Breaking news: A new study from Harvard Medical School suggests that drinking milk as a teen doesn’t prevent broken bones later in life.

OK, OK—I’m sorry for the “breaking news” pun. I couldn’t resist. But when researchers analyzed findings from participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professional Follow-Up Study, they found that teenage milk consumption wasn’t associated with a lower risk of hip fractures. The study is not conclusive, but the lead researcher notes that she wants to see “better evidence for our dietary recommendations.”

Instead of insisting that kids drink milk, parents and grandparents should encourage them to eat healthy vegan foods. Other studies, including the 18-year Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, show that people who drink milk have higher rates of fracture than people who do not.

In a Huffington Post UK blog post about World Osteoporosis Day, Dr. Neal Barnard, the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, explains that osteoporosis isn’t caused by inadequate milk consumption but rather by consuming excess animal protein, sodium, and caffeine.

To build and maintain strong bones, Dr. Barnard recommends avoiding meat, eggs, and dairy products and getting calcium from healthy plant-based sources, such as beans, greens, tofu, almonds, butternut squash, figs, and oats. In a previous blog [] about osteoporosis, I listed several recipes featuring calcium-rich vegan foods. You can also get calcium—without the cholesterol and excess saturated fat found in dairy products—from soy and almond milk and other dairy-free beverages.

We can’t turn back the clock to our teen years—if anyone would even want to—but we can still work to build strong bones as we age. And if you have grandchildren or know young people, encourage them to stop chugging milk and start chowing down on great-tasting vegan foods. They’ll benefit from your advice—and so will animals.