Everyday on TV we see commercials on milk and dairy products. Even kung-fu film star Michelle Yeoh is now used as spokesperson for a dairy product international company promoting to Chinese people (who have no dairy consumption history and one of the lowest rates of bone fractures in the world) drinking milk for strong bones. No doubt dairy is a very big industry and most of what we hear about the benefits of dairy is from the industry. And the industry have strong influence over policy makers in most dairy consuming countries.
The medical industry is very much influenced and informed by the big dairy corporations. Many conventionally trained health professionals can recommend dairy with the best intention. However many prominent doctors today, like Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyne who are known for their work in reversing heart diseases (number one killer in the US), and who inspire Bill Clinton’s recently publicised raw vegan diet, have long spoken up about the undesirable effects of dairy and its contribution to modern day health problems.
What the food contains and what we are able to absorb and utilise are two very different issues. Dairy industry uses what the milk contains to confuse the public into purchasing dairy. And many well-meaning people including doctors have simply overlooked this important distinction. This article explains more.
This excerpt from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
www.pcrm.org, led by Dr Neal Barnard, explains the eight main things you can get from milk, and strong bone is clearly NOT one of them.
1. Osteoporosis
Milk is touted for preventing osteoporosis, yet clinical research shows otherwise. The Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, which followed more than 75,000 women for 12 years, showed no protective effect of increased milk consumption on fracture risk. In fact, increased intake of calcium from dairy products was associated with a higher fracture risk.
An Australian study showed the same results. Additionally, other studies have also found no protective effect of dairy calcium on bone.
You can decrease your risk of osteoporosis by reducing sodium and animal protein in the diet, increasing intake of fruits and vegetables, exercising, and ensuring adequate calcium intake from plant foods such as leafy green vegetables and beans.
(Anita’s remark: if you cannot digest and assimilate the calcium and other cofactors for bone building in the milk, you are not getting the benefit of calcium)
2. Cardiovascular Disease
Dairy products – including cheese, ice cream, milk, butter, and yogurt – contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and fat to the diet. Diets high in fat and saturated fat can increase the risk of several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease.
A vegetarian diet that eliminates dairy products, in combination with exercise, smoking cessation, and stress management, cannot only prevent heart disease, but may also reverse it.
Non-fat dairy products are available; however, they still pose other health risks.
(Anita’s remark: undigested dairy clogs up your arteries)
3. Cancer
Several cancers, such as ovarian cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer, have been linked to the consumption of dairy products. The milk sugar lactose is broken down in the body into another sugar, galactose. In turn, galactose is broken down further by enzymes. According to a study by Daniel Cramer, MD, and his colleagues at Harvard, when dairy product consumption exceeds the enzymes’ capacity to break down galactose, it can build up in the blood and may affect a woman’s ovaries.
Some women have particularly low levels of these enzymes, and when they consume dairy products on a regular basis, their risk of ovarian cancer can be triple that of other women.
4. Diabetes
Insulin-dependent diabetes (Type I or childhood-onset) is linked to consumption of dairy products. Epidemiological studies of various countries show a strong correlation between the use of dairy products and the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes.
Researchers in 1992 found that a specific dairy protein sparks an auto-immune reaction, which is believed to be what destroyed the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.
5. Lactose Intolerance
Lactose Intolerance is common among many populations, affecting approximately 95% of Asian Americans, 74% of Native Americans, 70% of African Americans, 53% of Mexican Americans, and 15% of Caucasians. Symptoms, which include gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, and flatulence, occur because these individuals do not have the enzymes that digest the milk sugar lactose.
Additionally, along with unwanted symptoms, milk-drinkers are also putting themselves at risk for development of other chronic diseases and ailments.
6. Vitamin D Toxicity
Consumption of milk may not provide a consistent and reliable source of vitamin D in the diet. Samplings of milk have found significant variation in vitamin D content, with some samplings having as much as 500 times the indicated level, while others had little or none at all.
Too much vitamin D can be toxic and may result in excess calcium levels in the blood and urine, increased aluminum absorption in the body, and calcium deposits of soft tissue.
7. Contaminants
Synthetic hormones such as recombinant bovine growth hormone are commonly used in dairy cows to increase the production of milk. Because the cows are producing quantities of milk nature never intended, the end result is mastitis, or inflammation of the mammary glands. The treatment requires the use of antibiotics, and traces of these and hormones have been found in samples of milk and other dairy products. Pesticides and other drugs are also frequent contaminants of dairy products.
8. Health Concerns of Infants and Children
Milk proteins, milk sugar, fat, and saturated fat in dairy products may pose health risks for children and lead to the development of chronic diseased such as obesity, diabetes, and formation of atherosclerotic plaques that can lead to heart disease.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants below one year of age not be given whole cow’s milk, as iron-deficiency is more likely on a dairy-rich diet. Cow’s milk products are very low in iron. If they become a major part of one’s diet, iron deficiency is more likely.
Colic is an additional concern with milk consumption. One out of five babies suffers from colic. Pediatricians learned long ago that cows’ milk was often the reason.
We now know that breastfeeding mothers can have colicky babies if the mothers are consuming cow’s milk. The cow’s antibodies can pass through the mother’s bloodstream into her breast milk and to the baby.
Additionally, food allergies appear to be a common result of milk consumption, particularly in children. A recent study also linked cow’s milk consumption to chronic constipation in children. Researchers suggest that milk consumption resulted in perianal sores and severe pain on defecation leading to constipation.
Milk and dairy products are not necessary in the diet and can, in fact, be harmful to your health. Consume a healthful diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and fortified foods including cereals and juices. These nutrient-dense foods can help you meet your calcium, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin D requirements with ease – and without the health risk.
anita on wellness 