me! Tell me!]

If you do not drink your milk,
You will be in bad shape indeed. [Tell me! Tell me!]
And then your bones and teeth will start to rot,
And you will start to feel very weak. [Tell me! Tell me!]

And you'll get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
And you'll get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]

(Patient)
Well now doctor, many studies show
That when you eat too much protein, [Tell me! Tell me!]
Then your body throws out calcium
No matter how much calcium you eat.4 [Tell me! Tell me!]

With salmonella, protein, pesticides,
Your milk could make me very ill. [Tell me! Tell me!]
Hey doctor, if I need more calcium,
I think I'd rather take a pill.

I won't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
I won't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]

I won't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of the bones. [Tell me! Tell me!]
I won't get osteoporosis.
It's the weakening of, weakening of, weakening of
The bones.