Educational Corner: Milk does a body good?

I am beginning a series on educational awareness for topics that really are not common knowledge. I will use a 5-point system from at least one outside source. Why 5 points? Otherwise I'll blab forever. Why one source? I like to write scholarly pieces, but being a busy dreaming mom doesn't allow for a lot of time for research, notetaking, and formulating a rough draft and all the other extras and niceties that go along with scholarly works. So I came up with a way to meet myself in the middle. While raising awareness and questioning certain topics can rouse up a heated debate on Facebook or Instagram, writing in your own safe place curbs that just a bit. So really take some time and think and ponder on the content and decide for yourself if you will follow up with your own research and studying.

Everyone knows the milk is a great source of calcium, As children, we have been told that milk "does a body good," grows strong teeth and bones, and is an essential part of a daily diet. And why wouldn't we believe that? Surely those who share this information with us definitely know better about what is good for our bodies than we do. After all, that's why we trust doctors and medical professionals and rely on them, so they can teach us what is best for our health and overall wellbeing.

This EC is going to defy the traditional teaching of the benefits of cows milk. I found an article in a hand-selected collection my chiropractor offers as FYI. The article is entitled, "Milk For Thought" and cites that "numerous studies reveal the exact opposite to be true" (that it "does a body good"). Here are the five points:

1. "Americans drink more cow's milk than any other country on earth, and we have the highest rate of osteoporosis (bone loss) on earth."  Cows are farmed and are almost literally "milked to death" as shown by documentaries meant to expose the severity of the cruelty of farming practices (such as Food, Inc. for example) in the US and how far farmers and food marketers will go to cover up their bad practices by marketing the product as essential and a positive contribution to health. Many cows are impregnated over and over to produce young so they will continue lactating and have their young taken away from them so they can solely produce milk for human consumption instead of solely for their babies, as nature intended. Antibiotics are added to the animals' food to make them bigger and this ends up in our meat and in our milk (unless you produce products not made with cows that have been treated by rBGH, which has been cited as being dangerous for human consumption). So back to osteoporosis: how does cow's milk contribute? When milk is pasteurized (or cooked) it loses essential enzymes (as do fruits and vegetables) that are necessary to make the calcium the ads claim are essential to our growth. The article states, "farmers know that if you feed pasteurized milk to a baby calf, it will die of malnutrition in 6 weeks."
2. Milk actually pulls calcium out of our bones, not deposits. Milk has a high level of acidity, and when you drink it the body lowers the pH level of the blood to balance out the acidity. Calcium is required to lower the blood pH level, since it is alkaline. The more milk we drink, the more we need this level to be balanced, and the more calcium we lose.
3. Milk has more protein in it than is necessary for humans to consume. The article cites that "cow's milk is really meant to turn an 80-100 lb calf at birth into a 400 lb animal in one year." The body tries to fight the extra protein by providing mucous to discharge it from the body, a key reason why vocalists will avoid dairy/milk especially before a performance, to avoid the mucous buildup in their throats and mouths. You may read that fitness gurus suggest drinking chocolate milk after a workout to replenish and fuel the body. This is a big reason why. 
4. Humans are the only species on earth who continue to drink milk after being weaned, and on top of that, the milk of another species. For some reason, it is more socially acceptable to guzzle down milk from an animal than it is for mothers to publicly breastfeed their babies, and continue to nurse their babies until the average weaning age of 4.2 years. This has never made sense to me. Babies need human milk until they are ready to eat food, and then they don't need it. Extended breastfeeding still provides excellent immunity from vaccinated diseases and allergies. I believe all babies should be breastfed or provided human milk from a milk bank as opposed to powdered formula. Cow's milk should not be an option on our kitchen table.
5. Other side effects of the human consumption of cow's milk includes: arteriosclerosis, increased blood cholesterol, poor digestion from coating of the stomach, dairy-provoked skin rashes, acne, tooth decay, ear infections, runny noses, and swollen glands, and premature puberty in young girls from the estrogen hormones passed into the body through milk.

Dr. Oski, one of the directors at John Hopkins University's School of Medicine quotes: "Cow milk has no valid claim as the perfect food. Perhaps when the public is educated as to the hazards of milk, only calves will be left to drink the real thing." (from the book, Don't Drink Your Milk).

You may be asking what in the world you are to drink besides milk, since most of us have enjoyed this beverage since childhood. Besides being unnecessary, the amount of sugar put in milk is part of why we enjoy it, and especially why children are big fans of chocolate milk. Alternatives to cow's milk are soy milk (more about soy in another post), almond milk, and coconut milk among others. Some of my health nut friends suggest raw goat's milk, which I have never had nor studied. I suggest increasing your water and green tea intake instead of milk. Herbal teas as well. Exercise your way to drinking your coffee black or cutting out the dairy creamers. I personally drink coconut and almond milk and have found that cutting out dairy has led me to lose weight and have more energy. Dairy is one of the main things to cut if you follow an elimination diet, which is used to decrease inflammation in the body (more on inflammation diets later). If you struggle with gas, weight gain, and excess mucous, it cannot hurt to exercise the elimination of milk and dairy from your diet.

Salud!

Monica

Source: "Milk For Thought" by Larry Satterfield, Midland Lifestyles Magazine, March issue.
Date unknown. 





My hope is that you will think about and evaluate

1. Milk pulls calcium from our bones