I personally have never liked the taste of milk. Maybe it’s because I find it leaves a horrible after taste in my mouth like I’ve been sucking on a cows udder or something..NOT that I would even know what that would taste like, but isn’t that kinda what we are doing…in a sense? I know, I know, gross, but bare with me here I’m going somewhere with this.
When a woman gives birth, her body produces milk, which she uses to nurse her child. This milk can grow an 8lb newborn into a 24lb toddler, sounds pretty fattening if you ask me - and it is, it’s supposed to be. Once a child is anywhere from 12 to 24 months old, a mother stops breast-feeding. Her milk dries up and the child will never drink breast milk again.
Cows, like all mammals are the same. Their bodies produce milk only when they give birth and are only meant to be milked while trying to grow their 90 lb calf into a 2,000 lb cow. YA, 2000 lb! Why on earth are we drinking another mammal’s milk that is meant to grow something that large? Did you know we are the only species on the planet that drinks the milk of another species? Not only that, we are the only species that drinks milk as adults, why is that? and why a cow? I get they produce large quantities of milk and are tame and easily housed, but is there any other reason for selecting a cow? Does it really have anything to do with the health and nutritional value of the cow’s milk versus say a gorillas or zebras…or does it come down to farmers and money? I’m not going to go down that road because it’s a rocky one, but I do think we should all be aware of what is in this product that we have been raised to believe is “good for us” and “necessary for growth and healthy bones.”
Researchers at Harvard, Yale, Penn State and the National Institutes of Health have studied the effects of dairy intake on bones and not one of them found that dairy helped prevent, slow down or stop osteoporosis. As a matter of fact, a study funded by the National Dairy Council itself revealed that the high protein content of dairy actually leaches calcium from the body - hmm go figure. To top it off after looking at 34 published studies in 16 different countries, researchers at Yale University found that countries with the highest rate of osteoporosis were those in which people consumed the most milk, meat and other animal foods.
Still not convinced? Ok well did you know that dairy products have been linked to cause all sorts of problems including arthritis, acne, anemia, heart disease, diabetes, breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, joint pain, poor immune function, allergies, hear burn, and indigestion? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I’m not going to tell you how to live your life or what to eat, but I do think you should really question the lifestyle and eating habits we have been raised to believe are “right.” Where have those eating habits gotten us? Look around at our society. Health problems and disease rates are higher than they have ever been. A huge percentage of our population is obese or suffering from diabetes. Cancer is now a very common disease. Almost everyone knows someone who is or has been either diagnosed or affected by cancer and why do you think that is? What we eat and drink…how we treat our bodies’ effects our life span and health in so many ways.
Do some research is all I’m saying. Below is a list of interesting reads on the topic.
“The China Study” by T.Colin Campbell PhD
“Forks Over Knives” DVD
“The Kind Diet” by Alicia Silverstone
“Skinny Bitch” by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnoun
“The Planet Friendly Diet” and “How to Eat” by Cat Smiley
